We should expect Permanent Committee coordinators to be competent to ensure neither they nor their staff create unnecessary controversy. The General Assembly should get what it pays for.

My friend was sharing his frustration with me about the stated clerk of his presbytery.

“He promised me I would have the minutes from our stated meeting yesterday…”

I shared his concern, but I responded, “Buddy, I’ve seen your presbytery’s budget; the clerk makes less than $3,000 a year; you can’t expect anything quickly at that rate. He’s almost donating his time: you get what you pay for.”

He agreed.

And he still doesn’t have those minutes.

PCA Coordinator Positions Are Rightly Well Compensated

Each year the PCA General Assembly approves the budgets of the various Permanent Committees. As part of those it includes the Salary, Housing Allowance, and other benefits for the Coordinators.

For example, the Stated Clerk’s salary, housing allowance, and benefits for 2025 total $290,000.

This is reasonable compensation for the director of an organization with dozens of employees.

Similarly the salary and housing allowance of the Coordinator of Mission to North America for 2025 is $273,000 with an additional $61,525 in other benefits.

This also seems a reasonable level of compensation for an organization that has hundreds of employees all over the continent.

It seems the PCA’s compensation of the coordinators of these Committees is quite reasonable and probably commensurate with executive-level compensation for comparable mid-size enterprises.

As a result, the PCA should be able to attract top-level talent who can run the organizations with efficiency and effectiveness by deploying personnel who are able to carry out the mandate of the General Assembly without creating controversy.

Reflecting on Recent Controversies

Over the last year, the PCA has made the news. And not always because of our superb theology, our outstanding conferences, or our zeal to see churches planted and the nations discipled for Christ.

Recently, the PCA has been in the news because of statements made by employees of the denomination.

Astute readers may remember MNA Operations Director for African American Ministries, Kellie Brown, and the social media comment she made shortly after (then former) President Donald Trump was shot.

This was not the first time the Operations Director at MNA made incendiary comments on social media. The fact such an individual was hired demonstrates trouble with the leadership of the organization.

Last month, there was scandal at MNA because of a director who signed a controversial petition condemning the new Administration’s policy aimed at securing the borders of the Republic and particularly that she signed it in her official capacity as MNA Director.

It is one thing for a concerned citizen who happens to work for MNA to sign a petition, but to do so in her official capacity raises questions regarding the leadership’s discernment and oversight.

These sorts of personnel issues might be understandable at a small, mom-and-pop organization. But MNA is capable of recruiting top-quality organizational leadership. For the money the General Assembly is paying, the organizational leadership should be capable of recruiting, training, and supporting staff with greater competence and discretion.

[Editor’s note: follow the link below for charts and images illustrating the author’s article.]

Read More