(T)he PCA on the Presbytery level is considerably different from the PCA on the level of the General Assembly. Something that should be considered by the GA leadership in the future, regarding substantive polity changes in the BCO, is that there are many men in the PCA who do not attend the General Assembly, but have powerful voices on the Presbytery level.

We soon may know the results of the Presbytery votes on BCO 14 amendments. No one has declared victory yet. Before the final results are known, I thought it might be helpful to make a few short remarks.

Firstly, in October of 2010, Westminster Presbytery voted against the proposed amendments. The vote was not unanimous but overwhelming. Immediately after the vote, Presbytery adopted a motion that encouraged all of its constituent churches to voluntary give one-third of one percent to the Administration Committee, realizing the important function that the Administration Committee plays in the life of the PCA. This was adopted unanimously. It was originally called the “Westminster Plan,” in order to encourage other Presbyteries to follow suit.

At the meeting of Westminster Presbytery in January 2011, I asked for a show of hands to ascertain if there had been any response to the appeal of the Presbytery to its constituent churches. Even though I did not take a count, I was rather surprised to see the number of hands signifying that many of our churches at the request of Presbytery have already added the Administration Committee to their 2011 Budget. I was very pleased to see the response of our churches.

If the Proposed Amendments to the BCO do not pass, I hope this will allay any fears of those who have worked so hard to pass these changes. I hope this will allay the fears of the Administration Committee. I believe the PCA will respond voluntarily, and the needs of the Administration Committee will be met.

Secondly, it appears to me that whether or not the BCO amendments get the two-thirds vote, the divisive nature of this major change has – and will – divide the PCA into two friendly factions. It will be difficult for whoever loses. I am afraid there will be hard feelings.

One thing we practice on our own Session is that unless the vote is unanimous or nearly unanimous on some major change in our church, we usually discard the proposed change in order to keep peace on the Session. This is not a perfect procedural rule, but when I, as the pastor, know that an issue will deeply divide the Session and the Church, I usually try to avoid the issue or seek to handle it in some other way. Deeply divisive issues that can be avoided should be avoided unless such issues conflict with the constitution of the Church. This means I must know the mind of the Session and the Church before the issue arises. Having been pastor here for thirty years, I usually do. I am afraid that those pushing for these amendments did not know the PCA as well as they thought they did.

One teaching elder said to me, after I asked for a show of hands, that his church voluntarily had put the Administration Committee in their budget as requested by Presbytery, but he also said that if the BCO amendments pass, they would delete this line item from their budget. It would be a way to protest. It is sad that it has come down to this. This brings me to my last observation.

Thirdly, the PCA on the Presbytery level is considerably different from the PCA on the level of the General Assembly. Something that should be considered by the GA leadership in the future, regarding substantive polity changes in the BCO, is that there are many men in the PCA who do not attend the General Assembly, but have powerful voices on the Presbytery level. Because the PCA General Assembly has become more like a convention than a court of the church, it is a simple fact that many elders do not attend the General Assembly. These same men hold important leadership positions on the Presbytery level.

Years ago the leadership of the PCA accomplished their goal of changing the nature of the General Assembly, but they lost something important in the process. Many elders in the PCA presently choose not to attend the General Assembly, but they still faithfully attend every meeting of Presbytery. Thus, often on controversial issues of polity, the vote of the General Assembly does not represent the vote of the Presbyteries. It appears that this may be the case with the proposed changes to BCO 14.
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Larry Ball is Pastor of Bridwell Heights Presbyterian Church in Kingsport, Tennessee and recently retired as Stated Clerk of Westminster Presbytery.