Presently there are no quotas forcing churches to ordain women, but clearly removing the clauses spells trouble for complementarians. 1) Some conservative students are already blackballed for their views on women’s ordination. Removing constitutional protections makes their ordination process even more difficult. 2) Our ministerial vows make clear that we will conduct our work according... Continue Reading

But realistically there are major problems that seem to be swept under the carpet for the time being. As I noted above the recent situation should bring a lot of concern. Whose example are we to follow? Why is the leadership appearing to perform on a level of ineptness that renders confusion and looks more... Continue Reading

The recent General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America featured a brief, but heated argument about the seemingly inconsequential … issue of foreign missions. Particularly, whether to receive and approve the Majority Report of the Committee on Insider Movements or whether to receive, as well, the Minority Report, written by a single committee member.... Continue Reading

Taking away PCA commissioners’ ability to debate and vote on issues in accordance with our RAO procedures destroys their trust in the underlying ecclesiastical system. Attempting to fix a vote’s outcome by changing voting order on the fly similarly erodes that same trust. Like unjust weights and balances, unjust political maneuvering should not be named... Continue Reading

If the CCB member’s interpretation is correct, and CCB is allowed to review the merits of SJC decisions, then presumably any person who loses a decision at the SJC, or any losing Presbytery, could try to persuade one of the eight members of CCB to cite the SJC in the case, asking GA to remand... Continue Reading

In 1986-1988 an ad interim committee of the General Assembly studied the issue of paedocommunion. The Assembly adopted the recommendation “That the PCA continue the practice defined in our standards and administer the Lord’s Supper ‘only to such as are of years and ability to examine themselves.’” Some Presbyteries have allowed ministers to hold to... Continue Reading

The much-celebrated vote to reclaim Synod’s rights to remove Erskine Board members with cause, as well as the solid slate of new trustees which were elected, should indeed encourage all who believe the schools, both college and seminary, are agencies of the Church.  However, as necessary as these steps are, it must be remembered that the... Continue Reading

I also came away convinced we need to make some allowances at GA for our family system of suspicion. We can regret that all we want but it seems pointless to ignore it. One way is to consider a policy the Southern Baptist Convention has adopted.  At their annual meetings the SBC use a trained,... Continue Reading

My view is that the GA moderator erred in his interpretation of RAO 17-1, as advised by the Parliamentarian and supported by the General Assembly as a whole.  The rulings related to the CCB exception and on Overtures 19 and 23, when taken together, have the effect of invalidating entirely the constitutional provision in BCO... Continue Reading

For Presbyterians newly transferred from the PCUSA it was refreshing to participate in substantive debate on the nuances of wording in a gathering where there was clearly essential unity about standing against abortion and acknowledging that every human life is sacred and precious to God. Commissioners were clearly intent on giving careful attention to the... Continue Reading