June 27, 2022
Since I was in Birmingham this week at our General Assembly, I wasn't able to write for our weekly update email on Friday. But I wanted to give you a recap of what transpired at GA, and comment on a few other items of moment from this week.
General Assembly is one of my favorite weeks of the year. I love catching up with old friends and making new friends, hearing how God is at work across the PCA, listening to debate and watching Robert's Rules of Order in action (yes, I confess, I am a parliamentary procedure geek), and getting to participate in the oversight of our denomination by acting on recommendations pertaining to our committees and agencies and overtures from Presbyteries seeking to amend our Book of Church Order.
On Monday and Tuesday of GA week, commissioners (i.e., the teaching elders and ruling elder representatives from each church) meet in various committees to deliberate and make recommendations regarding the business that will come before the Assembly. (This year I was on the Covenant Theological Seminary Committee of Commissioners, and Ken Haynes was on the Reformed University Ministries Committee of Commissioners.)
Also on those first two days of the week, there are dozens of seminars on various topics for instruction and edification, as well as much milling about and catching up with friends in the exhibit hall full of various ministries. (POPC was well represented this year in the exhibit hall - John Kwasny had a booth for One Story Ministries, Martie Kwasny had a booth for Joni and Friends, John Perritt manned the Reformed Youth Ministries booth, and I had a booth for Log College Press.)
The Assembly officially begins on Tuesday evening with corporate worship. Dr. Roy Taylor, our former Stated Clerk and last year's Moderator, preached the word of God to us, warning us against the extremes of the Sadducees (liberalism) and the Pharisees (conservatism).
We begin each Assembly with the election of a Moderator. This year, Mr. John Bise was elected. I was happy to see him chosen, for he is a faithful churchman who also happens to be originally from Jackson, and he serves as a ruling elder in Huntsville, Alabama, at the church where our dear sister Micki Smith will attend.
We also ratified several amendments to our Book of Church Order that had been approved at last year's Assembly and approved by more than two-thirds of our eighty-eight presbyteries, primarily related to the election of pastors and ruling elders, and church discipline processes. You can read more details here.
On Wednesday morning, we began hearing reports from our permanent committees and agencies, as well as a report from the Study Committee on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault (DASA).
The full written report of the DASA committee seeks to give a biblical and confessional understanding of abuse, addressing in particular domestic abuse, women who abuse, adult sexual abuse, child abuse, and spiritual abuse. It was written to help Sessions think through how to shepherd those members who are being abused and those who are abusing others. Though not an investigatory assessment as was done in the Southern Baptist Church this past year, the committee's report is worthy of our attention.
Another item of great significance on Wednesday was an overture to withdraw from the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). The NAE is a parachurch organization that seeks to unite evangelical churches and ministries together, especially in regard to political involvement. Over the past decade, there has been a growing sentiment to leave the NAE, in part because of some of its theological and political positions, and also because our Confession is clear that the Church as the Church is "not to intermeddle with civil affairs which concern the commonwealth, unless by way of humble petition in cases extraordinary; or, by the way of advice, for satisfaction of conscience, if they be thereunto required by the civil magistrate" (WCF 31.2). In spite of several speeches in favor of remaining in the NAE, the recommendation to leave was approved by a vote of 1030-699. I think this is a good decision, and one that we will be more and more thankful to have made in years to come.
On Wednesday evening, Rev. Elbert McGowan preached to us from John 21. It was a joy to hear our fellow presbyter open God's word with precision, power, and pointedness.
The last (and main) day of Assembly business was Thursday. We had many overtures from Presbyteries to debate, several coming with majority and minority recommendations. Here's a quick summary of some highlights of our action:
We issued a humble petition to President Biden, the leaders of Congress, and the Governors and leaders of State Legislatures, that they end the permission of abortion: "God declares in Sacred Scripture that civil government, no less than the Church, is a divine institution and owes its authority to God. The Bible is the supreme revelation of God's will and teaches that the unborn child is a human person deserving the full protection of the Sixth Commandment, 'You shall not murder.' We who love our nation, in the name of God who alone is sovereign, call upon you to renounce the sin of abortion, to repent of the complicity in the mass slaughter of innocent unborn children, who are persons in the sight of God, and to reverse the ruinous direction of both law and practice in this area. The obedience to God which places us in subjection to your rightful authority, requires of us to proclaim the counsel of God as it bears upon the same God-given authority."
We approved several changes to our Book of Church Order regarding homosexuality:
We approved adding the following language to BCO 16 regarding qualifications for church office: "Officers in the Presbyterian Church in America must be above reproach in their walk and Christlike in their character. While office bearers will see spiritual perfection only in glory, they will continue in this life to confess and to mortify remaining sins in light of God’s work of progressive sanctification. Therefore, to be qualified for office, they must affirm the sinfulness of fallen desires, the reality and hope of progressive sanctification, and be committed to the pursuit of Spirit-empowered victory over their sinful temptations, inclinations, and actions." This language was approved by a vote of 1922-200, which is a hugely encouraging number given the fact that a similar proposal was defeated by the Presbyteries last year. I have good hope that this language will be approved by more than the necessary two-thirds of Presbyteries this year.
