It will likely appear strange to some people that the true Covenanter cause would be revived in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  Other places would seem to be more likely locations for such a revival.  Many parts of the United States have large contingents of evangelical Christians, and perhaps most conservative evangelical-based movements are strongest in the US.  But an even more likely place for a Covenanter revival (from a human standpoint), would be Britain, especially Scotland or Northern Ireland.  These countries had the largest number of Covenanters in the distant past, and the Covenanters played a large and notable role in their histories.  Clearly, we are unable to determine why God would raise up the Covenanter standard in Edmonton, rather than somewhere else.

Humanly speaking, however, the reason for the prominence of Edmonton in the Covenanter revival can be stated in four words: Still Waters Revival Books.  It was through Still Waters that Covenanter materials were first introduced to the people of the Puritan Reformed Church of Edmonton, and then made available to the world.  As a result of being a publisher and book distributor, Reg Barrow was exposed to a whole gamut of theological books and ideas.  It was through this mechanism that he first moved from fundamentalism to the Christian Reconstructionist movement.  Having a small store-front retail book outlet, Reg wanted to promote Calvinism by providing Edmonton Christians with books that promoted the Calvinist perspective.  Among the Calvinist books he discovered were the works of some Reconstructionists.  He read the books himself, became convinced of Reconstructionist positions such as postmillennialism, and then began to promote these Reconstructionist distinctives.  This was occurring by 1988.

Postmillennialism, and some other Reconstructionist views, were not accepted by the church Reg was then a member of, the Bible Presbyterian Church of Edmonton.  The pastor of the church, Ed Crawford, was strongly opposed to postmillennialism and the apologetic of Cornelius Van Til (another essential component of Reconstructionism).  The resulting conflict between the two led Reg to stop attending that church during 1989.  In the meantime, however, Reg had been extending his contacts among Reconstructionist leaders in the United States.

Although Ed Crawford was completely resistant to the somewhat eclectic, but nevertheless virile, theology of Reconstructionism, some other members of Edmonton’s Bible Presbyterian Church were more receptive.  Reg is a born salesman, and is persistent and aggressive when promoting his views — which he does frequently.  Some local people began to read Reconstructionist books made available through Still Waters, and a portion of them became convinced that Reconstructionism was the movement most fully presenting Biblical truth.  Most of these Reconstructionist sympathizers were still attending the Bible Presbyterian Church.  All that was needed, however, was a catalyst to initiate the beginning of a new work.

The catalyst came in the form of Geoff Donnan of Carribean Christian Ministries (now Reformation Christian Ministries).  In November, 1989, the Christian Heritage Party of Canada was holding its national convention in Edmonton, and Donnan had come to the convention as an observer.  He was also going to make some presentations on the work of his ministry.  One of these presentations was made in the living room of Dave and Lisa Paarup early in the afternoon on the Saturday following the convention.  Among those present (beside the Paarups) were Reg Barrow, Colin Taylor, and Michael Wagner.  Importantly, Geoff Donnan was at that time a minister in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of the United States (RPCUS), an explicitly Reconstructionist denomination.  The leading minister of that denomination, Joe Morecraft, was a major Reconstructionist figure.  Morecraft’s church published a monthly magazine that Reg was very fond of, “Council of Chalcedon,” and Reg had a good relationship with the magazine’s editor.

At the end of Donnan’s presentation, Reg and Dave Paarup began talking to Donnan about the possibility of starting an RPCUS church in Edmonton.  Donnan seemed hesitant, but Dave and Reg continued to prod him.  Donnan then called at least one RPCUS minister in Georgia to see whether, in fact, a mission church could be started in Edmonton.  It was decided that, yes, a church could be initiated there.  This meeting continued on throughout the afternoon and well into the evening.  Some other people from the Bible Presbyterian Church were invited over to see if they would be interested in participating in the formation of the new church.  Once it was quite late, Donnan and the key men involved went over to Reg’s basement suite across the street and a few houses down, to continue the meeting.  There Donnan officially questioned us on our basic doctrinal understanding, to make sure that we generally agreed with the Westminster Confession, and were doctrinally sound.

