Church Polity

The Biblical Middle Between Hierarchy and Anarchy

by on November 27, 2024 | Comment

Concepts of representation and visibility often come up in social and political discussions about equity, inclusion, fairness, or justice. These concepts can be wrongly or unwisely imported into the church, a spiritual body with her own ethics, processes, standards, and constitution. Yet there is a pressing . . . Continue reading →

God Has Ordained Men, Means, and Method

by on November 14, 2024 | Comment

The wonderful Preface to the Presbyterian Church in America’s Book of Church Order is an overlooked masterpiece of piety and practice—an especially helpful resource: Christ, as King, has given to His Church officers, oracles and ordinances; and especially has He ordained therein His system of doctrine, government, . . . Continue reading →

Of Wheels, Spokes, And Ruling Elders (Part 2)

by on November 15, 2023 | 7 Comments

Previously, we looked at the office of Ruling Elder (RE) in P&R churches. Today, we continue that conversation. Truing The Spokes When a bloc of REs, however, becomes less a counter-weight to progressive tendencies and more an anchor to prevent Reformation according . . . Continue reading →

Review: Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church by Michael J. Kruger

by on January 12, 2023

Michael Kruger has written a gem of a book, addressing one of the most prominent issues troubling the church today. Increasingly, we are faced with stories about pastors who misuse their position of authority to achieve their own selfish ends to the . . . Continue reading →

Polity Matters: How Reformed Churches Might Have Handled The Chandler Situation

by on December 23, 2022 | 6 Comments

Matt Chandler is the lead pastor of The Village Church, a megachurch of about 14,000 members in Flower Mound, TX, which is a northern suburb in the Dallas-Ft Worth metroplex (it is the top of the triangle of the three). After the . . . Continue reading →

Peace And Purity Provided By Authority: John Thomson’s Defense Of Presbyterian Church Polity (Part 15): Conclusion

by on October 29, 2022

Close attention has been paid thus far to Thomson’s articulation of Presbyterian Church government, which stood in juxtaposition with his opponents. In response to the objections of the New Side, Thomson’s works revealed the ultimate reason why he opposed what they were . . . Continue reading →

Peace And Purity Provided By Authority: John Thomson’s Defense Of Presbyterian Church Polity (Part 14): Terms Of Communion

by on October 22, 2022 | 1 Comment

As a particular church, Thomson argued that the officers of the church needed to exercise their authority to adopt a confession for their communion. As a Synod not formally associated with any other church, the Synod could adopt a set of standards . . . Continue reading →

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

by on October 15, 2022

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

by on October 8, 2022

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

by on October 1, 2022

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

by on September 24, 2022

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 →