R. C. Sproul, Jr.

Robert Craig Sproul, better known as R.C. Sproul, Jr., is a Calvinist Christian minister and theologian and is the son of Robert Charles Sproul, a noted Reformed theologian and founder of Ligonier Ministries.

Sproul holds degrees from Grove City College and Reformed Theological Seminary and received his D.Min. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. He is a teaching elder of Saint Peter Presbyterian Church (SPPC) and is founder, chairman, and teacher of the Highlands Study Center (HSC), both in the Bristol, Virginia area. At HSC, Sproul teaches a Bible study for the community and classes for homeschooled students, guides HSC's resident students through their independent studies, and serves as executive editor of "Every Thought Captive", a bimonthly magazine published by HSC. He has spoken at a number of conferences and is a vocal supporter of homeschooling, traditional family roles, and limited government.

Sproul was first ordained in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP). After a failed attempt to transfer into the Presbyterian Church in America, [Johnson, Jerry. [http://www.presbyteriannews.org/volumes/v6/5/pr6-5.pdf "The Saga of R. C. Sproul, Jr."] , "Presbyterian & Reformed News", vol. 5, no. 5, September-October 2000. pp. 8-9.] he was ordained in the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly (RPCGA) in 2000. The Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) currently recognizes him as ordained in that denomination.

In January 2006, Sproul and the Session of SPPC were deposed from office by the RPCGA under charges including "abuse of authority in an inexcusable manner" against several families, alleged illegal use of the ARP's tax identification number, planting a church without authority, and practicing paedocommunion. [ [http://hushmoney.org/RPCGA-judgment.pdf "Declaratory Judgment"] , Westminster Presbytery, Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly, Office of the Moderator, Dr. Kenneth Gary Talbot. January 26, 2006 (in PDF)] The SPPC Session issued a letter of apology and asked to be released from general membership in the RPCGA, [ [http://hushmoney.org/Repentance020206.pdf Letter from the Session of St. Peter Presbyterian Church to the Westminster Presbytery] (in PDF)] and the denomination granted their request. [ [http://hushmoney.org/ToDeposedSession.pdf Letter to the deposed session of St. Peter Presbyterian Church] from Westminster Presbytery, Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly, Office of the Moderator, Dr. Kenneth Gary Talbot. February 3, 2006 (in PDF)] SPPC requested pastoral oversight from the CREC, which accepted the congregation as a full member in October 2007. [ [http://crechurches.org/html/saint_peter.html "Public Statement from the CREC Pastoral Commission for Saint Peter Presbyterian Church, Bristol, TN"] ]

Sproul has authored several books, including "When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling", "Bound for Glory", "Biblical Economics", "Almighty Over All", "Eternity in Our Hearts", and "Tearing Down Strongholds". He has edited nine books, including "After Darkness Light: Distinctives of Reformed Theology", and contributed to several others. He wrote three articles for "World" magazine and three articles for Covenant Syndicate. For ten years he was the editor of "Tabletalk", a publication of Ligonier Ministries, and is still a monthly contributor to the magazine.

References

External links

* [http://www.highlandsstudycenter.org/ Highlands Study Center]
* [http://www.highlandsstudycenter.org/ETC/ETC.php "Every Thought Captive"]
* [http://saintpeterpresbyterian.org Saint Peter Presbyterian Church]
* [http://hushmoney.org/RC_Sproul_Jr-defrocking-docs.htm Additional related documents on Sproul, Jr. defrocking] (with non-neutral evaluation by an interested party)