Donnan had to leave shortly thereafter, but another meeting was held later that week to try and get the new group organized.  The first name for the group was the “Reformation Fellowship Church.”  Our Lord’s Day services were first held at the Paarups’ and the Reg Barrows’ homes in northwest Edmonton.  We listened to sermon tapes at first, (one by Francis Nigel Lee being “Eschatology of Victory in the New Testament).  Later, various men in the church took turns preaching.  A few weeks later, after Reg’s brother Greg had joined with us, the meetings were moved to the Greg Barrows’ home in south-central Edmonton.  This would be 1990.  In January of that year, Rev. Fred DiLella from Virginia visited Edmonton with one of his friends, Major Melon, and preached on the Lord’s Day in the Paarup’s house.  Reg was the one who had initiated contact with DiLella.  An RPCUS minister from Spokane, Bob Hargrove, visited once or twice and preached for the group on the Lord’s Day.  In April, 1990, Greg Barrow was ordained as a ruling elder at the General Assembly of the RPCUS in Atlanta, Georgia.  Also, in May, 1990, Dr. Ken Talbot of Whitefield Theological Seminary in Florida came for a few days.  He spoke at a conference on Christian education hosted by Still Waters in Edmonton, he gave a full day of lectures on philosophy on a Saturday in Reg’s basement suite, and he preached the service and performed a baptism on the following Lord’s Day at Greg Barrow’s house.  We were a very enthusiastic group of young Reconstructionists, and we were eager to promote our theological views.  Of course, no one could out-do Reg in that department. 

The August 13, 1990 issue of “Alberta Report” magazine contained a story on Still Waters and Reconstructionism entitled, “Death to the parent strikers.”  The story line was somewhat negative, but the fact that a story about Still Waters was included in a prominent Canadian newsmagazine helps to show that something important was happening.  Later, the dispensationalist newsletter “Omega-Letter” would quote from this story to warn about the spread of Reconstructionism in Canada.  Furthermore, Canada’s most prominent evangelical magazine, “Faith Today,” did a story on Reconstructionism in its May/June 1991 issue entitled, “Reconstructionism – seeking a new political order.”  This article stated, “In Canada the prime promoter of Reconstructionism is Still Waters Revival Books of Edmonton (p. 32).”  It then goes on to quote Reg on a number of points, and even includes a picture of him.  People were noticing the presence of Still Waters.

Again as a result of Reg’s work with books, he came across teaching on the Biblical theology of worship, commonly known as the “regulative principle of worship.”  Reg took a strong stand in favour of the regulative principle, and others in the church examined it at his insistence.  Enough people in the little group were persuaded of its truth, and so all hymns and instrumental music were eliminated from the services.  This led to a small number of people leaving due to disagreement with the regulative principle.

Reg and Greg Barrows strong insistence on the truth of the regulative principle (and its implications) led to conflict with the RPCUS.  Within a short time, the Reformation Fellowship was on its own.  Around this time (1991?), a few more people came over from the Bible Presbyterian Church, including an elder, Lyndon Dohms.  The group’s name was changed to the Puritan Reformed Church of Edmonton (PRCE).

Being presbyterian, the church wanted to be part of a larger group of churches, rather than operationally independent.  Contact was made with Dr. William Young’s Presbyterian Reformed Church.  Dr. Young, and one of his associated ministers from Ontario, visited the PRCE, and conducted a communion service in June, 1992.  On Labour Day weekend that year, Still Waters Revival Books hosted the Canadian Reconstruction Conference with Dr. Greg Bahnsen.  This led to a number of new contacts.  As well, Fred DiLella visited again in March, 1993.  He was called by the church to be pastor, but rejected the offer.

