Denominational Growth:

Minutes from an RPCUS church plant in

Michigan
I Wayne Rogers I
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 of maturity,
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.
It 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 of Re-
formed Episcopal Seminary, Philadelphia, PA,
with a Master of Divinity. Beginning in 1995 he
served as Associate Pastor-elect for Church
Planting in the Southfield 1U>c of North 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 and
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 and Truth; The
Christian Family (in press); "A Brief Critique of
Steven M. Schlissel's Articles Against the Regula-
tive Principle of Worship" (printed in The Counsel
of Chalcedon, Fall 1999); "Sovereign Grace: An
AprillMay, 2001 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 19
..
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
16 years and have five children, all of whom 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 17 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 of Detroit, 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: schwertley.brian@acd.net.
20- THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - April/May, 2001