I doubt anyone would say that because the scrolls from Qumran are published in books and/or digital form the scrolls themselves are no longer needed. At this point some will say apples are being compared with oranges, after all, the minutes and clerical documents produced by judicatories of the denomination are not equivalent to the Word of God. Obviously not, but the way historical textual sources of the Bible are held dear should cause pause to consider whether the original documents composed by judicatories should also be held in high regard.

In 2023 the PCA General Assembly adopted an overture regarding the digitization of church records. To view the overture, click HERE. The Administrative Committee will bring its recommendations to the assembly this year.

OVERTURE 20 from Potomac Presbytery (to AC) “Request Administrative Committee to Research Use of Electronic Records for Denominational Purposes”…

[The gist of the whereas list is, digital records are increasingly used and their convenience speeds the transaction of judicatory business.]

Therefore be it resolved that Potomac Presbytery hereby overtures the 50th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) for the Administrative Committee and the Office of the Stated Clerk to initiate an effort to identify and make use of records management expertise in the denomination (including the PCA Historical Center) or elsewhere to understand the matter and provide practical and defendable solutions; within two years to provide clerks, churches, and presbyteries with its initial findings and recommendations; and to update the “Clerk of Session Handbook” to address electronic records, to include electronic letters of dismissal to other churches.

The purpose of this post is to express my thoughts about antiquarian documents in general and church records in light of the Administrative Committee recommendations that will be composed and presented this year. As far as I know, the Committee has not yet determined its recommendations and I am not writing in response to what they have decided. I am a member of a PCA congregation and a member of the PCA Historical Center Advisory Sub-Committee. Historical documents are important for my personal work and they are important for the denomination. If it was not for the constantly increasing collections of web-accessible publications and manuscripts held by organizations including the material digitized by the PCA Historical Center under Wayne Sparkman’s direction, sources for my writing would be greatly limited.

Until recent years historians could not access published materials without either visiting a holding institution to access sources or by obtaining them through interlibrary loans. The potential for well researched scholarship seems limitless as holding institutions realize online access can be a good thing. The use of microforms is greatly improved by digitization of those images online so the microform text can then be zoomed on one’s monitor. The number of historical newspapers digitized for online research increases daily, however, more Presbyterian and other religious serials need to be added to the list. Hopefully, it is clear that I think digitization is a good thing. I am not a Luddite; I am not against progress so long as its advances are carefully thought through and potential hazards discerned and avoided. These opinions are my own and I claim no sanction other than as a PCA member and a historian.

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