It was also through Still Waters that contact was first made with Rev. Greg Price, an Orthodox Presbyterian minister in southern California.  Rev. Price had also come to adopt the regulative principle, and that had made things difficult for him within the OPC.  Through a discussion with Reg, Price found out that the PRCE, which shared his views on worship and theology, needed a pastor, and he was looking for a church.  This was 1994.  He visited early that year, and was liked by the people.  Thus he was called to be pastor of the PRCE, and moved to Edmonton in July (?) 1994. 

Due to books purchased through Still Waters, and conversations with Reg and Greg Barrow by phone, a small group of enthusiastic people from Prince George, BC, became interested in the presbyterian theology of the PRCE.  This was occurring during the early 1990s.  These people were, for the most part, associated with the Full Gospel Church in Prince George.  After Greg Price had become pastor of the PRCE, he traveled to Prince George to help the interested people there constitute themselves as a group associated with the PRCE.  Afterwards, Greg Price and Greg Barrow would make regular trips of a pastoral nature to Prince George.  The group there became generally stable and experienced some growth.

After the arrival of Greg Price, the PRCE began working towards establishing a new presbyterian denomination with Rev. Dick Bacon of the First Presbyterian Church of Rowlett, Texas.  Greg Price and Greg Barrow flew to Dallas, Texas a few times for meetings to organize the new denomination, the Reformation Presbyterian Church.  Much of this activity was during 1995. 

It was also during 1995 that Reg Barrow began actively investigating the doctrinal distinctives of the Covenanters.  At first, the Covenanters’ position on civil government was the focus of discussion.  Much of this discussion, and the gradual adoption of this position, occurred during the Summer and into the Fall of 1995.  Reg and his brother Greg were the first to adopt and promote this view.  They were also the first to adopt the Covenanters’ views on ecclesiastical matters, and were promoting these ideas by the Fall of 1995.  They learned a lot about the Covenanters through phone calls with Jim Dodson of Pottstown, Pennsylvania.  By early 1996, they were forcing this issue on the church because they believed (rightly) that the church had to be constituted on the basis of the Solemn League and Covenant, as intended by the Westminster Assembly and pre-defection Church of Scotland.  This involved some degree of controversy, and at least three families left the church, but by March, 1996 the Puritan reformed Church had been reconstituted as a Covenanter church representing the original Covenanter position.

Naturally, this change in doctrine led to immediate conflict with the Reformation Presbyterian Church, most notably the session of the First Presbyterian Church of Rowlett.  The reasons for the switch to the Covenanter position were presented to the church officers involved, but no one aside from the PRC elders was favourable to Covenanter views.  Opposition to the Covenanter position was led by Dick Bacon.  The dispute became bitter, and contact between the two sides was broken off. 

On March 27, 1996, the Session of the PRC issued a document entitled A Brief Defence of Dissociation in the Present Circumstances to explain why the church had to separate from the denomination it had helped to found.  In sum, the PRC had realized the need to adopt the constitution of the Church of Scotland in its purest times, and since the Reformation Presbyterian Church had an entirely different constitution, the two churches would now be two different entities, one being faithful to the covenants, and the other being unfaithful to the covenants:

“The church of Jesus Christ as represented by the Church of Scotland and all churches adhering unto her covenanted and presbyterian principles since then are our mother. To presently own The Reformation Presbyterian Church as a true constitutional expression of our mother is to disown in the same breath The Church of Scotland at the time of the Second Reformation as a true constitutional expression of our mother. When the constitutions of two churches disagree (one church requiring as a term of communion the sincere owning of the covenants while the other church refusing as a term of communion the sincere owning of the covenants), both cannot be true expressions of our mother. Thus, we are conscientiously compelled to own The Church of Scotland at the time of the Second Reformation as a true expression of our mother, and to disown The Reformation Presbyterian Church as being such (p. 6).”

