New Arbor Bible Church Ann Arbor

Here is a signed copy of the open letter from Calvary Bible Church regarding Scott Jarrett.

December 7, 2022

To Whom It Will Concern,

This is an open letter from Calvary Bible Church of Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti disavowing our recommendation of Scott Jarrett for the gospel ministry and warning of Mr. Jarrett’s departure from biblical Christianity.

Richard Scott Jarrett, at the time of this writing, holds the title “senior teaching elder” at Christ Covenant Church in Littleton, Colorado.1 He commonly goes by the name Scott Jarrett. Over 20 years ago, Mr. Jarrett was a part of our church family until he moved to Colorado to pastor what is now called Christ Covenant Church. After Mr. Jarrett moved to Colorado, the elders of our church traveled there to hold an ordination council for Mr. Jarrett. As a result of this ordination council, Calvary’s elders recommended ordination and Mr. Jarrett was ordained accordingly.

None of our current elders were part of Mr. Jarrett’s ordination council. However, we have been told by our former Senior Pastor, Wesley Gene Rowe, who was part of that ordination council, that Mr. Jarrett ably defended the Christian faith and that his theology, at the time of his ordination council, was consistent with the Doctrinal Statement of Calvary Bible Church.2

Between Mr. Jarrett’s ordination council and today, Mr. Jarrett departed significantly from the faith he once claimed to hold and which he defended at his ordination council. Although there are many unbiblical aspects to Mr. Jarrett’s teachings and practices, our greatest concern is his departure from the gospel message that salvation is given by God through the substitutionary
atonement of Christ alone, apart from good works.

On June 27 of this year, our Senior Pastor, Brian Jones, emailed Scott Jarrett stating our understanding of his departure from Christian orthodoxy and Calvary’s inclination to rescind Mr. Jarrett’s ordination. Pastor Brian’s email asked Mr. Jarrett to participate in a Zoom meeting to give Mr. Jarrett the opportunity to respond before our final decision was made.3

Mr. Jarrett responded the same day and refused Pastor Brian’s request for a Zoom meeting. Instead, he invited Pastor Brian, Pastor Rowe, and two of Calvary’s current elders to come to Colorado and debate the matter. Mr. Jarrett did not deny that his doctrine has changed. Instead, Mr. Jarrett described what he called “my gospel (which rejects faith alone as the only condition for salvation as well as the doctrine of eternal security).”4 This statement is sufficient evidence that Mr. Jarrett no longer holds to the Christian faith he once professed and which he defended in his ordination council. In addition, his change in doctrine is confirmed not only by his weekly sermons but also in documents posted to the website of Christ Covenant Church.5

In his response to Pastor Brian’s email, Mr. Jarrett wrote, “...I do not believe your church has any authority to “rescind” my ordination since it is my congregation who ordained me (Calvary merely recommended that I be ordained)....” We, the elders of Calvary Bible Church, have no documentation to establish whether or not Calvary Bible Church or Scott Jarrett’s church did the actual ordination of Mr. Jarrett. However, the only members of the ordination council were Calvary Bible Church’s elders. That fact makes Calvary Bible Church responsible for endorsing Mr. Jarrett’s doctrinal fitness. If we had the ability, Calvary Bible Church would immediately rescind Mr. Jarrett’s ordination. Lacking the authority to rescind his ordination formally, we, the elders of Calvary Bible Church, rescind our endorsement of Mr. Jarrett’s character and doctrinal fitness to serve as a Christian minister of the gospel. We, the elders of Calvary Bible Church, by this letter remove and repudiate any association or recommendation of Mr. Jarrett, his doctrine, and his church. Instead, we write to warn anyone and everyone that Richard Scott Jarrett is apostate and his church has departed from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Signed by the elders of Calvary Bible Church

1 This church was previously named Pleasant View Bible Church, Sovereign Grace Bible Church, Denver Sound Church, and Denver Reformed Church. For Sovereign Grace Bible Church see: https://www.unitedstateschurches.com/colorado/ sovereign-grace-bible-church-golden/5821. For Denver Sound Church see: https://www.allbiz.com/business/denver-sound- church-303-459-4672 For Denver Reformed Church see: https://www.usachurches.org/church/sovereign-grace-bible- church.htm

2 Read the Doctrinal Statement of Calvary Bible Church here: https://calvary-bible.org/beliefs

3 Pastor Brian’s email is archived here: https://scott-jarrett.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/2022-06-first-email-from-pbj-to-scott-jarrett.pdf

4 Scott Jarrett’s reply to Pastor Brian is archived here: https://scott-jarrett.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/2022-06-27-first-reply-email-from-scott-jarrett-to-pbj.pdf

5 On the Christ Covenant website, there is a page titled, “Our Gospel,”which proclaims Jarrett’s gospel as, “Abundant Life in Jesus Christ IF we submit to Him as Lord before Savior in the relationship of Covenant through His Church.” The bottom of that page links to a pdf document titled, “The Sound Gospel: Our Firm Foundation” which elaborates on Jarrett’s gospel. Jarrett’s gospel says nothing—not one word—about Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Footnote 1 says, “...he [God] has always provided a means of atonement.” Later, on page 2, Jarrett made a passing reference to “...the righteous standing (i.e. justification) we have gained through faith in Christ....” These two passing phrases are as close as Jarrett comes to referencing the substitutionary death of Christ in any way. By contrast, when Paul defined the gospel, he did so in terms of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for sinners. First Corinthians 15:1-4 says, “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures....” Paul wrote that Christ’s death is “of first importance” (v. 3) in the gospel. Earlier, in 1 Corinthians 2:2 Paul wrote, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Judging from the document, “Our Gospel,” Christ’s death is of little importance to Jarrett. He says nothing in his “Our Gospel” document about every person’s individual guilt before a holy God, God’s coming eternal punishment for guilty sinners, and the absolute need to be rescued personally and individually by Christ’s atonement. Jarrett does seem to believe something about the atonement, but you won’t find out what he believes by reading this document. In Acts 16, a sinful man asked Paul and Silas, “...what must I do to be saved?” Verse 31 says, “They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household’” (Acts 16:30-31). If the jailer in Philippi or someone from Corinth or anyone else in need of redemption read Jarrett’s "The Sound Gospel: Our Firm Foundation” document, he would find nothing about having personal faith in Christ, nor would he find in this document the message the Christ died for his sins. See http://www.christcovenantcolorado.com/wp-content/uploads/THE-SOUND-GOSPEL-OUR-FIRM-FOUNDATION.pdf, archived here: https://scott-jarrett.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/THE-SOUND-GOSPEL-OUR-FIRM-FOUNDATION.pdf