A small number of PCA churches have already departed to other denominations or are attempting to form a new denomination, largely precipitated by Revoice-related concerns. It seems likely that a year without an assembly, especially under the present circumstances, may help protect the health of presbyters, but may be harmful to the health of the denomination.

In an unprecedented action due to unprecedented circumstances the Administrative Committee has postponed the 48th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America. The decision means, in effect, that there will be no General Assembly for 2020, the year of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The next assembly—the only annual meeting of the church’s highest court—will be in St Louis on June 29—July 2, 2021.

While the Administrative Committee’s (AC) action is understandable the Assembly cancellation raises important and unavoidable questions.

First, could not the assembly have been rescheduled for late in the summer or fall? The decision came on a day when President Trump began signaling that the easing of restrictions meant to “flatten the curve” of Corona virus infection might soon be lifted or relaxed, though local factors and the actions of state governments might certainly come into play as well. The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church has rescheduled their annual assembly from June to mid-August. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has suspended registration for their 87th meeting but seem to be considering options for meeting later this year.

It will surely be said that the PCA’s meeting is too large to be rescheduled on a few months’ notice, which brings us to our second question: Has the PCA General Assembly become too large and unwieldy for its own good? A large venue is required by the PCA’s all-comers approach. Every teaching elder in the denomination has the right to attend, and two ruling elders from each congregation (more for larger churches) are allowed to attend. Given the number of PCA churches it is possible that about 5000 teaching elders and more than 3000 ruling elders could attend.

In 2019, the attendance was 1616 registered commissioners, plus staff and visitors. Meeting spaces usually seem to have a capacity for about 2500. A non-delegated assembly for a denomination of about 400,000 members and almost 1600 churches obviously requires a large venue, but it might be time to rethink the current approach. A smaller or delegated assembly would reduce costs and might also balance the percentage of ruling elders to teaching elders, the latter far outnumbering the former for the last three decades—a case of a “grassroots” principle leading to unintended consequences. The Presbyterian principle of the parity of the two classes of elders would almost certainly fare better with a smaller assembly.

The assembly has also grown in its space requirements for reasons other than the sheer number of voting commissioners and essential staff. The PCA General Assembly now requires a large vendor area, many meeting rooms, and hotels that meet normal “big conference” or trade show expectations. The PCA’s voluntary funding structure has led the Administrative Committee to try to recoup assembly expenses by relying on vendors and sponsorships. Gone are the days of free coffee and at the Dallas assembly in 2019 even the water coolers were sponsored by a seminary.

Maybe there are cultural reasons that the larger, better-funded PCA requires more expensive meeting facilities. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s delegates often sleep in college dorms. The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church uses a denominationally owned camp to house and host its synod. It’s hard to imagine the PCA’s elders—descended in many cases from Southern tall-steeple churches—adjusting to such modest accommodations.

There is a third question about the postponement of the 2020 assembly: Will the tensions and unease associated with Revoice-related figures and issues be exacerbated? Many in the PCA were looking to the actions of the 2020 General Assembly in Birmingham as a weathervane to signal the direction of the PCA on same-sex attraction or “gay Christian” issues. Overtures seeking to address these issues and that would have required judicial action had been received. The Standing Judicial Commission could still act, but assembly action might have expedited the process. For the moment, it seems that further legislative action will have to wait for 2021 in St Louis where the presbytery at the center of the Revoice-related issues will host the delayed 48th General Assembly.

It was also expected that the study committee on human sexuality (which will address same-sex attraction issues) would return its report in time for the Birmingham meeting and that it would have been considered and voted upon this June. Now if the report is finished and distributed this spring the PCA will have more than one year to talk about it, but action will be delayed. It’s also easy to imagine that the number of overtures (16 to date) will grow to many more than usual, given the extra year without an assembly which may make the work of the delayed assembly even more challenging.

A small number of PCA churches have already departed to other denominations or are attempting to form a new denomination, largely precipitated by Revoice-related concerns. It seems likely that a year without an assembly, especially under the present circumstances, may help protect the health of presbyters, but may be harmful to the health of the denomination.

Brad Isbell is a Ruling Elder in the Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Oak Ridge, Tenn.