“Humanly speaking, there is hardly a chance in the world. But I believe the merger will occur because God requires it.”  –Ed Clowney

The atmosphere was intense. An auditorium of leaders debated whether they would vote their denomination, the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES), out of existence. Before them was a dramatic proposal that their entire church join the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) through a process people were calling “J&R,” an abbreviation of “Joining and Receiving.” One participant would later describe J&R as a plan for denominational hara-kiri – ritual suicide. Why would these men want to end their thriving denomination?

It was May, 1981. Commissioners for the annual synod of the RPCES were gathered high atop Lookout Mountain, Ga., on the campus of their school, Covenant College. That first vote on J&R succeeded, but three more were needed – two by the RPCES, one by the PCA. Over fifteen years of ecumenical and evangelical ferment was nearing a climax. Already the RPCES had experienced a merger (1965), the PCA had been formed (1973), the RPCES and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) had nearly merged (1975), and leaders of conservative Presbyterian and Reformed churches had formed a joint council, NAPARC (1976).

What exactly was J&R? As a young denomination, the PCA was not ready to negotiate about its new identity. Older churches like the OPC and the RPCES knew mergers were thorny. What if one or more of the older yet smaller denominations simply joined (and were received by) the larger PCA? Leaders motivated by passages such as John 17 and Ephesians 4 created the surprising J&R plan.

The PCA originally invited the OPC, the RPCES, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA, the Covenanters). By the spring of 1982, only the RPCES remained as a willing and viable suitor. When a sufficient number of RPCES and PCA presbyteries voted in favor of the J&R plan, the RPCES proceeded to take a final vote at its synod of 1982.

Adding to the drama, the PCA and RPCES held concurrent annual meetings in Grand Rapids in June, 1982. When the RPCES synod voted in favor by over 78%, at least part of the J&R dream was achieved.

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