This report is limited to highlights that could be of interest to our readers.

First up after lunch was the Report of the Theological Examination Committee. This committee examines and approves men called for first or second ‘tier’ positions in the PCA, such as Presidents of the college and seminary, Coordinators of the varies ministry coordinators, and their ‘number twos’.

This year the TEC approved the examinations of RE Wallace Anderson as the Executive Director of Ridge Haven Conference Center (first tier) and RE David Wicker as the Executive Vice President of Covenant Seminary (second tier).

Next to the floor was the report of the COC on Mission to North America. The biggest issue before the COC was the matter of the request of the Chaplains Commission asking the PCA to adopt a statement of the denomination as both guidance for our chaplains as well as an expression of the denomination’s views on the topic of possible overturing of the U.S. law which governs homosexual individuals in the military. Currently, the official is that that are not eligible. The policy known as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is not the law but rather a Defense Department policy.

Executive Director of the Presbyterian Joint Commission on Chaplains, PCA Teaching Elder Doug Lee, a retired Army Brigadier General in the Chaplain’s Corp.

Chaplain Lee explained that the proposed today is extraordinary in that the opinion of the PCA (and all other denominations endorsing Chaplains) have been officially asked by the Armed Forces Chaplain Board to provide input from the denominations concerning their opinions and views on this matter.

The COC also had before it three overtures from Presbyteries and a Personal Resolution on this same topic. The COC chose to answer those four submissions by referring to their response to the PRJC.

The COC spent a great deal of time and effort debating these issues and revised the initial request and presented to the denomination a Proposed Letter. A copy of the text of the letter will be made available as soon as possible.

At 2:00PM a fixed order of the day called for the presentation of the COC on Administrative Committee, which would bring to the floor the vote on the Strategic Plan, leaving the completion of this report for Friday.

After passing a number of motions unanimously supported by the COC, the Assembly moved to consideration a number of motions concerning the Strategic Plan. Thus began a period of five hours of hearty debate.

The first motion presented was the matter of funding of the Administration Committee.

The motion was to approve the theory of “A Funding Plan Model for the PCA Administrative Committee/Office of the Stated Clerk”. (A copy of the plan will be published as soon as it is available.) After defeating a motion to recommit for further study, the motion passed without need of a count. This plan will not be implemented until changes to the Rules of Assembly Operation (to be presented next year) and changes to the Book of Church Order (to start that process today).

Next up was the motion to vote the first approval of required changes to the Book of Church Order to implement the Funding Plan. Affected would be change to BCO 14-1 and 14-2.

14-1 would add the sentence: “Consistent with this principle, the responsibility to support the work of the denomination shall include a requirement that churches, teaching elders, and Presbyteries contribute to denominational support services by paying an annual Registration Fee for the support of the ministry of the Administrative Committee.”

14-2 would clarify some language and then add the sentence: “Among these members, the voting members of the General Assembly shall consist of: (1) all teaching elders who, before the convening of the General Assembly, have fulfilled their annual responsibilities {Ed. Note: accumulative from year to year} with respect to the Registration Fees for teaching elders as approved by the General Assembly and who are pastors in relation to churches (BCO 22-1) that, before the convening of the General Assembly, have fulfilled their annual responsibilities with respect to the Registration Fees for churches as approved by the General Assembly; (20 all teaching elders serving in needful works (BCO 8-4) who, before the convening of the General Assembly, have fulfilled their annual responsibilities for Teaching Elders as approved by the General Assembly; and (3) ruling elder commissioners whose churches, before the convening of the General Assembly, have fulfilled their annual responsibilities with respect to the Registration Fees for churches as approved by the General Assembly. In any case where the failure to fulfill such annual responsibilities precludes voting membership, the Administrative Committee is authorized to negotiate a reasonable accommodation to restore voting membership. Honorably Retired teaching elders are exempted from the Registration Fee.”

The next motion placed on the floor was ‘that the informational portions of the “2010 PCA Strategic Plan” be commended to the General Assembly for its study and reflection (the GA is not being asked to adopt these portions). A motion was made to recommit this motion to the Administrative Committee in order to add Scriptural support for the plan. That motion failed. The vote to approve the motion for study and reflection was approved without a need for a count.

Themes and Goals of the Strategic plan came next. A full copy of revisions to this section of the Strategic Plan will be provided as soon as it is available. Highlights of the action were as follows.

Theme #1: Civil Conversation (revised from the former ‘Safe Places’ language). The goal would be to establish places to enter into civil conservations about the best ways to advance the PCA’s faithfulness to biblical belief, ministry, and mission. This might include public forums at GA, similar forums at Presbyteries, and gatherings of non-agreeing enclaves to discuss major denomination-changing or culture-changing ideas.

Theme #2: Increased Involvement (revised from the ‘Seats at the Table’ language). The goal is to increase involvement by providing more opportunities to utilize great variety of people and life experiences (especially younger leaders, women, ethnic leaders, and global church representatives) in the discussions concerning PCA ministry direction and development. A number of specific means were presented, but the summary of them was to involve representatives vital to the church’s future in denominational leadership and utilizing valuable insights of people from different backgrounds as we consider ministry in the context of our changing culture.

Theme #3: In God’s Global Mission. The goal is to find ways to participate corporately in God’s Global Mission with exemplary unity, humility and effectiveness, bringing sound biblical understanding to the largest expansion of Christianity in world history. A summary of the proposed means is to provide internal means and will to make the PCA a significant contributor to God’s Global Mission (including learning from the global church, as well as unifying ourselves to minister to and with the global church).
After an extended period of debate on this motion, passed without need for a count, but with many observers felt was about a 60-40 division of the house.

After more than 30 minutes of floor haggling over the semantics of the COC language concerning how the Assembly would vote on the specific ‘means’ being proposed, the Assembly adopted all but one – although there was a break for supper and a worship service before the Assembly returned for a not-so-common late night session.

The three means of Theme 1 were adopted without need for a vote.

Among the means for Theme 2, five of the six were adopted. Two of those adopted required counted votes; one concerning inviting younger generation leaders onto GA boards and committee passed with a vote of 507-366; the other on devoping an alternative crfedentially process for men from disadvantaged constituences passd with a vote of 425-409. The means involving a process to “establish standards for voluntary certification of men and wome

The six means of Theme 3 all passed with uncounted majorities.

One other major item to deal with was Overture 24 dealing with a request from Northwest Georgia Presbytery to adopt a statement of “17 Points for PCA Renewal”. The COC recommended approval with some minor changes in langauge to the adopting langauge, to include language stating this would be d, by His Spirit, one “as the PCA considers how best to minister biblically and effectively in the Twenty-first Century”. Also words were added to the prayer for God’s enablement to enable “us, by His Spirit, faithfully to employ the spiritual means and common grace insights that He Himself provides to us.”

With that change, the overture was adopted (original overture language here): www.pcaac.org/2010GeneralAssembly/Overture%2024%20NW%20GA%20-%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf

The assembly will return for a Friday morning Session facing completion of the COC’s on Mission to North America and the lengthy report of the Overtures Committee.

[Editor’s note: Some of the original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid, so the links have been removed.]