Mr. Moderator, Brad Isbell, ruling elder, Tennessee Valley Presbytery. At the risk of sounding like a politician—or Mel Duncan, for that matter—I was against the study committee before I was for the study committee, but this is a speech in favor. Last . . . Continue reading →
PCA
Lift Up Your Eyes: The PCA General Assembly 2025
The 52nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) met this year in Chattanooga, TN. Hosted by the Tennessee Valley Presbytery, a near-record number of commissioners (over 2300) descended upon the Scenic City from June 23–27. The PCA gathers annually . . . Continue reading →
The Shepherd’s Church: A New Plant In Riverside, California
Riverside, California, is a bustling city with a population of around 330,000, making it the twelfth most populous city in the state. Here is the catch, however: it has no confessional Reformed or Presbyterian churches. And guess what? San Bernardino County, right . . . Continue reading →
PCA GA 2025: Quiet Interrupted By Power Struggles
As the GA adjourned, similar to other denominations, the power struggle between high-level leaders and many other presbyters would continue. Both of those stake-holders felt significant ownership, and the clashes were not always pretty, much less resolved well. However, some leadership changes . . . Continue reading →
Tennessee Valley Overture On Christian Nationalism
Whereas, the duties of Christian citizenship are often disputed and prove perennially difficult for both elders and church members to discern; and Whereas, confusion exists about the proper relation between church and state; and Whereas, due to recent movements, publications, popular teachings, . . . Continue reading →
NW Georgia Overtures PCA GA to Create Committee to Revise Directory For Worship For Authoritative Use
Whereas even prior to the establishment of constitutional documents in American Presbyterianism, American Presbyterians utilized the Westminster Form of Government and Directory for Public Worship, as adopted by the Synod of Philadelphia in 1729, thereby affirming the historic practice of ordering worship according . . . Continue reading →
Two PCA Pastors Arrested In Separate Cases
Two teaching elders from the Presbyterian Church in America are facing criminal charges in separate cases. The first case involves a pastor in Florida who was the driver in a fatal car crash. The second case involves a pastor in Mississippi who . . . Continue reading →
Where Are All The Women?
We are very reliably informed that a recent visitor to a PCA church circled all the names of the church’s officers in the printed worship bulletin and wrote, “Where are all the women?” on the page, which he or she duly folded and dropped in . . . Continue reading →
Sauls Leaves PCA, Becomes Egalitarian
You might have heard that one of the Presbyterian Church in America’s most notable ministers got in trouble, was suspended by his presbytery, went through a lengthy discipline process, eventually resigned his church, and two days later was restored as a member . . . Continue reading →
Hart On Slippery Slopes
Brad Isbell: As you know in times of ecclesial controversy and change the conservative, confessional, or traditionalist side is often accused of making slippery slope arguments. Sometimes these arguments are consciously made as in Jon Payne’s recent post at the Gospel Reformation Network, . . . Continue reading →
What Do Good Faith Exceptions Do To The PCA?
Good Faith Subscription (GFS), the practice of allowing a man to assent to most of the Westminster Standards in “good faith” while allowing him to state minor differences in parts, has been practiced in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) for almost . . . Continue reading →
Stealthy Psalters In The PCA?
Many PCA churches (more than half?) have a psalter and they don’t even know it. Of course, some churches have switched to the excellent, newer Trinity Psalter Hymnal or another good psalter, but if a church has the very common Trinity Hymnal they already have . . . Continue reading →
Marusich: People Won’t Say Publicly When It Matters What They Say Privately
A former teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), who was critical of the way the Central Indiana Presbytery handled allegations brought against Dan Herron, is now facing seven charges and possible excommunication. “The charges are a clear retaliation by [Teaching . . . Continue reading →
A New Decade: Irony Continues At GA 51 (Part 2)
The more doctrinal wing of the PCA was flexing some muscle in the first half of the week at the 2024 General Assembly, but would it continue through the week? And will that continue beyond this Assembly? Continue reading →
A New Decade: Irony Continues At GA 51 (Part 1)
As the PCA General Assembly convened on June 11th in the Greater Richmond Convention Center in downtown Richmond, VA, for the first time following its 50th birthday gala, ruling elder Steve Dowling from Southeast Alabama Presbytery was elected as Moderator. He led . . . Continue reading →
Thoughts On Overture 12 From PCA General Assembly (2023) And Ascension Presbytery’s Sending The Overture To The Civil Magistrate: Part Three
The first two parts of this series discussed the confessional considerations for why I protested the sending of Overture 12 to the magistrates. In this final part, I provide two further considerations: practical and historical. II. Practical Considerations At this point, I . . . Continue reading →
Thoughts On Overture 12 From PCA General Assembly (2023) And Ascension Presbytery’s Sending The Overture To The Civil Magistrate: Part Two
4. Synods and councils are restricted in ways that individual church members, and even church officers, are not restricted. Chapter 31 of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) does not restrict church members from handling or concluding matters that are not ecclesiastical. Continue reading →
Thoughts On Overture 12 From PCA General Assembly (2023) And Ascension Presbytery’s Sending The Overture To The Civil Magistrate: Part One
Recently, I sent a (brief, four-page) protest to our Presbytery in response to its recent action of instructing our clerk to forward to the magistrates Overture 12 (adjusted for our geography) regarding transgender procedures for minors. Continue reading →
Forty Years Earlier . . . The 1984 (12th) GA: Unity Frays
The PCA General Assembly convened again in a large convention ballroom at Baton Rouge’s Bellemont Hotel for its next Assembly. Meeting in the deep South and the furthest west to date, the 12th GA would continue hashing out areas of mission and expansion. . . . Continue reading →
An Overture To Assist The Accused
An overture to the 51st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America would expand the pool of representatives for those accused by church courts and bring the PCA’s practice more in line with that of her conservative presbyterian sister denominations. Church . . . Continue reading →