Actions of the 44th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America
The Forty-fourth General Assembly met June 20-23, 2016 in Mobile, Alabama, at the Mobile Convention Center. Gulf Coast Presbytery hosted the meeting.
At the First General Assembly in 1973 the matter of a PCA logo was considered. In 1982, 1983, 2006, 2014, and 2015 it was discussed again. The matter had been referred to the Historical Center (HC) Subcommittee of the AC for report to the AC and recommendation to the Assembly…The Design Group initially developed over... Continue Reading
44th PCA General Assembly (2016): Selected Acts & Deliverances
Some highlights of actions taken at the 44th GA of the Presbyterian Church in America.
PCA statistics reported at the end of 2015: Total membership, 370,332 (increase of 11, 816, as opposed to a decrease of 1,318 the year before); Churches, 1,534 (increase of 35); Ministers, 4,556 (increase of 140); and Presbyteries, 84. Attendance at the 2016 General Assembly meeting in Mobile, Alabama: 1,252 commissioners (977 Teaching Elders, 275 Ruling... Continue Reading
How Should Christians Think About Corporate Apologies?
It’s been a busy season for public apology and repentance
“How then should Christians think about corporate apology and repentance? My short answer: as a careful, genuinely corporate exercise there can be great value in approving statements of shared repentance, but as a genre of complaint and rebuke, public apologies are normally misguided and misleading.” It’s been a busy season for public apology and... Continue Reading
Women’s Issues in the PCA
If the intent of this recommendation was merely to explore the ways in which non-ordained women can engage in ministry without violating the BCO, then this recommendation chose perhaps the most exceedingly poor way of communicating that idea.
Actually, far more alarming to me now is the wording of the suggestion regarding the pastoral letter. The language of women serving alongside elders in the pastoral work of the church already suggests that the substance of what elders do is something that women can do. It is not a long step from that perspective... Continue Reading
2016 PCA General Assembly: Moving Forward Together
I departed from Mobile, Alabama with a renewed hope that these differences exist within a general consensus for biblical and Reformed fidelity that is growing stronger, not weaker.
Likewise, I departed from the PCA’s General Assembly with concerns and frustrations, as usual. But I am grateful to the Lord to serve in a denomination that continues to occupy its vital spiritual real estate at the crossroads of evangelicalism and Calvinism. I agreed with the fraternal delegate from the OPC, who commented that what... Continue Reading
How The PCA GA Action On The Role Of Women In The Church Appears To One Woman
A Reflection on the 2016 PCA General Assembly written by a PCA pastor’s wife, who is herself a seminary graduate.
I enjoy being a woman according to the example outlined in Scripture, in part, just so that I can see my husband being a man as defined by Scripture. I am fulfilled as a woman with my beautiful submissive, nurturing role that provides opportunities to bring out the leadership role of my husband….Nevertheless, my culture... Continue Reading
“Who Are The 123 Who Voted Against The Overture?” Here’s One.
Why I voted against the racial reconciliation overture at the 44th PCA General Assembly.
When it comes to calling upon believers to confess and repent of the sins of a prior generation the vast majority of which they had little if anything to do with personally, it seems to me we are in danger of trivializing repentance along the lines of Calvin’s warning and at the same time falling... Continue Reading
The 222nd General Assembly Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Brief Summary
Over the last year one of the big questions swirling around the PC(USA) has been form and function of the church, particularly at the national level
The Assembly considered an overture on “Admission of, and Apology for, Harms Done to the LGBTQ/Q Members of the PC(USA), Family and Friends.” With much discussion in both the committee and on the floor, and with the broad support of many groups – but not all – the Assembly approved a statement that says the... Continue Reading
A Troubling Turn: PCA General Assembly 2016
This year there were four conventional, par-for-the- course General Assembly decisions that included problematic elements: missional theology, the Sabbath, racial reconciliation, and women in ministry.
Why do I regard the approval of this study committee as a “troubling turn?” I believe that this approach poses a threat to the unity of the PCA. If the progressives have their way and ordination is opened to women, there will most certainly be a split. Too many of us recognize that there is... Continue Reading
What’s in a Name? Critical Reflections on the PCA’s Women in Ministry Study Committee
So, if not intended to push the question of ordination of women, why include the topic of ordination at all?
The way the Reformed Christian community talks about, responds to, and values women needs much work. I hope that the newly formed study committee on the role of women in the PCA will conduct a more thorough investigation into what these many unanswered questions affecting women actually are before they start attempting to answer them.... Continue Reading
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