Tag Archives: PCA General Assembly

PCA GA Day 2

Posted on by
Reply

A Day of Reports, Deliberations, and Encouragement

Today was the second day of the 51st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, our Church’s national gathering to further the ministry and mission of Christ throughout the world.

That sounds like a high and lofty goal, but it may not always be clearly evident in the details of the Assembly’s business. Take today’s work, for example.

Wednesday began committee reports, starting with the Review of Presbytery Records. The RPR committee met before GA began and read through the minutes of all 88 presbyteries, making sure that the meetings of the presbyteries upheld the fundamentals of our church’s polity and theology, and requiring responses from presbyteries when exceptions to our polity and theology are discovered. This may sound tedious, and there are times when the conversations get bogged down in the parliamentary procedures. Still, this is a vital working of the assembly. Without pastoral oversight and Biblical discipline, the integrity and witness of the Church is severely harmed. Reviewing presbytery and session records helps to ensure that the church remains faithful to the scriptures, true to the reformed faith, and obedient to the great commission. This RPR report took quite a bit of time, but was really worth every minute of discussion.

We also heard today from Fraternal Delegates of other Reformed and Presbyterian Churches, national and international. Representatives from the Korean Presbyterian Church, the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, the Free Church of Scotland, as well as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

The committees of Covenant Theological Seminary, Geneva Benefits Group, Reformed University Fellowship, Mission to North America, Covenant College, Mission to the World, Ridge Haven, and the Standing Judicial Committee all shared their reports, and all the reports were well received, celebrating the work of God in His Church and calling the assembly to pray for these ongoing ministries.

As I said at the outset, it was a day of reports and deliberations, but most importantly a day of great encouragement. It has been 6 years since I was last able to attend General Assembly. the 2018 Assembly in Atlanta soured me on the whole event. It was divisive, tense, and overtly political. I left discouraged, and determined to focus on my own church and presbytery for a period of time.

What a joy then to return to GA this year to find an entirely different spirit among the brethren here. There have been disagreements, but have been encouraged to press in to the relationships and seek reconciliation and humility, without compromising on the principles of our faith and polity. We have met difficult situations with humor, truth, and grace. What a blessing this has been.

I am encouraged, also, in the fact that, while other national church gatherings have brought troubling news, the PCA is standing firm in the Word of God. We will vote on overtures tomorrow (Day 3), and I’ll share more about that when all is said and done, but there is much to celebrate in the Church, so let us give thanks to God for His abundant grace, and pray that God would continue to strengthen His church that the gospel may advance throughout the world.

SDG

PCA GA Day 1

Posted on by
Reply

This week I have the privilege of serving as a commissioner to the 51st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, meeting in Richmond, VA. This is my 4th time to attend the PCA-GA, and I thought it would be helpful to share what’s happened so far, what I’ve been a part of, and some of the great things that are happening in our Church.

First, I was sent by the Siouxlands Presbytery to serve on the Committee of Commissioners for Reformed University Fellowship. Here’s what that means… Each Permanent Committee of the General Assembly (MTW, MNA, RUF, etc…) meets through the year and conducts their business and makes their recommendations to the General Assembly. Then commissioners meet before the Assembly starts and review the work of the Committee, and either give consent to the committee’s recommendations, or propose substitute motions instead. The RUF Committee of Commissioners met on Monday afternoon and heard a very positive report on the work of RUF (the college ministry of the denomination) and gave overwhelming support to the permanent committee’s report.

Most of today was spent networking with other presbyters and learning about different ministry opportunities through the organizations that are present in the Exhibition hall. One of the fun things to do is gather GA Swag, and I think I scored some pretty nice T-Shirts and a great MTW Cap.

This evening the General Assembly began in earnest with our opening worship service and preliminary business.

Worship was excellent! Over 2,000 men, women, and children, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to the glory of God, confessing their faith and reading the scriptures together. TE Fred Grecco, the outgoing Moderator, preached a powerful message on the Blessing of the Bible, based on 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5.

Ruling Elder Steve Dowling was then elected moderator of the 51st PCA General Assembly. The technology executive from Covenant Presbyterian Church in Auburn, Alabama, was chosen by unanimous acclamation.

Most notably, the Assembly voted to receive and adopt 3 amendments that had been approved by the 50th Assembly, then affirmed by a majority of the Presbyteries. This was the final step in these three amendments becoming finalized in our Book of Church Order. The amendments passed this evening were (amended portion underlined):

ITEM 1: Amend BCO 7-3, regarding titling of unordained people, by the addition of a sentence 7-3. No one who holds office in the Church ought to usurp authority therein, or receive official titles of spiritual preeminence, except such as are employed in the Scripture. Furthermore, unordained people shall not be referred to as, or given the titles of, the ordained offices of pastor/elder, or deacon.

ITEM 2: Amend BCO 8-2 and 9-3, to require officers ’conformity to Biblical standards for chastity and sexual purity in self-description, by the addition of the underlined wording.
8-2. He that fills this office should possess a competency of human learning and be blameless in life, sound in the faith and apt to teach. He should exhibit a sobriety and holiness of life becoming the Gospel. He should conform to the biblical requirement of chastity and sexual purity in his descriptions of himself, and in his convictions, character, and conduct. He should rule his own house well and should have a good report of them that are outside the Church.
9-3. To the office of deacon, which is spiritual in nature, shall be chosen men of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly spirit, warm sympathies, and sound judgment, conforming to the biblical requirement of chastity and sexual purity in their descriptions of themselves and in their convictions, character, and conduct.

ITEM 3: Amend BCO 38-1, regarding confessions and offended parties (adding the following text)
In any instances involving a personal offense (BCO 29-3), the court shall attempt to inform the offended person(s) of that part of the Confession the court deems pertinent to the offense against him or her. The court shall invite the offended person to provide the court comment on the Confession prior to final approval of the Confession by the confessor and the court. The court shall encourage the offended person to enlist the help of an advisor in preparing any such comments. In all instances, the court shall report the way such offended persons were informed of the parts of the Confession pertinent to them.

Tomorrow will be a full day of business at the Assembly. We will hear many reports, and vote on several overtures that have been brought before the Church. Overall, there is a tremendous feeling of brotherhood, fellowship, and love for God, for one another, and for the Church. It is such a blessing to be part of a Church that is committed to being Faithful to the Word of God, True to the Reformed Faith, and Obedient to the Great Commission.

SDG