Under warnings of a big winter storm, the Presbytery of Siouxlands met for its 88th stated meeting at the WatertownEventCenter on January 22, 2010. The meeting, scheduled to go from Friday at 9:00 a.m. until Saturday noon, adjourned early in order to allow Presbyters to return to their homes before the wintry onslaught. In spite of the short meeting, the Presbytery was able to accomplish its major business.

A significant agenda item was the Federal Vision issue previously reported here. At a called meeting in October, the Presbytery had sustained a complaint against its rejection of an investigative committee report recommending a strong presumption of guilt that a member was teaching contrary to the Standards in the area of baptism. The result was that a second judicial committee was erected to investigate the matter again.

The new judicial committee reported at the January meeting with a unanimous recommendation that the Presbytery find a strong presumption of guilt “in the preaching/teaching views of [a member] with respect to doctrines associated with the so-called Federal Vision that are contrary to the doctrinal standards of the PCA.”

The Presbytery deferred consideration of the judicial committee recommendation to the 90th stated meeting in September. In the meantime, the Presbytery erected a new committee, per the member’s request, consisting of members chosen by the Presbytery and the member in order to instruct and advise that member.

The Presbytery also denied the complaint of TE Brian Carpenter against the Presbytery’s action at its called meeting in October 2009 in the manner of conducting an investigation of another member and declaring that there was no strong presumption of guilt. TE Carpenter alleged that the investigation was not adequate and that the investigation that did take place should have resulted in a strong presumption of guilt.

At the same time, the Presbytery will conduct an investigation of TE Carpenter as to whether or not he has broken the 9th commandment in misrepresenting another member of the Presbytery.

In another action, a teaching elder who had previously been indefinitely suspended for a public sin was restored to office and the Presbytery expressed thanksgiving to God for the exemplary repentance God had worked in his heart.

The Presbytery officially welcomed home TE Sam Rico, who had spent the past year serving as a chaplain in Afghanistan. TE Doug Lee, a general in the army, director of the MNA chaplaincy program, and a member of Siouxlands, was present from WashingtonD.C. and gave the opening devotional.

The Presbytery accepted the request of its mission church in Sioux Falls, Living Water PCA, for particularization. The Presbytery will conduct a service of particularization on February 14.

The Presbytery’s next stated meeting will be in Sturgis, S.D. on April 22, 2010 in at FoothillsCommunityChurch. Dr. Dominic Aquila, president of New Geneva Seminary in Colorado Springs, will be speaking on the doctrine of Scripture on the Wednesday night prior to the meeting.

The Presbytery of the Siouxlands is a Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America that includes 17 Churches in North and South Dakota and Minnesota. It holds stated meetings in January, April, and September.
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Wes White is pastor of New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Spearfish, S.D.