In 1997 Bacon went on to write a supposed refutation of the Covenanter position that was posted on his church’s web site and entitled A Defence Departed.  Then Greg Barrow wrote The Covenanted Reformation Defended as the PRC’s response, demonstrating that Bacon had misrepresented the PRC’s position, and that Bacon himself differed from classic presbyterian positions on a number of issues.  In the course of preparing this book, some important issues were clarified, such as the distinction between the being and well-being of the church.

The PRC was left in a very isolated position, being the only congregation known to uphold the original Covenanter doctrines.  Some important Covenanter views were as yet inadequately understood, even by the elders.  Many of the books written defending Covenanter distinctives were not yet available to be read and studied.  Thankfully, during 1997 and 1998 Larry Birger was able to visit important theological libraries in the United States to photocopy many of the essential books that were needed.  The photocopies he made became the core of the books offered by Still Waters as photocopy books.  Books with crucial information, and teaching doctrines and perspectives that had been virtually buried for decades, if not centuries, once more became available.  This key storehouse of information strengthened and extended the Covenanter position held by the PRC, and enabled the church to demonstrate to all who would listen, that it alone among churches was accurately holding and representing the position of the Second Reformation.

Primarily through Still Waters, and especially due to its web page, people from many parts of the world were exposed to the real Second Reformation views for the first time.  Some of these people became interested and inquired about the PRC.  A portion of them ended up joining the church, and there are now members scattered throughout North America, although the vast majority are in the United States.  Embryonic congregations began to form in Vancouver, BC, and Albany, New York.  Unfortunately, some of the people in Vancouver who had been most enthusiastic about the Covenanter cause, were actually fickle and unstable doctrinally.  Led by Jerrold Lewis, who aspired to leadership, these people left the Vancouver church.  The remaining people lived across the border in the United States, so they became the core group of an embryonic church meeting in Everson, Washington.  The Prince George congregation also experienced problems at this time, but for the most part remained intact.  These problem situations occurred primarily through the Summer of 1999.

Another noteworthy event was the death of Dave Paarup in May, 1999.  Dave had been a leading character in the formation of the church.  Indeed, the original meeting to form the church began in his house.  However, he had been drawn away from the Lord through his successful career as a “magician.”  He began falling away further and further until he ended up as a petty criminal, stealing to support his drug habit.  God’s judgement then fell heavily, and Dave overdosed on crack cocaine, spending his last few days unconscious in a hospital bed before being summoned into the presence of the Great Judge.  His sad example remains as a testimony to all those who will turn away from God in pursuit of worldly pleasures and achievement.

In March 2000, an email campaign was initiated by some former members to disrupt the peace of the church and encourage defection from the Covenanted Reformation.  For a number of days, anti-PRC emails were sent to the PRC members email list.  Most of these vitriolic messages were sent be Brian Valentine.  Shortly thereafter, in April, most members of the PRC, including those in remote locations, received a copy of a paper by Jerrold Lewis entitled A Peaceable Plea For Reformed Toleration.  None of the elders received a copy, and neither did Reg Barrow.  The purpose of this 42 page paper was to convince PRC members that they must leave the PRC in order to avoid the sin of schism.  The paper itself was laughable, but had the unfortunate effect of encouraging some of those who were already dissaffected to consider leaving the church. 

The crux of Lewis’ argument is that the PRC is a false church, and therefore all true Christians must separate from it.  After listing the three marks of a true church (the pure preaching of the gospel, the exercise of biblical church discipline, and the proper administration of the sacraments), Lewis boldly (and falsely) states, “I believe it can be displayed quite clearly that the Puritan Reformed Church of Edmonton fails, and fails very greatly on all three marks (p. 16).”  Incredibly, Lewis interprets the first mark of the true church to mean that a true church must have a clear gospel offer of salvation in all or most of its services.  He quotes a few passages from John Owen and Charles Spurgeon emphasizing the importance of the message of salvation, which in his view supports his unique and unusual interpretation of the first mark.  He begins with a false premise, and therefore inevitably reaches a false conclusion.  Perhaps he was expecting altar calls at PRC services.  Apparently Lewis was not alone in his conclusion on this point: “In May of 1999 Mr. And Mrs. David Harrison of the Vancouver Congregation broke from the PRCE over the issue of the preached Word.  Mr. Harrison strongly believed that the gospel message was void from virtually every sermon delivered by Pastor Price in their 13 months of membership (p. 36).”  This view of the first mark of the true church is markedly different from what the Reformers had in mind.  In their view, the gospel included the whole counsel of God, not simply an evangelistic presentation.  Thus Lewis’ basic point is clearly erroneous.