We approved adding the following language to BCO 7 regarding those who identify as homosexuals: "Men who describe themselves as homosexual, even those who describe themselves as homosexual and claim to practice celibacy by refraining from homosexual conduct, are disqualified from holding office in the Presbyterian Church in America." This language only passed by a vote of 1167-978, because some feel we ought not to forbid language that may be how a man describes his particular sin struggle, and others believe this language to be a "magic words" test that will allow some not to say the magic words but still to hold aberrant views. While I am in favor of this amendment, I have little hope that this language will be approved by at least two-thirds of Presbyteries this year.
We approved adding the following language to BCO 21 and 24 regarding requirements for ordination: "In the examination of the candidate's/nominee's personal character, the presbytery/Session shall give specific attention to potential notorious concerns. Careful attention must be given to his practical struggle against sinful actions, as well as to persistent sinful desires. The candidate must give clear testimony of reliance upon his union with Christ and the benefits thereof by the Holy Spirit, depending on this work of grace to make progress over sin (Psalm 103:2-5, Romans 8:29) and to bear fruit (Psalm 1:3, Gal. 5:22-23). While imperfection will remain, when confessing sins and sinful temptations publicly, the candidate/nominee must exercise great care not to diminish the seriousness of those sins in the eyes of the congregation, as though they were matters of little consequence, but rather should testify to the work of the Holy Spirit in his progress in holiness (I Cor. 6:9-11)." I'm not sure how this language will fare in the Presbyteries, since it was part of an "omnibus motion" (that is, a large group of recommendations that had passed the Overtures Committee with sizeable support), and we did not take a vote specifically on it by itself.
We approved changes to the language of BCO 33-1 and 34-1, raising the threshold for requests for a higher court to assume original jurisdiction in a case where a Session or Presbytery does not indict a member in a doctrinal case or an instance of public scandal. Previously, two Sessions/Presbyteries could make this request, but the standard was that the Session or Presbytery had to "refuse to act" before the higher court could take the case away from the lower court - and this language led to it being very difficult to convince a higher court to assume original jurisdiction, as the lower court nearly always had acted in some manner. So we raised the threshold to 10% of Sessions/Presbyteries, but made the standard "if the Session/Presbytery does not indict a member in a doctrinal case or an instance of public scandal." The vote on this was 1245-521, but there were very strong feelings against this change, so I expect it to have a difficult time being approved by two-thirds of Presbyteries. I hope it is, but there is a real possibility it fails to garner the needed support.
We closed out the Assembly in worship, hearing a sermon from Dr. Kevin DeYoung on II Corinthians 5:15-16.
All in all, this year's General Assembly was encouraging for me with regard to the future of the PCA. As we approach our 50th anniversary next summer in Memphis, I sense a greater degree of unity than existed last year, and a larger number of elders are engaged in a direction that I believe holds to our Scriptural and Confessional foundations. Please continue to pray for the PCA! If you have any questions about anything I mentioned above (or neglected to mention), please don't hesitate to reach out by email.
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I mentioned our humble petition regarding abortion above - in God's providence, the US Supreme Court issued its ruling overturning Roe v. Wade on Friday. What an answer to prayer this decision is! So many have been asking God for the past fifty years to end the scourge of abortion, and though this ruling will not eradicate abortion from our country entirely, it will allow the states to make it illegal in their geographical bounds if their legislatures are so inclined, and hopefully it will reduce the number of unborn children who are murdered. One factor that discourages me along these lines is the rise in abortion pills sent by mail. But the closing of abortion clinics in states like Mississippi will undoubtedly preserve the lives of many babies, so it does appear that all in all this ruling is a huge step in the direction of justice for the unborn. Ultimately, however, we know that laws don't change hearts - God must do the work of regeneration and transformation to lead a person to Himself and to righteousness.
The news of Roe's overturning reminded me of the time in the early nineties in Louisiana, when Operation Rescue came through Baton Rouge. What struck me was that this event took place only twenty years after Roe v. Wade was decided (that's like the time between today and 9/11!), and that it has been some thirty years since that movement came to my hometown. So many people have been longing for this day to come for decades; indeed, some of you may have participated in the Operation Rescue movement, or other anti-abortion efforts over the past fifty years. God is good to have answered our prayers - yet the work of caring for those with unplanned pregnancies continues on. If the foster care system is filled with even more children, or if more children are born into neglect, or if there are any other adverse effects from new laws outlawing abortions, Christians should be quick to step up to meet needs, support those in difficult circumstances, and help groups like the Center for Pregnancy Choices.
Tim Barnes, our Diaconate Chairman, put it wonderfully in a note to our Deacons: "Praise the Lord for the supreme court’s decision today! Please be in prayer about how we as the Deacons of Pear Orchard can and should be active to provide even more help to those in pregnancy crisis. The church already supports the Center for Pregnancy Choices, but we have to expect that they will be receiving more women than normal. Plus there will likely be more young women who find themselves in life altering situations after a baby is born. Moses' Basket is also a POPC ministry to aid families who are adopting or fostering children. POPC is already doing good work, but more work will be required in these fields in the future, so please be in prayer!" Let's be a church and a community of believers known for being pro-life in more than just one way; as Madison Taylor replied to Tim, "Being anti-abortion is just one facet of being pro-life. There is much work to be done!"