An Open Letter to the Delegates of the 216th General Synod of ARPC Meeting -- Clint Davis
Fathers and Brothers,
As we prepare for the 216th meeting of the General Synod on Thursday and Friday, you will, no doubt, spend some time refreshing your memory and revisiting the notes you made as you wade back through all the reports in your packet. That’s because you want to be prepared (unless you’re like me and then you’ll just rely on the people around you to tell you what’s going on).
The packet contains a lot of great information and several items that promise to bring lively discussions. Besides the reports of the Blue-Ribbon Committee and the Special Committee on DMF Spending, I’m most interested in the allocations from the Board of Stewardship found in Index 32A.
The recommended allocation of 20% to the Minister’s Retirement Plan is an unfortunate necessity for the foreseeable future given the account’s current deficit. I respect the board’s willingness to take measures in conjunction with the recommendations of Blue-Ribbon and Special Committee. I’m sure you do as well.
However, this year’s recommended allocations continue a trend that disturbs me as the Chairman of the Erskine College Board of Trustees. The notation beside this year’s recommended allocation explains that Erskine, along with every other agency, has had to take a shared sacrifice or efficiency challenge cut of 10% or 25%. Erskine understands this predicament and recognizes this need.
The Erskine Allocations from 2000-2020
At the same time, Erskine is aware of the drastic reduction in allocated DMF funds she has received over the last 20 years. In the year 2000, the Synod contributed $508,500 to Erskine’s annual fund. In 2005, Its contribution was $570,739, and in 2010, Synod’s allocation slightly declined to $557,500. Compare those numbers with those of 2015 and 2020. In 2015, Synod only committed $417,750, and that number declined even farther in 2020 when Synod gave Erskine $399,750. These numbers combine to reveal the Synod’s support of Erskine College and Theological Seminary has decreased $108,750 or 21% over the last 20 years. If you just consider the last 15 years (2005-2020), Synod has reduced its direct financial support of Erskine by $170,989 or by 30%.
Additionally, between 2000 and 2020, Erskine went from receiving 20.37% of the total DMF funds to receiving 15.2% of them. This year’s allocation reduces that percentage even farther to 13.8%. That is a drop of 6.5% of the total allocated DMF receipts in 21 years. In real dollars that is reduction of $149,040 from 2000-2021. No other agency has had to endure such a precipitous drop in funding over the same period of time.
Two Commonly Held Reasons for the Decline
The most common and typical explanation given for this decline in DMF allocations is that it is in proportion with the reduction of the overall receipts for the DMF. The pie is smaller and therefore the pieces must get smaller, so the argument goes. However, a simple examination of the numbers over the last 20 years tells a different narrative. The total receipts for the DMF in 2000 were $2,656,872, and they were $2,619,000 in 2020. That’s a decline of 1.8% or $37,872 over the 20-year period. The low point in DMF receipts was actually in 2015 when they were $2,578,000.
So, the 21% reduction in Erskine’s allocation from the DMF over the last 20 years is not proportional to the decline of the of the total DMF receipts in any way.
A second and more legitimate explanation for this decline is that a significant portion of Erskine’s allocation was redesignated in 2012 by Synod in order to fund the RUF Erskine Campus Minister position. In 2011, Synod allocated $531,500 to Erskine. In 2012, Erskine’s allocation decreased by $82,000 to $449,500. It’s clear that the money to fund the Campus Minister came from Synod’s allocation to Erskine from the DMF. The allocated amount for the Executive Board (which was charged with the oversight of the RUF Erskine Campus Minister originally) increased by $87,000 between 2011-2014.
The reasoning behind this funding arrangement for the Campus Minister, as Erskine understands it, is that the minister would serve in a dual role with RUF as campus minister and with Erskine as the Institution’s chaplain. Erskine agreed to provide the campus minister with an on-campus office. In return, he agreed to organize chapel services and fulfill other tasks assigned to the chaplaincy pro bono. In real dollars though, Erskine paid for the Campus Minister and his chaplaincy work by giving up a significant portion of its DMF allocation.
It is also worth noting that the funding arrangement for this position was not part of the original agreement between Erskine, the Campus Minister, and Synod’s Committee on Campus Ministry Oversight. The Board of Stewardship developed the funding plan and has subsequently increased the DMF allocation for the Erskine Campus Ministry by, what appears to be, $23,121 based on the Minutes of Synod from 2012-2019. Synod’s 2019 minutes report an allocation of $105,121 for 2020, which means that Erskine paid, in real dollars, over $100,000 for the pro bono work of the chaplain last school year.
Shared Sacrifice?
Erskine presently is in a difficult predicament with reference to its chaplaincy and Synod’s DMF allocations. The former RUF Erskine Campus Minister has taken a call to pastoral ministry in a congregation of another denomination. He no longer has the time, desire, nor the official position to serve as a pro bono chaplain at Erskine. The Institution is now without an official chaplain who is specifically charged with the spiritual oversight of the student body, faculty, and staff. (Mr. Josh Childs is serving at an interim basis and doing a fantastic job.) To compound matters, the money that Erskine historically used from the DMF allocations to call a full-time chaplain has been reallocated for the RUF Erskine Campus Minister. This very much concerns the Board of Trustees and the administration.
When all of this is taken into account, Erskine has taken a 30% cut in DMF allocations (2000-2021) instead of the 10% as indicated by the Board of Stewardship. Interestingly, that 30% is less than the 37% cut Erskine has taken in DMF allocations since 2005 – From $570,739 (2005) to $359,460 (2021). These numbers and the reality they represent, I believe, greatly hinder Erskine’s ability to fulfill her charge from the Synod to be the educational and training arm of the Church as outlined in the Philosophy of Christian Higher Education.
This leaves me with one final question: How much more of the sacrifice must Erskine share? She’s been sacrificing for 20 years.
Sincerely In Christ,
Clint Davis,
Chair of Erskine College and Seminary Board of Trustees
Chart 1 – Total DMF Revenue in five-year increments from 2000 to 2021
Year | Total DMF Revenue |
2000 | $2,656,872 |
2005 | $2,799,557 |
2010 | $2,813,000 |
2015 | $2,578,000 |
2020 | $2,619,000 |
2021 | $2,609,776 |
*** Total difference between 2000 and 2021 is: ($47,096) for a total fund decline of 1.8%.
Chart 2 -- Erskine's DMF Allocations from 2000-2021
Year | Erskine’s Allotment of DMF Funds |
2000 | $508,500 |
2001 | $528,663 |
2002 | $541,655 |
2003 | $564,781 |
2004 | $553,495 |
2005 | $570,739 |
2006 | $580,123 |
2007 | $593,911 |
2008 | $617,513 |
2009 | $624,096 |
2010 | $557,500 |
2011 | $531,500 |
2012 | $449,500 |
2013 | $431,500 |
2014 | $422,750 |
2015 | $417,750 |
2016 | $407,750 |
2017 | $421,750 |
2018 | $422,750 |
2019 | $418,750 |
2020 | $399,750 |
2021 | $359,460 |
*** The numbers above include Synod’s allocation to the Erskine Annual Fund and its contribution to the ARP Student Union.
