The SJC’s answer to Overtures 20, 21 and 22 establishes the principle that in such cases a presbytery has completely fulfilled this requirement to act if it has conducted a trial that fulfills all the technical details required by the BCO. With this understanding of BCO 34-1, should a presbytery become unwilling to convict one... Continue Reading

It is no accident that the PCA’s formative meeting was on December 7, 1973, the anniversary of the founding of the Southern Presbyterian denomination in 1861. This letter is as clear a herald as we have of the basic values of the birth of the PCA, often summarized as “True to the Scriptures, the Reformed... Continue Reading

I think the housing allowance exemption for pastors is a good idea and should be maintained (but obviously I have a dog in this fight). The less the government regulates the inner workings of churches the better. If it is allowed to stand, the ruling that invalidated the housing allowance exemption for pastors will have... Continue Reading

The issues that brought about Brookdale’s decision to leave the denomination revolved around the PCUSA’s reluctance to proclaim the Bible as the Word of God and Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.   A Missouri congregation has disaffiliated from the Presbyterian Church (USA), though it is unclear whether there could be legal repercussions from the... Continue Reading

Significant numerical decline over the past ten to twenty years….Prolonged times of apathy….The church is not known in the community. Ask a clerk at a store in the community. You may be surprised how few even know the church exists….New members are rare. The exodus clearly exceeds the inflow…..Revolving door of pastors. Frustration and conflict... Continue Reading

“…Bill and I were wed a third time. This time it was a legal marriage, recognized by the state of Connecticut and officiated by two faithful Christian ministers. And it was Presbyterian. The liturgy was Presbyterian. The witnesses were Presbyterian. The two grooms were Presbyterian (Bill became a new member and deacon of our church... Continue Reading

However, Anthony Bradley, associate professor of theology at The King’s College in New York City and a research fellow at the Acton Institute, said he is “highly in favor of” striking this down in the 1954 legislation. “I know lots of guys pulling six figures as pastors who benefit hugely from this, then, there are... Continue Reading

Meanwhile, challenges to gay policies have become increasingly public and vehement in recent months.  Tuesday night, United Methodist clergy said they will officiate at same-sex weddings on Schaefer’s behalf. Schaefer, pastor of Zion United Methodist Church of Iona in Lebanon, Pa., was found guilty on two charges for presiding at his son’s 2007 wedding to another... Continue Reading

Every community of value, religious or otherwise, becomes a denomination in America. Atheists, as they want public recognition, begin to exhibit the characteristics of a religious denomination: They form national organizations, they hold conferences, they establish local branches (“churches”, in common parlance) which hold Sunday morning services—and they want to have atheist chaplains in universities and... Continue Reading

The majority of writers in the Reformed tradition teach that the same moral law given to Adam was “republished” or “re-proclaimed” by Moses at Mt. Sinai. The moral law of God is unchanging and always demands perfect obedience.  Since the fall, no man is able to perfectly obey God’s moral law and, as the Augustinian-Reformed... Continue Reading