By Jared Nelson | March 2, 2023 One of the weightiest responsibilities of a member or delegate at presbytery is examining new Teaching Elders. One must balance the needs of a congregation for a pastor with the responsibilities that man will have in shepherding, teaching, and counseling the flock of Christ’s church entrusted to his … More The Presbyterian Way of Approving Pastors
By Benjamin T. Inman | February 28, 2023 This is an invitation to controversy; my full-length contribution is available here. I offer a response to what I perceive to be a high point of advocacy for the Church Year in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). During my 30 years in the denomination, without difficulty … More A Wholesome Controversy? Please.
By Brad Isbell | February 28, 2023 In the Presbyterian Church in America, there are but two offices: elder and deacon. All officers in the PCA are ordained; both offices (by definition) are filled by (and only by) ordained persons. Officers are essential in many kinds of organizations inasmuch as they are legally required or … More The Church’s Two Laws
By Philip Ryan | February 24, 2023 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 For the second year in a row, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has sent down overtures regarding the sexuality of ministers to the presbyteries. Overture 29 presented to the 49th … More Mainline Presbyterianism & the LGBTQ Movement
By Brad Isbell | January 24, 2022 The state of worship in the Presbyterian Church in America is arguably better than it has ever been, at least as far as liturgy goes. More churches now use recognizably Reformed liturgies than at any point in the denomination’s history. These are liturgies that include the biblical elements … More Worship, Polity, & the PCA
By George Sayour | January 20, 2023 Note: The second half of this article is a line-by-line look at how Overture 29 lines up with the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).I have many friends who are in support of Overture 29. In addition, I am on the Gospel Reformation Network (GRN) General Council and the … More Do We Need Overture 15? Overture 29 Tells Us “Yes”
By The Editors | January 19, 2023 In our first full calendar year, Presbyterian Polity received over 35,200 visitors who logged a total of more than 61,100 views across the site. Thank you for spending some time with us. We hope that what you have read helped you as you have prayed for, served, and … More The Top 10 Polity Posts of 2022
By Zachary Garris | January 18, 2023 It is no secret there are two stated differences to the Westminster Standards that presbyteries in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) commonly rule as permissible exceptions. These two differences pertain to images of Jesus and recreation on the Sabbath. While there have been many battles over subscription … More The Sabbath and Subscription in the PCA
by Zachary Groff | January 11, 2023 The attention garnered by proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has spotlighted a particularly interesting data point concerning the denomination as it enters its 50th year of existence: the PCA is comprised of 88 presbyteries. How did this come about? When the … More How a Presbytery Is Born
By Ryan Biese | December 5, 2022 I was reared Lutheran (ELCA). In my experience growing up and attending several different Lutheran congregations, the worship was fundamentally the same.[1] Regardless of whether we attended a relatively conservative or relatively liberal congregation, the order of worship essentially did not change. It did not even matter whether … More Beware the Latitude of the Pharisees