Tag Archives: Presbyterian

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

How Long Was That Sermon?

Posted on by
Reply

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;
reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching..”
(2 Timothy 4:2)

This week I posted a question on two different Facebook discussion groups to which I belong, asking about the average length of their (or their pastor’s) sermons.  The resulting conversations were interesting, and I thought I would share with you some of my observations.

  • Never ask a Pastor’s Discussion Group a question unless you are prepared for a lot of answers. There is an old adage, “never give a pastor a microphone unless you’ve got 20 minutes to spare.”  That lesson came home this week.  I posted my question about the length of sermons on a Monday morning, and by early that afternoon, I had over 200 responses.  My phone, my tablet, and my computer all kept chirping away to let me know I had received a new message.  It sounded like a flock of birds had moved into my office.
  • Some People really need to Relax. The question I asked was innocent enough, “How long are your sermons?”  Most pastors, and many laypeople, responded just saying approximately how long the sermons lasted.  Others, however, took the opportunity to hijack the discussion forum into a diatribe about how long (or short) a sermon should be.  “If you can’t preach for more than 30 minutes, then perhaps preaching isn’t your gift.”  Yes, that was actually said.  “If you can’t say it in less than 15 minutes, then it doesn’t need to be said.”  That was said, too.  Heated arguments erupted over “catering” to the congregation’s attention span or caving to worldly pressures; snarky comments were posted comparing people’s willingness to sit through a 2 hour movie or game and their rejection of worship lasting more than 1 hour.  It was disturbing to note the lack of humility and graciousness demonstrated in the conversations.  IT’S A FACEBOOK DISCUSSION FOLKS – RELAX!

Now on to the actual question:

  • The responses on sermon lengths were vastly different based on the group responding. The first group I asked is a discussion group of rather conservative PCUSA pastors.  Sermon times reported there ranged from 15 to 30 minutes, with the average being about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on how much is scheduled for the worship service that day (baptism, communion, etc.).
    The other group I asked is not specifically Presbyterian, but is a group of Reformed (Baptist, Presbyterian, etc.) believers from all over the US, pastors and layman alike.  The overwhelming response from this group reported 40 to 50 minute sermons.  Their worship services lasted over an hour, with the sermon being the central part of the service.
    Just to share where I come in – my sermons, on the average, are about 18 to 22 minutes long, including the Scripture reading and prayers.  I don’t intentionally time them, but each week I have to take the recording of the sermon, and edit it down for our 15 minute radio broadcast.
  • One of my favorite comments was this one:
    “When I was a kid, our pastor’s response to people who were chronic complainers, including opinions about sermon length, was this: “Sermonettes make Christianettes.” I guess those folks needed to hear hour long sermons. Anyways, he never caved.  I actually listened to him from about 5th grade on. His sermons were shorter than any class I had in school and about the same length as Gilligan’s Island. I was convicted at an early age that if I complained about sermon length, I would sound stupid.”

The overall lesson is this: Preaching should explain and apply the meaning of the Bible.  The sermon ought to deliver the truth of God, not give the preacher’s opinion on current events, or pass along the latest self-help ideas.  Every sermon should explain the Bible and then apply it to people’s lives.

My preaching may not conclude with an overtly practical application.  You will not often hear “because of this, we need to do this.”  Rather, my hope is that through the sermon I may show and celebrate in the glory of God revealed to us through His Word, that we might grow in the likeness of Christ together.  This may not be immediately practical, but I pray that it is eternally helpful.  Whether my preaching takes 15 minutes, or whether it lasts an hour, the Word of God must be read, taught, and applied to our hearts for our salvation and for God’s glory.

SDG