By Josh Harp | June 5, 2023 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 The Author’s Rationale for Overture 9
by The Editors | May 29, 2023 With the 50th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) coming up in just a couple weeks (June 13-16) and the Commissioner Handbook now available through the PCA’s Administrative Committee, the denomination’s elders who will be attending need all the help they can get to prepare. … More Info Guide to Overtures before PCAGA50
by Zachary Groff | April 24, 2023 Whenever people gather as a group to accomplish certain tasks and to achieve shared goals, they must operate according to rules held in common. The more formal the group, the more formal the expression of said rules must be. However formal or informal, these rules direct the group … More What Can the BCO Teach Us?
by Zachary Groff | April 14, 2023 Every conscientious presbyter serving in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) should have a chunky blue binder containing the Book of Church Order (BCO) within easy reach of his desk or workspace. Like all good binders, this one includes pockets on the insides of the front and back … More A Newly Published Resource for Presbyters
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 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 Jared Nelson | October 13, 2022 “Grassroots Presbyterianism” has become a common description of the polity of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). The phrase generally communicates the understanding that the PCA has been a bottom-up denomination that was formed with a conscious effort to give more power to the presbyteries rather than to … More Grassroots Presbyterianism & Amending BCO 34-1
By Scott Edburg | September 9, 2022 As the 88 presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) begin deliberations on the actions of the 49th General Assembly in Birmingham, their presbyters may be overwhelmed by the number of proposed constitutional amendments that must be considered before the 50th General Assembly in Memphis. There are … More Proposed Constitutional Amendments before the PCA in 2022
By George Sayour | August 31, 2022 Editor’s Note: While this post is informative and touches on Overture 15, it is not a direct argument in favor of the proposed BCO Amendment resulting from the passage of Overture 15 at PCAGA49. For resources that more directly argue in favor of the proposal, please refer to … More Homosexuality and the True Division in the PCA
By Matt Fender | July 19, 2022 During the proceedings of the 49th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), we saw two examples of historical precedent being invoked to support a decision of the moderator that appeared to be contrary to the plain language of the Book of Church Order (“BCO”) or … More Deliberating by the Book