Overture 2 to the 2022 OPC GA: Help or Hindrance?
If appointed, could the proposed committee honor Jesus Christ, help the OPC, her members, the broader church, and even our world? Or could it be a hindrance?
I believe that the greatest need the OPC has right now is not another committee, but rather men in leadership and members in our churches who are committed to true and decided piety. This stands as the chief necessity for the eldership and the Christian life (1 Timothy 3:2, 1 Peter 1:16). John Calvin provided... Continue Reading
Abuse, the OPC, and the Psychologizing of Sin
The preference of the term abuse over sin moves abuse out of the moral and spiritual realm and into the psychological.
Here is the real problem that I believe underlies the failure of those frequently using the term abuse to provide a clear, biblical definition: the preference of the term abuse dislocated from sin, moves abuse out of the moral and spiritual realm and into the psychological. In other words, it tends to shift the serious matters at hand from that which is... Continue Reading
Report of the 2021 OPC General Assembly
The 87th General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is meeting July 7–14, 2021 in Sioux Center, Iowa.
The Rev. Zachery Keele, pastor of Escondido OPC, Escondido, CA, was elected as moderator. The total congregations at year’s end was 328. Total membership grew by 291 persons to 31,809 members. Total offerings of $67.6 million represented an increase of 3.31 percent from 2019, with a 2.90 percent increase in average giving per communicant member... Continue Reading
The OPC Postpones Its General Assembly to July 7–14, 2021
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church postpones its 87th General Assembly to June 2-8, 2021.
The 87th (2020) General Assembly was postponed to 2021. It will be held on the campus of Dordt University, Sioux Center, Iowa, July 7–14, 2021, beginning with a worship service at 7 PM on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, and concluding no later than noon on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. In response to the COVID-19... Continue Reading
Rescue the Perishing
Let’s devote ourselves to serving together to rescue the perishing.
As members of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), of course, we work together with the denomination as a whole to spread the gospel and make disciples. The OPC’s ministry, called Worldwide Outreach, is three-pronged: church planting, sending out foreign missionaries, and providing biblical resources and training. Through its Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension, the... Continue Reading
Report of the 2019 Orthodox Presbyterian Church General Assembly
The 86th General Assembly of the OPC convened on June 5, 2019 on the campus of the University of Texas at Dallas.
Mr. Haney thanked the Assembly for the honor of serving as Moderator and noted that his father (the late Rev. George Haney) had been the Moderator of the Assembly in 1979, 40 years ago. Mr. Haney serves the denomination as Director of Finance and Planned Giving for the Committee on Coordination, and Director of the... Continue Reading
Update on Charges Against Dr. K. Scott Oliphint
The Presbytery of the Southwest of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) voted to dismiss all four charges that had been filed against the Rev. Dr. K. Scott Oliphint.
The presbytery then immediately determined not to institute judicial process on all four charges, since all four charges relied on essentially the same documentary evidence. A vote was held, and the presbytery passed the ultimate motion to dismiss all four charges. On Friday, May 3, 2019, the Presbytery of the Southwest of the Orthodox... Continue Reading
A Public Statement from the OPC on the Shooting at the Chabad Synagogue
Pastor Zachary R. Keele and the session of the Escondido Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Escondido, California, issued the following statement concerning the horrific shooting at the Chabad Synagogue.
“The atrocious crime of violence and hatred that took place at Chabad of Poway synagogue on Saturday, April 27, grieves us deeply and shatters our hearts. As a congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, we devote our lives to the love and mercy of the Lord to all of God’s beautiful children, from every nation,... Continue Reading
80 Years Ago June 11: J. Gresham Machen Was Elected Moderator Of A New Presbyterian Denomination
On June 11, 1936, the Presbyterian Church of America (renamed the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in February 1939) was founded, electing 55-year-old professor J. Gresham Machen as its first moderator.
And as Dr. Machen took the moderator’s chair, maintaining the dignity of that office even amidst the unpretentious surroundings, there was in his face and in the hearts of us all a mark of the solemnity of the occasion. We trusted that in the power of God we were entering upon a new phase of... Continue Reading
An Overview and Assessment of the OPC General Assembly in The Appeal of John Carrick
Confronting and overcoming a culture of skepticism about disability in the church
I maintain that at the heart of this case is Linda Carrick and her disability and chronic illness and that we cannot, we must not forget that. When an event like this takes place, we bear a responsibility to seize the opportunity to stop, to reflect on and to reform our attitudes towards fellow believers... Continue Reading
