By Alex Mark | April 17, 2024 Please note that the Editorial Board of Presbyterian Polity does not necessarily endorse all views expressed on the blog of this site, but the editors are pleased to present well-crafted position papers on issues facing Presbyterian churches and denominations. What follows is one such paper for our readers’ … More In Favor of Requiring Exit Interviews
By Brad Isbell | March 26, 2024 An overture from a PCA session (meaning it failed to receive a majority at presbytery) would make the presbyterian judicial system more horizontal and lateral. The rationale (in part): For small Presbyteries and Sessions, it can be particularly difficult to perform an investigation properly, let alone to execute a trial. … More An Overture that Doesn’t Make the “Grade”: The Presbyterian Judicial System is Necessarily “Vertically Inclined”
by Matthew Lee | February 21, 2024 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 20 years. The practice was officially … More Exceptionalism in the PCA
by Scott Edburg | January 27, 2024 Since the fall (see my November update), around 24 presbyteries have taken up the three proposed Book of Church Order (BCO) amendments sent from the 50th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) to the regional presbyteries. According to my records, 64 presbyteries have taken up the … More January 2024 BCO Amendments Update
By Michael Khandjian | January 16, 2024 Please note that the Editorial Board of Presbyterian Polity does not necessarily endorse all views expressed on the blog of this site, but the editors are pleased to present well-crafted position papers on issues facing Presbyterian churches and denominations. What follows is one such paper for our readers’ … More Do We Need a Directory for Worship? No.
By Brant Bosserman | January 12, 2024 Please note that the Editorial Board of Presbyterian Polity does not necessarily endorse all views expressed on the blog of this site, but the editors are pleased to present well-crafted position papers on issues facing Presbyterian churches and denominations. What follows is one such paper for our readers’ … More Cretans Are Always Liars: The Necessity of Divine Oaths in Church Courts
By Jared Nelson | January 10, 2024 For 47 years, a “temporary statement” has introduced the Presbyterian Church in America’s Directory for the Worship of God. This note, affixed by the Third General Assembly, noted the unfinished work of revising the Directory of Public Worship stating: “The Directory for Worship is an approved guide and … More The Unfinished Business of the PCA Founding: The Directory for Public Worship
Understanding Overture 4 from Central Indiana Presbytery By Dan Barber | January 5, 2024 Please note that the Editorial Board of Presbyterian Polity does not necessarily endorse all views expressed on the blog of this site, but the editors are pleased to present well-crafted position papers on issues facing Presbyterian churches and denominations. What follows … More Trying to Do Something… Substantial
by Scott Edburg | November 23, 2023 As fall fades to winter, 40 presbyteries have taken up the three proposed amendments to the Book of Church Order (BCO) initially approved and passed down by the 50th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Nearly half of the presbyteries have offered advice and consent … More November 2023 BCO Amendments Update
by Scott Edburg | October 29, 2023 As October ends, 26 presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) have offered their advice and consent concerning the three Book of Church Order (BCO) amendment items sent down from the 50th General Assembly. As a general reminder, there is a three-step process that the PCA must … More October 2023 BCO Amendments Update