On the second mark, the PRC had not had a communion service for a number of years since it was considered essential for a proper understanding of the Covenanter position on the Lord’s Supper to be developed before communion was again taken.  According to Lewis, this meant that the PRC did not have the administration of the sacraments.  He went further stating, “I charge the PRCES (sic) with a violation of the third commandment, taking the name of the Lord in vain by abusing the ordinance of the Lord’s Table by having a lawful session but forbidding it’s administration (p. 23).”  Someone may need to ask Lewis how a false church could have a “lawful session,” but those kinds of distinctions seem to be out of his reach.  Anyway, the Reformers did not understand the postponement of the Lord’s Supper to constitute a breach of the second mark, thereby “unchurching” a body of Christians.  Lewis is wrong again.

Finally, Lewis says that church discipline is not biblically exercised by the PRC.  His clearest example is the same David Harrison mentioned above, who, after leaving the PRC was not hounded by the elders to repent and return.  Since, in Lewis’ view, Matthew 18 was not properly followed by the PRC elders on this point, biblical church discipline is absent from the PRC.  Hence the PRC does not meet any of the three marks of the true church in his view.  Could any existing church fulfill the three marks when judged by Lewis’ weird interpretations of them?  It is unlikely.  In sum, then, Lewis’ paper was an unbelievably foolish and amateur job.  And some of his most outrageous claims have not even been mentioned here!  It is worth noting, however, the Lewis predicted the demise of the PRC.  In his words, “the PRCE will eventually lose all its flock to other churches.  Insisting that the flock wait until each minuet (sic) doctrine is exhausted and set forth from a Covenanter perspective will be the deathblow to the already shrinking PRCE (p. 23).”  Wrong again, Mr. Lewis.  This prediction from an opponent of the PRC should be kept in mind while considering subsequent developments — God’s work cannot be stopped!

And good things were happening too.  In the Fall of 1999 one of the most exciting and important developments took place.  Rev. Derek Edwards, a British minister living in Manitoba, contacted Still Waters about the possibility of affiliating with the Puritan Reformed Church.  Rev. Edwards was put in touch with the PRC elders, and the ensuing discussions were quite promising.  Thus Edwards came to visit the church in February, 2000, to meet the people and discuss further whether or not he should join.  Over the next few months, discussions continued, and he joined the church in June?, 2000. 

Derek Edwards was born and raised in England.  He was converted as a young adult, and was initially involved with Reformed Baptists.  He was a devotee of books from the Banner of Truth, and had seen Martyn Lloyd-Jones preach in person.  Edwards moved with his family to Scotland to be a pastor there.  While in Scotland he became the spokesman for an organization defending parents against false charges of child abuse.  As such he was on national television in Britain a number of times.  Later, Edwards moved to Manitoba to be a missionary to Indians there.  He was sent by an organization of Calvinistic churches in England.  Originally, this was working for the Shantymen International organization among Indians who had supposedly been converted through meetings held by the Shantymen in Manitoba.  Eventually Edwards ended up on his own and did what he could to promote the gospel in his area.  It was during this time that he found out about Still Waters Revival Books.  After studying some materials from Still Waters he came to understand and accept the Covenanter position.  It was at this point that he contacted Still Waters about the PRC, and things progressed from there.

