Presbyterian Turf War: Spoils Of Scandal?

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Last week, my media outlet exclusively reported on the eruption of a full-scale turf war within the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP). This ongoing battle pits the denomination’s Second Presbytery – one of ten geographic subdivisions of the church – against the governing body of the ARP, its General Synod.

The Presbytery – which takes its name from the Greek presbyteros (meaning “elder” or “senior”) – is empowered as “the essential court of the Presbyterian system in administering its general order,” according to the ARP website.

At issue? Second Presbytery’s purported failure to fulfill this obligation via the alleged mishandling of sexual assault and child abuse charges leveled against one of its former pastors – Charles Wilson.

Due to this alleged failure – and a “culture of intimidation, retribution, fear and inaction” – the ARP has deemed its Second Presbytery to be “irrevocably broken,” per the findings of a May 2024 report (.pdf).

Hence its impending dissolution…

At stake in this still-unfolding saga? The future of Second Presbytery – the oldest subdivision of the ARP – its 28 churches and estimated 2,500 congregants. Also at stake? The financial assets of the 224-year-old Presbytery, which according to our sources could range anywhere between $5 million and $6 million.

Two months ago, the ARP’s General Synod ordered the dissolution of Second Presbytery effective Sunday, September 1, 2024. According to the official Synod minutes, “Second Presbytery will be dissolved” based on a 254-43 vote taken on June 12, 2024.

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Second Presbytery includes congregations in “the state of Georgia and the Western South Carolina counties of Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Barnwell, Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, Spartanburg and Union.”

As I reported last week, the ARP Synod has ordered the denomination’s South Carolina congregations to be transferred into the neighboring Catawba Presbytery – with its Georgia churches to be transferred into the neighboring Tennessee-Alabama Presbytery. Additionally, the ARP will “oversee the transfer of assets” of the Presbytery and instruct its remaining Presbyteries to “use assets” of the dissolved organization as it deems appropriate.

“These Presbyteries cannot decline a church,” the Synod noted.

But… can a church decline them?

Also… who controls the money?

According to the ARP, it will “establish a commission to oversee and distribute funds to fulfill and continue the existing financial obligations of Second Presbytery.” This same commission will determine “the best use of the remaining funds for the furtherance of the gospel in our denomination.”

Finally, the commission will “handle any requests for churches in Second Presbytery to change from their new presbytery.”

Wait… “requests?”

A church has to ask permission to leave an entity it never consented to joining?

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Leaders of Second Presbytery are publicly challenging the dissolution of their denomination, accusing the ARP of acting “beyond the constitutional authority of General Synod.”

“It is clear that the General Synod does not have the authority to initiate and execute the dissolution of a Presbytery,” an article published on The Aquila Report last month noted.

In addition to challenging the Synod’s religious authority to dissolve Second Presbytery, the article further challenged its legal authority to do so – calling it “unlawful, illegal, and unjust.”

“Second Presbytery is a corporation under the South Carolina nonprofit corporation act,” it noted. “As such, the corporation must be dissolved pursuant to (the) South Carolina code of laws.”

Seeing as the ARP Synod has refused to hear Second Presbytery’s challenges, sources familiar with the situation told this media outlet its leaders were exploring their legal options – including seeking a temporary restraining order against the ARP in connection with the impending dissolution deadline.

How did we get here? As I previously reported, this drama traces its origins to June of 2022, when pastor Matt Miller of Greenville, S.C. leveled seismic charges against former pastor Wilson. Our media outlet is attempting to obtain records of these allegations as they were originally presented to the Presbytery, but according to official ARP documents (.pdf) posted online, Wilson was accused of engaging in a “pattern of verbally, physically, and sexually abusive behavior toward (his daughters) from the time of their early childhood and continuing into their teenage and young adult years.”

Addressing Wilson directly, the church accused him of “routinely exposing yourself or touching (his daughters) or requiring them to touch you in an inappropriate and sexual manner; and estrangement from them from their early adult years and continuing to the present,” per the documents.

