Reflections on the 53rd General Assembly
Over 2,000 Teaching and Ruling Elders joined in Louisville, Kentucky, to do the work of the Church.
This year continued a several year trend of encouragement. The GA continues to do good work to strengthen the PCA, and give us cause for great optimism. This week was the 53rd General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Over 2,000 Teaching and Ruling Elders joined in Louisville, Kentucky, to do... Continue Reading
Spur One Another On (pt 1)
A lost world, a lost community, a lost workplace, a lost family, lost friends need us to be radically like Christ, set apart for him, following him closely not dialling down the difference.
We’re to be set apart, totally holy, totally different not in some areas but in every area of life. Our lives are meant to be so inexplicably different, such a conundrum, to those around us that they can’t help but eventually ask us why? How do we reach the world around us for... Continue Reading
More Than A Second Chance
The gift of the second chance is for us!
The king gets off his throne and sits in dust. There is a decree issued for humans and animals to fast and cry out to God. The message of the Lord has had an impact on the city. And God relents. “Can I have another go?” is an often-used phrase in our house... Continue Reading
Keep Praying about the “Small” Things
A brief story on persistent prayer.
God honors persistent prayer. It doesn’t mean he’s always going to eventually grant it. That’s not the point. The point is for us to remain steadfast, to remember his promises, to know that he is God even when we’ve lost a ring. He tells us to keep asking, so we will—even if it never happens. ... Continue Reading
God Made Glorious Promises to Abram, and to Us (Genesis 12:2–3, 7)
A relationship with God that is perfect, face to face, with nothing that could harm us. We’re heading there. Not there yet.
Abram would be identified with God to such an extent that what people do to him, they are seen as doing to God himself. Abram would be God’s representative, if you like, as if he was in God’s family. However you treat Abram is how you treat God. Does that idea sound familiar to you?... Continue Reading
The Sanctification of a Bad Morning
When I start off grumpy.
One of the humbling things about a bad morning is how quickly it reveals what is really in me. I can blame the time, the lack of sleep, and even the messy house. And those things are a pain, they really are, but I’m sure they don’t create impatience out of nothing. Instead they draw... Continue Reading
The Gift of Leadership
Are you a leader? Then lead! Don’t deny your gifting.
The disciples had followed Peter fishing but had caught nothing. But suddenly Jesus appeared on the seashore and instructed them, which yielded a great catch. When the discerning apostle, John, realized it was the Lord and told Peter, Peter jumped in the water and swam to shore, and the boat followed (because he was a... Continue Reading
Prophets and Prophecies Defined
Crucial lessons from Exodus 4:10–17.
It was their duty to protest against mere formalism, to stress moral duty, to urge the necessity of spiritual service, and to promote the interests of truth and righteousness. If the people departed from the path of duty, they had to call them back to the law and to the testimony, and to announce the... Continue Reading
Stealing Hearts
Instead of stealing from one another, we must deposit the things of God into one another.
We take people who are hurting, angry, confused, or offended, and instead of leading them toward Christ, we lead them deeper into themselves. We teach them to linger over evil. We nurse the wound. We baptize the grudge. We turn the complaint into a cause. We make rebellion sound like wisdom. And God calls it... Continue Reading
The PCA’s 2026 Louisville Assembly: Revival of the Right
With the election of Fred Greco and a fairly conservative MNA search committee, along with key elections to major committees, the right-wing would see this year as a success.
Outcomes of this Assembly could perhaps settle some matters, sparing continued advocacy for the near term. Then, again, the PCA may have over one hundred overtures next time around if the enthusiasm for procedural improvement continues. Between the assemblies, attention had been given to the nomination of the next Stated Clerk and the attempts... Continue Reading
General Assembly Update for Thursday, June 25
53rd PCA General Assembly Approves Major Overtures and Committee Reports; Adjourns Sine Die
The 53rd General Assembly completed its work by acting on the full slate of Overtures Committee recommendations, approving several key BCO changes and committee reports, while rejecting others. The Assembly then adjourned sine die after worship, with the 54th General Assembly scheduled for Milwaukee in 2027. Full details and vote tallies are in the report.... Continue Reading
Why Confessionalism Strengthens Educational Ministries
Doctrinal Clarity Shapes the Discipleship of the Next Generation
Every church is shaping the next generation, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Children are learning what worship means. Teenagers are learning what Christianity values. Young adults are learning what the church believes. The question is whether they are being formed primarily by Scripture and sound doctrine or by the assumptions of the surrounding culture. This... Continue Reading
You Were Not Born Gay
The Gospel offers something infinitely better than affirmation. It offers redemption.
The world says, “You were born this way.” Christ says, “You must be born again.” One message chains a man forever to his desires. The other promises to make him new. One leaves sinners exactly where they are. The other raises dead men to life. One of the most influential slogans in modern history... Continue Reading
The Myth in “The Message”: Does Islam Really Protect Women?
The claims made in ”The Message” expose the film as cinematic fiction.
The teachings and outcomes of Islam regarding the treatment of women stand in marked contrast to Christianity. Only the Bible provides consistent guidance that values women and truly protects them from misuse. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of a cinematic and cultural icon of the Islamic world. What the movies Ben Hur and... Continue Reading
Will Britain finally awaken?
Multiculturalism and fear of man enabled the horrors of the Muslim grooming gangs in the United Kingdom, and justice demands serious repentance and changes.
“This was a targeted program of ritualized torture and subjugation as a means of ethnic domination. In other words, these gangs are conducting war against the White British using serial child rape and torture as a form of conquest.” May God awaken and purify the anger of the British people and may He act on... Continue Reading
Doing Your Own Thing or Being Cool (Part Four)
The desire to fit in with the world produces a divided life.
