All constitutional changes from presbyteries must go through the OC, and so the reasoning is that all constitutional changes from other sources should do so as well.

The PCA allows all Teaching Elders and at least two Ruling elders per church to attend the General Assembly. Consequently, there are generally over a thousand commissioners at General Assembly, which is not as conducive to deliberation. In addition, TEs outnumber REs 3 to 1 or even 4 to 1.

The last strategic planning process changed the structure of GA by establishing an Overtures Committee (OC). The OC consists of one RE and one TE per presbytery, and no one can serve more than two consecutive years without a 3/4 vote from his presbytery. The OC considers all overtures from the presbyteries that do not have to do specifically with the work of a permanent committee or agency. The result is that the OC is able to thoroughly deliberate in an environment in which we are much closer to RE and TE parity.

In the past years, the new strategic planning process has made the committees, and particularly the AC, the source of legislation. As a result, the work of the OC has diminished. Great Lakes Presbytery has overtured GA to change its rules so that any constitutional change that originates in a permanent committee or agency would have to come through the OC. All constitutional changes from presbyteries must go through the OC, and so the reasoning is that all constitutional changes from other sources should do so as well.

Wes White is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He is currently serving as the Pastor of New Covenant Spearfish Presbyterian Church, Spearfish, South Dakota. This article originally appeared on his

blog and is used with permission.

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(Editor’s Note: TE David Sarafolean, Pastor of Christ Covenant Church (PCA) in Midland, Michigan was the primary author of the overture. He tells the story behind writing it and includes the entire text in his blog, which is printed below.)

As noted in this blog post, and again here attempt was made at last summer’s General Assembly, to amend this portion of our Rules of Assembly Operation. Though the motion that I put forth received a majority of votes it fell short of the required 2/3s majority to change our bylaws. The next day the moderator of the assembly, RE Dan Carroll, encouraged me to work on the language and bring this matter up in 2012.

On Saturday January 14, 2012 Great Lakes Presbytery convened for its stated winter meeting. On the docket was an overture to amend Rules of Assembly Operations (RAO) 15-1. Below is the overture that was passed with unanimous consent:

Whereas the Rules of Assembly Operation were amended in the recent past to streamline the business of the General Assembly, and

Whereas the Overtures Committee was created to debate overtures to the General Assembly by a delegated body of commissioners, and

Whereas each presbytery has the right to elect two representatives annually (one TE and RE) to serve on this committee, and

Whereas most presbyteries avail themselves of this right by sending representatives to serve on this committee so that they have a voice on important constitutional matters, and

Whereas denominational Agencies and Committees have made recommendations to amend our denomination’s constitution and brought those directly to the General Assembly bypassing the Overtures Committee, and

Whereas overtures have come to the General Assembly from presbyteries that sometimes mix amendments to the Book of Church Order with other business (e.g. funding the Administrative Committee), and

Whereas such “mixed” overtures are sometimes sent to an Agency or Committee for deliberation and debate resulting in said Agencies or Committees recommending changes to our denomination’s constitution without consulting the Overtures Committee, and

Whereas in such instances the Overtures Committee is being bypassed and denied the right to debate important matters that affect our denomination, and

Whereas these actions pose a direct threat to the ‘grass-roots Presbyterianism’ envisioned by our denomination’s founders and subverts the role of the Overtures Committee,

Therefore, let it be resolved that Great Lakes Presbytery petitions The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America to adopt this overture to amend section 15-1 Rules of Assembly Operation with the following language (new language underlined):

15-1. The Overtures Committee shall consider and make recommendation upon all overtures and recommendations from Committees or Agencies proposing constitutional amendment and all other overtures referred by the Stated Clerk.

[Editor’s note: Some of the original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid, so the links have been removed.]