January 2024 BCO Amendments Update
Overtures: Pending or Passed
Overture 23 (Item 2) on officers conforming to the biblical requirement for chastity has received the necessary 2/3 approval and WILL be considered for final formal ratification at the 51st General Assembly. With the hopeful ratification of this amendment, the PCA shall close the door on the Revoice Movement or so-called Side-B Christianity. Of the 64 presbyteries, 63 have... Continue Reading
Rejecting Due Process
On Abuse, Discipline and Justice
Guilt must be proven in church courts, just as in secular courts. At stake is the possibility of wrongly condemning the innocent and the very existence of justice itself. The presumption of innocence, however, is in peril in the evangelical world. In fact, there are many who believe that a presumption of innocence is the very... Continue Reading
November 2023 BCO Amendments Update
Nearly half of the presbyteries have offered advice and consent regarding these three proposed (and recommended) constitutional changes.
Overture 23 (Item 2) on officers conforming to the biblical requirement for chastity has garnered favorable support from almost all the presbyteries that have considered it. This item is likely the final amendment in response to the Revoice Conference and corresponding movement promoting so-called Side-B Christianity. Of the 40 presbyteries which have voted so far,... Continue Reading
Presbyterian Church in America, 50th Anniversary, 2023
Since many churches had separated from the PCUS earlier in 1973, several of the teaching elders at the First General Assembly had been ordained by PCA presbyteries.
If ministerial candidates were being taught by some educators that Jesus’ words in John 17:17 were in fact not true, then the future of the denomination as a confessional church faithful to Scripture and the great commission was in question. The concerned Presbyterians made their case through preaching, special informational meetings, and publications increasing their... Continue Reading
The Presbyterian Church in America’s Fourth Membership Vow
It is not sufficiently appreciated how grave and strict the requirement in this vow is, and how much it requires of the individual member.
All of this invites questions of great practical consequence: why did we bring into our own denomination a requirement – this vow to support – that was only introduced into our predecessor in the years of her growing infidelity, that was used to coerce and intimidate the faithful remnant, and that was not precedented (in... Continue Reading
South Florida Presbytery, 50th Anniversary of PCA
The process for founding the PCA’s Gold Coast Presbytery (now South Florida Presbytery) began Sunday, June 3, 1973.
The new presbytery held its first meeting June 26, 1973 with Rev. Ross Bair moderator and Rev. Donald Esty stated clerk. The churches included: Covenant in Ft. Lauderdale, Coral Springs (Now First Church) in Coral Springs, Spanish River in Boca Raton, Seacrest Boulevard in Delray Beach, Lake Osborne in Lake Worth, Faith Church in Wauchula,... Continue Reading
PCA’s Judicial Commission Vindicates the “Jonesboro 7,” Cites Abuse by Session
The General Assembly's Judicial Commission not only rejected the unconstitutional indictment of the Temporary Session from IPC, but also vindicated the men of all charges (Part Five).
The Jonesboro 7 had suffered long and hard; they had been falsely accused, falsely convicted, barred from the Lord’s Table, but finally the Lord had vindicated His lambs, and He vindicated them through the ordinary Presbyterian process. It just took a while. But God did more than vindicate His lambs. Editorial Note: What follows relies on official... Continue Reading
Tension in Our Polity: A History of the Assistant Pastor
Is it truly Presbyterian for sessions to possess the power and right to decide who will serve as pastor of a congregation without that congregation’s vote?
In all the debates that took place on this topic, it does not appear that any of the polity tensions with BCO 17-2 inherent in the office of Assistant Pastor identified by the Ad Interim Committee were ever resolved. If we are to be a denomination who are Reformed and “always reforming,” perhaps it would... Continue Reading
Presbyterian Church in America Celebrates Fifty Years in the Tri-Cities of Tennessee
A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church in America’s ministry in the Tri-Cities area.
In June of this year, the PCA General Assembly celebrated its jubilee. Locally, the half-century milestone was marked by a service conducted on October 13th by Westminster Presbytery, the regional body of ministers and churches. Covering southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee, Westminster Presbytery has long had a reputation for its staunch adherence to the standard... Continue Reading
Transferring Church Membership is not a Violation of the Presbyterian Church in America’s Membership Vows: A Gentle Rejoinder to an Earnest Man
Acceptable reasons for leaving a local church are not enumerated in any authoritative document that the PCA recognizes.
Believers make their vows to the Church universal, and while they should be supportive of their local churches and not leave one lightly, nonetheless someone who transfers his membership to another local branch of the one Church is not guilty of infidelity to his PCA membership vows. Neither is the promise to submit to the... Continue Reading
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