In the minds of the Orthodox, the Reformers should have sought a full church council (to include the Orthodox) rather than separate without the approval of a council. Although I’ve been on Cyprus for almost two years I haven’t made a habit of visiting monasteries – despite having a degree in church history and an... Continue Reading

Of the options presented to the like-minded pastors group by the flexible governing task force, the preferred one was the overlay presbytery option. “Presbyteries within presbyteries,” was one of several options discussed at the Fellowship of Presbyterians Gathering, held last week. Peter Barnes of Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, was the first to... Continue Reading

The way these North Korean Christians live out their faith has been eye-opening to Foley. These persecuted Christians have no church building, no paid pastors, no Bibles in the pew or available at the local Christian store – “literally no nothing that we in the West consider so essential to discipleship”… An American pastor has... Continue Reading

Editor’s Note: The ‘GAJunkie’ gives his armchair analysis of all the tweets he followed last week during the Fellowship of Presbyterians gathering in Minnesota. So far, this is the most comprehensive telling of the story. Last week was an interesting week for me, what with the Virginia earthquake on Tuesday and the two day Fellowship... Continue Reading

The widely reported decline in women’s church attendance is implausible (or Why Barna’s Studies Aren’t All That Swift) The national news media yawned over the Baylor Survey’s findings that the number of American atheists has remained steady at 4% since 1944, and that church membership has reached an all-time high. But when a study by... Continue Reading

In the new Reformed body presbyteries will include no more than 25 churches and the “presbytery will be all about support of local churches. … We want small lean presbyteries that are not strangled by a budget but work carefully to build up one another.” During a breakout session at the Fellowship of Presbyterians (FOP)... Continue Reading

What should you expect of the transition from associate pastor to senior or lead pastor? How are the roles different? How can associate pastors prepare as they think and pray about being a senior pastor one day? Looking back on seminary I often wonder why I was not better prepared for certain experiences that have... Continue Reading

89,990 people joined the PCUSA in 2010 and 151,037 left. Last year only 12 new churches were started in the whole denomination. The first presentation at the Fellowship of Presbyterians Gathering asked “Why?” Lead by Jim Singleton, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., “Why a ‘Fellowship of Presbyterians,’” gave a brief... Continue Reading

Leaders at PC(USA) Minneapolis Conference Discuss Options After Denomination’s Gay Stance Shift Nearly 2,000 conservative members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) began discussing on Thursday [August 25] how to move forward after a decision in May to allow ordination rights to openly gay and lesbian clergy has some leaders looking to start another denomination. PC(USA)... Continue Reading

The congregation of NPC voted 29-3 on June 10 to depart from the PCUSA and the presbytery responded by accusing the pastor of violating her ordination vows and formed an administrative commission with the authority to assume original jurisdiction. In an Aug. 16 meeting that was described to Rev. Heidi Johnson as an “ecclesiastical disciplinary... Continue Reading