In 2013 The Aquila Report posted over 2,900 stories. At the end of each year we feature the top 50 stories that were read. The top story this year had over 20,890 hits.

We average 8 new stories each day, with a variety of subjects – all of which we trust are of interest to the readers of The Aquila Report. As a web magazine we are an aggregator of news and information that we believe will provide articles that will inform the church of current trends and movements within the church and culture.

In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year. That’s easy for us to determine – we just count the hits! We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run and the five lists on consecutive days. Here are numbers 11-20.

20. Westminster Presbytery (PCA) – Are the Rumors True?

Westminster Presbytery has endured a considerable amount of criticism because of our stance.  Certainly, in regard to Creationism or Cessationism, we do not represent mainline Presbyterianism in the PCA or other Reformed denominations (such as the OPC).  We have been labeled as Old School, Strict Subscriptionists, and even as Mountain TRs.  We have been called narrow-minded and unreasonable. I believe that Westminster Presbytery has been unfairly criticized.  Few people understand the history that led Westminster Presbytery to adopt this stance on Creationism and Cessationism.

19. “The Bible” History Channel Series: A Review

The Bible is first and foremost a story of redemption. God redeeming a people to Himself throughout history, and the players involved in that unfolding story. To completely miss the theme of redemption in the Biblical narrative is absurd. And as I notice the themes removed from various stories (such as the way the sacrifice of Isaac was portrayed), I’m afraid it’s not unintentional.

18. Federal Vision, Peter Leithart & the Reality of Doctrinal Standards in the PCA

I really do love the PCA. I want to believe the best of my fathers and brothers on the SJC. I have tremendous respect for them and great sympathy for the position the PNWP put them in. But ultimately, when it comes to guarding the doctrinal integrity of the PCA, the buck stops with the SJC. In this case, I have to conclude that they failed.

17. An Open Letter to James Kessler and the leaders of the National Partnership

Because of my concern for our church, what I would like to do therefore is to enter into precisely the kind of “charitable and respectful dialogue” with you that the National Partnership indicates is part of their third goal. In doing so, I promise to be as frank and transparent with you as I possibly can be, probably more than is politically expedient, because I intend to reveal to you the weakness of my own position within the PCA and allow you to “spy out the land” of the confessional conservatives in the PCA, because it seems like that is the group that the National Partnership was designed to offset.

16. PCA Heartland Presbytery Votes to Prohibit Practice of Intinction Within Its Bounds

At its stated meeting on November 2, 2013, Heartland Presbytery voted to prohibit the practice of intinction in the churches within its bounds. Heartland is a presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

15. PCA Minister Terry Traylor Called Home to Glory

Rev. Terry O. Traylor, 64, a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America, died on Thursday, December 12, 2013 of an apparent heart attack. Terry had served as the Senior Pastor of New Life PCA in Glenside, Penn., a suburb of Philadelphia, until September. He left that position to become a Church Planting Coordinator with the PCA’s Mission to North America (MNA).

14. Actions of the 41st General Assembly of the PCA

The 41st General Assembly of the PCA has adjourned in Greenville, South Carolina. There were many issues considered including paedocommunion, Leithart and Meyers’ trials, SJC nominations, Insider Movement, Overtures, and a report on Child Abuse. What follows is an overview of some of the main actions of this year’s GA.

13. Why Men Have Stopped Singing in Church

Last month I blogged, “Have Christians Stopped Singing?” I did some research, and learned that congregational singing has ebbed and flowed over the centuries. It reached a high tide when I was a young man – but that tide may be going out again. And that could be bad news for men.

12. National Partnership: A New Group in the PCA

The following e-mail is being sent to a select number of teaching and ruling elders in the Presbyterian Church in America to explain the purpose of the National Partnership.

11. Abigail Bonner, 17-year-old Member of First PCA, Jackson, Miss., Missing, Now Confirmed Dead

Madison, Miss., police confirmed the body discovered Tuesday afternoon is that of Abigail Bonner, who was reported missing on Aug. 3.