The Christian should not wear one face at church and another at school, online, at work, or with friends. Christ calls us to integrity—to wholeness—to sincerity before God and men.…You may fool your parents, your pastor, or your friends, but you cannot be two-faced before God. Let’s keep this question constantly before us: Who... Continue Reading
More Than a Man’s Voice: The Nature of Faithful Preaching
Christ’s sheep know His voice. They hear it in the faithful preaching of His word, and they follow.
Do you desire faithful preaching? Do you hunger to be reproved, rebuked, and exhorted by the word? Or does the scratch of flattering preaching appeal to you more than the voice of the Shepherd? Come with that expectation. He promises to meet you there. Most Christians think of a sermon as a man explaining... Continue Reading
What is the Unpardonable Sin?
No repentant sinner is beyond the reach of God's grace.
In Matthew 12:30-32, Jesus’ warning is meant to shake the proud, not crush the repentant. His invitation to humble hearts still stands today when He said, “The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). No matter what your past contains, if you come to Christ in repentance and faith, you... Continue Reading
Your Cynicism Thinks It’s Realism. The Kingdom Calls It Something Else.
An investigation into the condition growing quietly in the soul of every faithful person who stopped expecting.
Cynicism, on the other hand, is a belief condition whereby the soul hasn’t merely grown tired; it has drawn a wrong conclusion. It has crossed from “I’m exhausted” to “I’ve stopped trusting the process (and the Lord).” And that crossing is a spiritual threshold that rest alone cannot reverse. Last week, I presented a... Continue Reading
PCA General Assembly Update!
In the first two days of the PCA General Assembly, the denomination has demonstrated renewed commitments to Old School Presbyterianism and Review & Control.
The first two days of the PCA General Assembly have gone remarkably well…The successes of Wednesday do not guarantee the outcome of Thursday’s business. While much business remains to be settled by the PCA General Assembly, the first two days have been full of accomplishments for the Old School wing of the PCA. Tomorrow... Continue Reading
General Assembly Update for Wednesday, June 24
Most RPR Recommendations Approved; Christian Nationalism Partial Report Received
On Wednesday the 53rd General Assembly approved the majority of Review of Presbytery Records recommendations and heard reports from Mission to the World, Mission to North America, Covenant College, Covenant Theological Seminary, and others. The Ad Interim Committee on Christian Nationalism also presented its partial report. Full details and vote tallies in the report. ... Continue Reading
The Apologist We Need: Clement of Alexandria
How Clement Shows How to Make Sense of Christianity
Out of this love for humanity, the Word of God became human, so that we might receive salvation. This gracious gift, for Clement, looks primarily like a regeneration of the human person: in other words, salvation means eternal life, yes, but one that looks like holiness, freedom from the passions of the flesh, and the... Continue Reading
The Comfort of Surrender
We can trust God to write our story, as we live each day in submission to His perfect will.
We can’t always control our circumstances, but we can control our response. We can cry out to the Lord and point others to Jesus, knowing we don’t have to worry about tomorrow because He is in control. I sat alone in the psychiatric hospital, sad and discouraged. After a shocking family loss, I was... Continue Reading
Providence, Vocation, and Ordinary Faithfulness
Everyday life faith.
The doctrine of providence teaches believers to reject both passivity and self-reliance. We are neither spectators in God’s world nor sovereigns over it. We are servants called to faithful obedience within the callings God has entrusted to us. After hearing that God governs all things according to the counsel of his will, many Christians... Continue Reading
Until the Shadows Flee
Anxiety and Depression in the Christian Life
In The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan’s Christian walks through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, beset by fears and terrors on every side. Yet he presses on. And at the end of his journey, he crosses the river and enters the Celestial City, where all his fears are finally put to rest. So it... Continue Reading
What Grace Teaches
Grace is teaching you. Are you listening?
Have you learned the lessons of grace? Grace does not teach us to live for ourselves, but it teaches us to live for Him.…The more we understand and love salvation by grace alone, the more zealous we will be for good works. Grace teaches us to look less like the world and more like the... Continue Reading
Presbyterians & Christian Nationalism
Do denominational declarations still matter?
Christian Nationalism is ascending thanks largely to the decline of denominations and the absence of effective gatekeepers in American Christianity. Today, American religion increasingly is led and governed by popular online personalities who are fueled by controversy. The PCA preliminary report is an intelligent resource for resistance against Christian Nationalism. But sadly, it likely will... Continue Reading
7 Reasons God Takes Pleasure in Election
The great work of salvation is rooted and grounded in the electing love of God.
The truth of election embraces the necessity of evangelism and missions and guarantees their success in God’s time and God’s way. This has been the strength and courage of thousands of faithful missionaries. The Preciousness of God’s Election by Grace What Romans 8:28–30 teaches is that God really accomplishes the complete redemption of his... Continue Reading
A Bride for the Promised Son
Providence and Prayer in the Search for Rebekah (Genesis 24:1–67)
Genesis 24 is a magnificent historical record, but it also paints a breathtaking picture of the Gospel. Consider the beautiful parallels: A bride is sought for a beloved, promised son. A faithful messenger journeys into a far country bearing news of the son’s immense inheritance. The messenger gives the bride beautiful gifts as a down payment... Continue Reading
Melton Duncan Elected Moderator of 53rd General Assembly
Duncan's Love for the PCA Fuels Goodwill Toward Pastors Across the Ideological Spectrum
Nominating Duncan was Richard Phillips, the current senior pastor of Second Presbyterian. Phillips said Duncan has the experience, competence, trust, and goodwill necessary to lead the General Assembly proceedings. He noted Duncan’s considerable experience at the Assembly and the competence with which he leads. The 53rd General Assembly has elected Melton “Mel” Duncan, ruling... Continue Reading