We hear a lot about grassroots in the PCA—everyone seems to invoke grassroots (meaning bottom-up, not top-down governance) to support something or other. Well, if there are grassroots in the PCA, they grow from the concrete and carpet of the GA meeting hall floor. If grassroots exist, that’s where you’d find them.

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America is the true representation of the will of the denomination; it cannot be otherwise. Even for constitutional amendments that must be approved by 2/3 of presbyteries after initial GA majority approval, the GA has the right of final ratification. There is no plebiscite of all the elders in the PCA, nor is there any supercommittee or commission that can operate independently of the GA. Those who wish to have their voices heard—and, indeed, have the ultimate say in the PCA—must show up at or send qualified representatives to the GA.

Thus, the grousing1 heard about floor nominations before, during, and after the 52nd GA in Chattanooga last week is, well, interesting. The fact that a mere nine floor nominees prevailed (out of 65 total nominations) would seem unexceptional. Nine successful floor nominations may be more than usual, but may not even be the most floor nominees ever to have prevailed over committee nominees.

The committee in question is the Nominating Committee, which meets in person not long before the GA. Each presbytery is entitled to send one elder to the committee, though the full number of presbyteries is never represented (78 attended this year).

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