Peace And Purity Provided By Authority: John Thomson’s Defense Of Presbyterian Church Polity (Part 13): The Adopting Act

As detailed in the first chapter, controversy over interpretations of what took place at the Adopting Act of 1729 abound. Thomson interpreted the events to support a strict form of subscription. He suspected that only the first half of the Adopting Act, . . . Continue reading →

Peace And Purity Provided By Authority: John Thomson’s Defense Of Presbyterian Church Polity (Part 12): Confessional Subscription And Doctrinal Purity

Prior to the Adopting Act of 1729, the church had only a general understanding assumed between presbyteries and individual ministers that the Westminster Standards were to be upheld. As a ‘particular’ church united together, they were not under the authority of or . . . Continue reading →

Peace And Purity Provided By Authority: John Thomson’s Defense Of Presbyterian Church Polity (Part 11): Obedience To Lawful Matters

Thomson distinguished between what was considered sinful and what was considered lawful. If something was considered indifferent or a matter of Christian liberty in Scripture, meaning not sinful, then the officers of the church could determine whether such an action would be . . . Continue reading →

Peace And Purity Provided By Authority: John Thomson’s Defense Of Presbyterian Church Polity (Part 10): The Peace Of The Church In Submission

Thomson, while asserting Synod’s authority to make binding acts upon lower judicatories, argued that there were appropriate times for disobedience. The primary concern of the Presbytery of New Brunswick regarding the submission to Synod was that it could potentially result in submission . . . Continue reading →

Peace And Purity Provided By Authority: John Thomson’s Defense Of Presbyterian Church Polity (Part 9): The Peace Of The Church In Submission

The Apology, in addition to questioning the extent and nature of the authority exercised by church judicatories, also questioned the authority of Synod over presbyteries. The disagreement that precipitated their objection was whether Synod had the jurisdiction to regulate the examination of . . . Continue reading →

Peace And Purity Provided By Authority: John Thomson’s Defense Of Presbyterian Church Polity (Part 6): The Beginning Of Conflict

In 1739, the Presbytery of New Brunswick, which consisted of Gilbert Tennent, Eleazer Wales, William Tennent and Samuel Blair, submitted a document titled The Apology. It consisted of objections to the previous two acts of the Synod of 1738 and a polemical . . . Continue reading →

From Baptist to Presbyterian: Reflections on Polity and Pastoral Ministry

In 2020, Dr. Clark interviewed me about my unconventional route to becoming a Presbyterian pastor and how I ended up receiving a call to the congregation I serve. It is strange to consider how much change can take place in only a . . . Continue reading →

Who Is Packing The Church Courts?

The terms, tropes, and tactics of secular politics certainly influence ecclesial politics, so it’s no surprise to hear one of the Presbyterian Church in America’s most prominent and influential pastors sounding very much like a pundit on a cable news show: Conspiracy! . . . Continue reading →

An Overlooked Aspect Of The Story: PCA Influence On Acts 29 And Mars Hill

Regular readers of the Heidelblog and listeners of the Heidelcast will know that considerable time has been spent here analyzing and interacting with the podcast series produced by Christianity Today and hosted by Mike Cosper (see the resources below).

Johnson To The PCA: “Merry Christmas. Here Is A Lump Of Coal For Your Stocking”

For several years now, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has been roiled by controversy over whether to admit to her ministry men who are same-sex attracted but celibate (i.e., the so-called “Side B” approach). The debate has centered around a the . . . Continue reading →

Presbyterial Problems

This has not been a wonderful week in American Presbyterianism. Earlier this week Aimee Byrd published the letter she received from the Southeast Presbytery of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and then she announced that she is leaving her OPC congregation and the . . . Continue reading →

Three Benefits Of The Reformed Confession

…We do this first, by our agreed upon confession. Presbyterians confess as biblical the statement of faith found in the Westminster Confession of Faith, which says: “All synods or councils, since the Apostles’ times, whether general or particular, may err; and many . . . Continue reading →

P&R Polity Is Not Perfect But It Is Preferable To The Others

In the last few weeks there has been published, on social media, some fairly stinging comments about the problems inherent with way confessional Presbyterian and Reformed (hereafter P&R) churches govern themselves. These comments seem mainly to born of frustration with the way . . . Continue reading →

A Follow Up Regarding Abuse In The Church: We Are Talking About Practice

Last week I wrote an introduction to spiritual abuse and how laity and officers should respond. A correspondent writes to ask what the laity are to do when when ruling elders and ministers refuse to address a situation. May a lay member . . . Continue reading →