With two ministers now involved, a presbytery could now be formed.  Thus on August 5, 2000, the official document was signed re-establishing the Reformed Presbytery in North America.  The elders of the Edmonton church signed the document at the Dohm’s acreage at South Cooking Lake.  This took place at a meeting open to the congregation.

I can’t help but point out the special significance of the location of that meeting for this writer.  South Cooking Lake is a small and relatively obscure place in the Edmonton area.  However, I was living there on a small acreage less than a mile from where the Dohms now live (they moved there in 1998) when I became Reformed in 1989.  The experiences of spiritual growth and blessing that I had while there gave me a personal subjective feeling about the special spiritual nature of that area.  Thus it was particularly meaningful for me that the first presbytery to maintain the original Covenanter position was officially re-established at South Cooking Lake. 

Among the issues that the elders were dealing with at this time was the use of headcoverings in worship services and the practice of the Lord’s Supper.  By the early 1990s the PRC had instituted the use of headcoverings by women in public worship.  Like the other positions held by the church, the use of headcoverings was advocated aggressively.  Pastor Price wrote a book and preached a series of messages expounding this view, and those materials were influential in convincing some people of that position.  When the PRC adopted the  Covenanter position, it was believed that this headcovering position was the same as that of the Covenanters.  However, as a result of extensive study, Greg Barrow became convinced that the historic Reformed and Covenanter view was that the practice of headcoverings was cultural, and therefore not of continuing validity as had previously been thought.  The presbytery revisited this issue, and on June 4, 2001, it formally issued a paper explaining that the practice of headcoverings was indeed cultural, and would therefore no longer be practiced in the churches.

The Lord’s Supper had not been administered since before the church had been reconstituted on the Covenanter basis.  This was because it was believed essential to administer it according to the Biblical practice of the Covenanters, and there was some dispute about what that would mean.  In particular, the issue of using a common cup for all participants was thought to be unhealthy and unnecessary by some people.  In the end, a moderate position was adopted whereby the common cup was seen as the norm, but exceptions were allowed in accordance with the historic practices of the Reformed churches of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  After years of deliberating on this issue, it was finally settled and the first Lord’s Supper since 1995 was held on July 1, 2001.  At this service, Derek Edwards preached his first sermon to the Edmonton congregation.  After that, Greg Price and Rev. Edwards each provided the Lord’s Supper to one table of communicants.

Two other important events were to occur around the same time: Greg Barrow’s ordination and the Prices moving to Albany, New York.  Greg Barrow had been studying for the ministry for a number of years.  In 1995 he came under the care of the Reformation Presbyterian Church in studying for the ministry.  After the PRC cancelled its association with the Reformation Presbyterian Church, that relationship was also dissolved but Greg continued to study.  In 1997 Greg was able to become a full-time employee of the PRC with the idea that he would be spending much of that time studying for the ministry.  His time was frequently taken up with other duties, but the studies did progress.  The possibility for a regular ordination became a reality when the presbytery was formed.  Before Derek Edwards had joined, some people, including Greg Barrow himself, were favourable to an extraordinary ordination whereby only Greg Price would be involved, rather than a presbytery.  Others in the church were not in support of this idea, but thankfully the whole issue became moot with the formation of the presbytery.

The Prices were American citizens and did not apply for landed immigrant status in Canada.  Thus they were on a temporary visa, which had to be renewed every year or so.  Ultimately, they were informed that the renewals would run out and they would have to return to the US.  In their 2000 meeting, they were given until July, 2001, to remain in Canada.  Although at first it seemed likely that they would move to northern Washington to be with the Everson congregation, it was decided that they would move to New York to be with the Albany congregation instead.  Thus on Monday, July 30, 2001, their convoy of three vehicles and one trailer set off for New York.  They arrived in Albany on Friday, August 3, and Greg Price preached the following Lord’s Day, August 5.  For the first time since 1994, the Edmonton congregation was without regular preaching.  Greg Barrow and Lyndon Dohms would read sermons for the Lord’s Day services.