8/12/2019 2001 Issue 3 - Denominational Growth - Counsel of Chalcedon
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Denominational Growth:
Minutes from an RPCUS church plant in
Michigan
Wayne Rogers
Covenant Presbytery
of
the RPCUS met on Jan.
27-28,2001, in Haslett, MI, to organize the
Chalcedon Christian Church.
A petition to be organized as a particular
church was submitted to the RPCUS by eight
households. These families nominated Rev. Brian
Schwertley, former Associate Pastor of the
Southfield RPCNA, as their minister. Mr. Miguel
Gutierriez and Mr. Ed Burley were also nominated
to serve as Ruling Elders in the newly forming
church.
Prior to the organizational meeting of the
church, the three nominees for the offices of
Teaching and Ruling Elder were thoroughly
examined in an all day session of the Presbytery.
They were unanimously and enthusiastically
approved to be presented to the congregation as
eligible for election by the congregation. All three
men demonstrated exceptional knowledge of the
system of doctrine and gave evidence ofmaturity,
wisdom, and genuine pastoral experience and
concern.
The Presbytery reconvened on Sunday to
organize the church and conduct the elections
of
officers. Following the worship service and
sermon preached by Rev. Schwertley, those who
had petitioned the Presbytery to organize them
into particular church entered into covenant to
walk together as an organized church, on the
principles of the faith and order of the Reformed
Presbyterian Church in the US, and ... be zealous
and faithful in maintaining the purity and peace of
the whole body. The moderator, Rev. John Otis,
pronounced them a constituted church according
to the Word
of
God and the faith and order
of
the
Refonned Presbyterian Church in the US.
Following the organization of the church, the
Ruling Elder nominees were presented for their
election by the male heads of households. Both
Mr. Burley and
Mr.
Gutierriez were unanimously
elected. The elders were then set apart by the
Presbytery with prayer by Rev. Wayne Rogers,
ordaining Mr. Ed Burley and installing them both
as ruling elders in the church.
Following the election and installation
of
ruli1ig elders, the male heads of households also
voted unanimously to call Rev. Brian Schwertley
as
minister
of
the church. Rev. Otis charged the
ruling elders and pastor. The congregation was
charged by Rev. Rogers. The newly elected
minister, Rev. Schwertley, dismissed the congre
gation with the benediction.
t
was truly a joyful time for these families and
for us as a Presbytery to organize and receive this
congregation. Rev. Schwertley said that one of
the things that attracted the group to our denomi
nation was our strict subscription to the historic
Westminster and Refonned standards. They are
delighted to be in a denomination that is explicitly
theonomic, postmillennial, and presuppositional
in
their apologetics. The new church is also dedi
cated to promoting the covenant headship of
fathers and appreciates the head of household
voting practiced in the RPCUS. And, although
the
RPCUS allows the singing of hymns as well as
Psalms in worship, Chalcedon Christian Church is
permitted to practice exclusive acapella psalmody
in corporate worship.
Rev. Schwertleyis a 1986 graduate ofRe
formed Episcopal Seminary, Philadelphia, PA
with a Master ofDivinity. Beginning
in
1995 he
served as Associate Pastor-elect for Church
Planting in the Southfield U>c ofNorth America
and was ordained as Teaching Elder by the Great
Lakes-Gulf Presbytery
of
the RPCNA in 1996. He
labored as a church planter
in
the Reformation
Fellowship (RPCNA) Mission Church, Lansing,
MI, from 1995-2000. During this time he started
several local outreaches: Reformation Campus
Ministries (MSU), Reformation Forum Cable
TV
Program, and Bible studies
in
East Lansing,
Hartland, Ypsilanti, and Grand Rapids. He has
been a guest preacher at over a dozen RPCNA
nd
other reformed churches across the country.
Brian has also authored a number of scholarly
books and monographs including
Sola Scriptura
and the Regulative Principle of Worship; The
Neopresbyterian Challenge to Confessional
Presbyterian Orthodoxy: A Biblical Analysis of
John Frame;Y Worship in Spirit nd Truth; The
Christian Family (in press); A
Brief
Critique of
Steven M. Schlissel's Articles Against the Regula
tive Principle ofWorship (printed in The Counsel
of
Chalcedon
Fall 1999); Sovereign Grace:
An
AprillMay, 2001 THE COUNSEL
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Chalcedon 19
8/12/2019 2001 Issue 3 - Denominational Growth - Counsel of Chalcedon
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Examination
of
the Five Points of Calvinism ;
The Atonement; Justification by Faith Alone ;
A
Historical and Biblical Examination
of
Women
Deacons' The Christian Sabbath Examined,
Proved, Applied ;
God's
Law for
Modem
Man ;
and The Premillennial Deception: Chiliasm
Examined in Light of Scripture. All of his works,
many of which are being translated and used
by
churches around the world, can be downloaded for
free from the Internet at www.refonnedonline.com.
Brian and his wife, Andrea, have been married for
6
years and have five children, all ofwhom are
homeschooled.
Ed Burley and his wife Dana have 8 children,
who are also homeschooled. They are in the
process of adopting their third special needs
toddler from Bethany Christian Services. The
Burley's also care for
Ed's
aged and infirm par
ents in their own home and have integrated them
into the life
of
Chalcedon Christian Church. Ed is
currently attending St. Paul Theological College, a
distance learning seminary, working on his
Licentiate of Theology degree.
Miguel S. Gutierriez has served
as
ruling
elder and in the preaching ministry at several
churches including the Reformed Presbyterian
Church
of
North America.
He
has preached in
open-air revivals to the Hispanic community in
Detroit, the Rescue Mission for the Homeless,
and in Plymouth Brethren Churches in Toronto,
Canada. He is currently continuing his divinity
studies at Reformation International Theological
Seminary. He and his wife, Crystal Gutierriez,
have been married for 17 years and reside in
Farmington Hills, Michigan. Miguel Gutierriez
and his wife are home educators and are the
parents of six children. Miguel Gutierriez and his
eldest son Andrew maintain a website dedicated to
the Reformed Presbyterian Thomas Boston. Their
website can be accessed at www.geocities.com/
-thomasboston.
Also a member of the church is Arnold J agt, a
web specialist/entrepreneur with over 20 years of
experience in the computer and communications
business. Since becoming self-employed 3 years
ago, he has focused on developing his ideas and
vision to leverage the internet for God's Kingdom.
This work includes the areas
of
home education
(www.RobinsonCurriculum.com and the future
SelfTeaching.com University), recovering the best
of Christian culture from the past (Henty.com),
and online publishing (freebooks.com) among
others. His latest project is digitizing 10,000
hours of cassette tapes (Mt Olive Tape Library
Project) to publish in a searchable form. He has
his own personal web application framework
Sitewave-which
he uses to build websites, run
forums, create, edit and store documents, manage
back office functions, etc. Arnold has been
married to Ann for
7
years and they have 6
children who are his own personal Robinson
curriculum students.
At this writing, Chalcedon Christian Church
has 38 baptized and communicant members and 3
adherents. They are meeting at Trinity EPC in
Plymouth, MI, a suburb ofDetroit, at 1 30pm on
the Lord's Day for worship.
If
you
know
someone
who lives in suburban Detroit or if you will be
visiting the area, you are welcome to worship with
this congregation. Contact Rev. Schwertley at 670
Barry Road, Haslett, MI. 48840, (517) 655-8079,
e-mail: [email protected].
20-
THE
COUNSEL
o
Chalcedon - April/May,
2 1
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