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Wilson also allegedly subjected his daughters to “frequent and severe physical punishment, including hitting or beating them in anger in a severe and inappropriate manner” while also allegedly engaging in “denigration of their femininity and sexuality” by using profanity in relation to their genitalia and menstrual cycles, per the complaint.

The documents published by the ARP identified Wilson’s daughters – both of whom are adults – by name.

In addition to the intra-familial allegations, Wilson was also accused of engaging in “a pattern of verbally abusive and profane speech with female employees and members of Gold’s Gym in Clemson, South Carolina” as recently as 2021.

There is no indication any of the allegations against Wilson were ever communicated to law enforcement for potential criminal investigation – either via a report from one of the alleged victims or via a referral from those with knowledge of the situation. Neither Second Presbytery nor the ARP appears to have referred the matter for criminal investigation.

Second Presbytery launched its own inquiry into the allegations against Wilson in early 2022, and was in the process of preparing a report based on its findings when allegations of a “cover-up” involving its leaders were first leveled. Given these allegations, the Presbytery’s leaders unanimously voted to refer the Wilson matter to the ARP General Synod for investigation – effectively surrendering their authority over the case.

This unanimous referral took place in October 2022, per Presbytery officials.

The following month, November 2022, the Synod took the case during an emergency meeting.

In addition to the records of both investigations, our media outlet is working to obtain the original allegations submitted against Wilson – who chose to “self-excommunicate” at a church trial held on May 22, 2023 rather than subject himself to the discipline of the ARP’s ruling body.

“I withdraw from and renounce the authority of Second Presbytery to oversee me as a minister,” Wilson said during the trial.

(Click to view)

Church officials told Wilson he was “putting himself outside of the church of Jesus Christ,” to which he allegedly responded “shut up and sit down!” prior to abruptly departing the proceedings.

Wilson – who runs a blog called ARP Talk – has been a relentless critic of so-called “ecclesiocrats” in the ARP, referring to the church’s governing body as a “Synod of thieves.” According to him, ARP leaders are intent on stealing $6 million from Second Presbytery – money he “lined up” via the sale of “properties of closed churches over the past six years.”

The ARP church – including Second Presbytery – has seen significant declines in its membership in recent years. The denomination currently has an estimated 23,000 members, although its average Sunday attendance is much lower – approximately 13,000. As a result, many churches in the denomination have folded in recent years.

This is part of a national trend, obviously – one not exclusive to Presbyterianism in general or the ARP in particular.

“Two decades ago, an average of 42 percent of U.S. adults attended religious services every week or nearly every week,” a March 2024 report from Gallup noted. “A decade ago, the figure fell to 38 percent, and it is currently at 30 percent. This decline is largely driven by the increase in the percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation – nine percent in 2000-2003 versus 21 percent in 2021-2023 – almost all of whom do not attend services regularly.”

According to Wilson, the ARP’s desire to refill its coffers – not obtain justice for alleged assault victims – is the true primum mobile behind its draconian move against Second Presbytery.

“The decades-long division and drama in the Wilson family (his oldest two daughters are crossways with and in conflict with their mother, father, and their three younger siblings) was never a secret,” Wilson wrote last month. “No one cared until the self-righteous ecclesiocrats came up with a plan to go after the $6,000,000 and excise Chuck Wilson, the thorn in their flesh. The ecclesiocrats can’t raise money (or, as recent history has revealed, manage money), but it seems they know how to lead the ARP sheep in the unrighteous art of thievery.”

Wilson referred to ARP leaders as “fools, fakes, failures, frauds, gaslighters, and especially mountebanks” who would likely squander the money obtained from Second Presbytery within three years.

“They ain’t never had so much money to play with!” Wilson wrote. “They’ll be like drunken sailors on shore leave in Bangkok.”

Our media outlet is continuing to conduct interviews and obtain documents related to this scandal. As is the case with any story we cover, our microphone is open to anyone with an intelligent perspective on this developing situation.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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