The Minority Report having failed as a substitute motion, the Majority Report of the committee was again before the Synod. After a short period of debate, the Majority Report was adopted. This effectively ends any possibility of the men who sued the ARP Synod from being brought under discipline.   Background In 2009 the Associate... Continue Reading

There are a number of seminars being presented at the 41st Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly. Some are general “how-to” seminars: General Assembly for Rookies, The Book of Church Order, Planting a Church: Who and How? Others are on topics of interest to pastors: Wise Planning. . .Looking to the Future, Can Your Church... Continue Reading

After a year of study, the Erskine Board agreed with the Synod’s committee that Synod does have the right to remove trustees with cause. According to board member Bill Cain, a “significant majority” of the board voted to change the charter at its May meeting. On Wednesday, June 12, the Synod-Erskine committee re-proposed the charter... Continue Reading

The Committee on Arrangements made its final report. Budgets for GA purposes were approved and a resolution of thanks to St. Mary’s College was adopted. The assembly was dissolved by the moderator, who called for the 81st General Assembly to meet at Kuyper College in Grand Rapids, Michigan from June 4–10, 2014.   There were... Continue Reading

In my humble opinion (but one informed by over three decades of ministry in the PCA), our denomination is riddled with anger, pride, jealousy, competition, factions, with not a few “celebrity pastors” who drive the engines of party strife in our midst. We are in the condition of the Corinthian church, as set forth in... Continue Reading

The question is not whether the Complainant provided sufficient evidence or proved his case; the question is rather whether the Record of the Case shows that Presbytery erred. The SJC has “the duty and authority to interpret and apply the Constitution of the Church according to its best abilities and understanding, regardless of the opinion... Continue Reading

The 73rd OPC General Assembly authorized the Committee on Christian Education to develop a Psalter-Hymnal. Its mandate is to include musical settings of all 150 Psalms, in their entirety, with as much accuracy and as little archaic language and confusing syntax as possible, for use in churches. In 2012 the United Reformed Churches of North... Continue Reading

A big part of the assembly will be the integration of hundreds of new delegates from churches that have realigned their denominational affiliation to the EPC in the past 12 months. Every minister member of the EPC and a complement of elders from every EPC congregation may be seated as commissioners. With more than 400... Continue Reading

There were three pastors nominated for moderator: Archibald Allison, Larry Westerveld, and Jeffrey Landis. After the nomination speeches, balloting was to take place though electronic voting devices but they did not work; paper ballots were provided for the delegates. Jeffrey Landis, pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in San Jose, Calif., was elected as moderator.  ... Continue Reading

The concept of an inactive roll violates the clear intent of Biblical church discipline and shepherding. Even our definition of an active member is disgracefully lenient. A member of the Rotary Club has higher attendance requirements placed on him or her than in an ARP church! We are called to a far higher and holy... Continue Reading