The person elected the first black man in the No. 2 position of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination didn’t choose to become a Southern Baptist. Update: On the first business day of the conventioin, Fred Luter, Jr. was elected as First Vice President, receiving 1,558 votes, or 77 percent. Most observers were surprised when a... Continue Reading

It should be noted from this report that the 16th GA did not declare paedocommunion as an allowable exception. The report declared that “classical Reformed theology has been virtually unanimous in judging that covenant children ought not to be brought to the Lord’s Table before the age of discretion.” Though it has been described as... Continue Reading

For the past year, New Horizons has featured historical remembrances in anticipation of the 75th anniversary of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. It has included stories about churches, presbyteries, French Creek, the Boardwalk Chapel, and individuals such as Betty Andrews, John DeWaard, and, of course, J. Gresham Machen. Not all Presbyterians, however, believe that sustained focus... Continue Reading

Synod 2011 of the Christian Reformed Church is meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The assembly gathered on June 10 and will run through June 16. Each of the CRC’s 47 classes (regional groups of churches) will send two ministers and two elders as representatives. So far, two significant actions have come to the floor Homosexuality... Continue Reading

“This report should break the heart of every Southern Baptist. It should have us on our faces, crying out for awakening. It should have us asking God for our old men to dream dreams and our young men to have visions. We need freshness. We need repentance. We need revival.” Southern Baptist churches reported 332,321... Continue Reading

The net result of this was that the coalition of the right and center wings of the church was reestablished, and this right/center majority “ran the table.” That is to say, it did not lose a single vote of any ideological consequence. In retrospect, it is now clear that the influx of ministers trained at... Continue Reading

On the last day of the 39th PCA General Assembly it considered a number of overtures that had been referred to the Overtures Committee. This is a ‘Super’ Committee of Commissioners with two representatives from each Presbytery, one Teaching Elder and one Ruling Elder, eligible to serve. Overture 2 was answered in the negative. This... Continue Reading

The PCA General Assembly for 2011 received an overture from Potomac Presbytery concerning a problem with translations of the bible into languages used primarily in the Muslim world It seems a number of groups are making translations that do not use the terms ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ when referring to the first and second persons of... Continue Reading

One recommendation from that report was to consider ending its relationship with the Presbyterian Council for Chaplains and Military Personnel (PCCMP) as an endorsement agency and seek endorsement from the Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel (PRJC). The day began with a wonderful sermon preached by the Rev. Paul Patrick, campus... Continue Reading

Just after 9:30PM on Thursday evening, the Committee of Commissioners (CoC) on Administration took the floor to present a lengthy report (with 26 recommendations). The chairman began by seeking to move 25 of the motions (other than budgets) as an omnibus motion, which means lump them together for one vote to approve. Since only 5... Continue Reading