The Westminster Standard

Numerous overtures are before the PCA General Assembly next month that have the potential to reshape the character of our judicial procedures. Some of these proposed changes are in grave conflict with the PCA Constitution. Even though there are no 'hot button' issues before the General Assembly, these subtle and nuanced proposals could have profound impact on the PCA.

Another all-star panel reviews several of the selected overtures before the GA. TEs Zachery Byrd, Ryan Biese, and Zack Groff as well as REs Matt Lee and Steve Dowling.

Numerous statements and visions are proposed as the "mission of the church" nowadays. But the panel argues the Church already has a mission, given by Christ the king, which is to make disciples. Rather than be distracted by all manner of projects and endeavors, the panel argues the church should remain focused on making disciples through the preaching of the Word. TEs Stephen Spinnenweber, Ryan Biese, and Wilson van Hooser are joined by Mrs Sean Morris and Mrs Seth Miller, the presbygirls.

Former Covenant Seminary board member TE Doug Serven shares how his interest in the murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh is part of his wider concern to give a platform to others to share their experiences and concerns.

Ruling Elders are crucial to the health of the PCA. On this week's episode REs Ross Harris and Charlie Nave join the program to share their own reflections and insights as to why REs need to make the effort to take part in the work of the Church Courts. RE Nave is the founder of MORE in the PCA, which raises funds to help REs cover the cost of attending the General Assembly in order to relieve he financial burden on smaller churches. Visit their website: www.moreinthepca.org for more information as well as to register for the fellowship event on Wednesday, June 12 in the evening. Read more from the National Partnership here: https://1ar.s3.amazonaws.com/2021/12/NPP_Emails_2013_2021.pdf

An article based on a study by RE Matthew Lee suggests the PCA General Assembly is not only giving greater attention to ensuring presbyteries are rightly handing TEs with differences with the PCA Constitution, but also that the PCA is becoming more robust in her commitment to the Reformed Faith as expressed in the Westminster Standards. This seems to confirm what TE Chas. McGowan noted at the 50th General Assembly: while the PCA was founded as 'big tent movement,' the PCA has become stronger over the years because of greater theological focus.TEs Jas. Bruce and Zack Groff join the show as well. Find RE Lee's article here: https://pcapolity.com/2024/02/21/exceptionalism-in-the-pca/

"We Old Schoolers can’t work to make our Agencies superb by ignoring them; we need to support them by offering up more elders to serve on their permanent committees. Certainly there is a place to raise concerns and criticisms, but we also need to find men willing to serve on the permanent committees who can change the culture and commitments of PCA Agencies so they will be thoroughly Reformed." An article read by the author.

There are now dozens of podcasts and blogs focused on the news and polity of the PCA. This was not the case even five years ago. On the program this week we discuss how the proliferation of media focused on the PCA has impacted the General Assembly and the health of the denomination at as a whole. The PCA is healthier now and more robustly presbyterian today than she was five years ago. tl;dr: we think the greater interest in the happenings of the PCA has resulted in greater participation and thereby a resurgence in a commitment to the PCA's historic commitments of faithful to the Scriptures, true to the Reformed Faith, and obedient to the Great Commission.

In this episode TEs Chas. Stover and Nate Xanders join to chat with the hosts of the  @truebelieverpodcast  about the renewed investigation of the murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh on the campus of  @CovenantSeminary  in 1990. The two TE guests, recent graduates of CTS, reflect on their own time at CTS and how her death has impacted them still. The TEs also asked questions regarding some of the ways the podcast has interpreted events and told this story. Visit the podcast's website: https://www.truebelieverpodcast.com.

In this bonus episode we are joined by RE Charles Higham and TE George Sayour of the  @PandR-Churchmen . RE Higham explains the circumstances behind his recent public repentance for his support of Revoice.

In 2004 Covenant Seminary Graduate and MTW Missionary Sarah Young Published Jesus Calling, a daily devotional written in the first person as if Jesus were speaking directly to the reader. But the words were not those of Christ, but the private thoughts and reflections of the author. Since the time of publication, Young's book has sold more than 45 million copies making it perhaps the most influential book written by a member of the PCA or Covenant Seminary graduate. On this week's episode TE Zack Groff joins along with Mrs Sean Morris and Mrs Ryan Biese to discuss what Groff described as a "defiling influence" upon evangelicalism. Why was it so few PCA people warned about this book, which seems to deviate from what the PCA confesses regarding the way God meets with His people. Read TE Benj. Inman's articles on this topic: Here: https://www.knotsbetter.com/post/the-pca-ga-corporate-repentance-and-jesus-calling And Here: https://www.knotsbetter.com/post/jesus-calling-pca-lament-repent Check out the Presbycast episode on this subject: https://presbycast.libsyn.com/a-pca-pastor-calls-for-repentance-over-jesus-calling

On Reformation Sunday in 2021 a Priestess of The Episcopal Church gave an oration as part of the worship service of Trinity PCA in Rye, New York. The prospect of a woman preaching in a congregation of the PCA created a great deal of confusion. The 50th General Assembly referred the matter to the Standing Judicial Commission, which has recently returned its decision and given Metro New York Presbytery a number of directives to rectify the issue and report to the 51st General Assembly's Review of Presbytery Records Committee. TE Stephen O'Neill of New Jersey Presbytery helps us understand the issues at play here. Read the SJC Decision: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mzitnxd6gb13yl53hj958/SJC-2023-13-BCO-40-5-Report-re-Metro-NY-Final-Decision.pdf?rlkey=h9pkchvbdgpo2afx4awv1qfm0&dl=0 See Episode 5 for excerpts from the address given by Mrs Rutledge at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Rye, NY.

At its 50th General Assembly ,the Presbyterian Church in America empowered Moderator Fred Greco to appoint a commission to write a letter to many civil leaders to humbly petition them to protect children from the damages of gender reassignment surgery and medical treatment. On this episode TE Nathan Newman, the chairman of the commission, tells us about the letter they wrote for us and the next steps for concerned members and church courts. List of other articles and interviews re: the "Humble Petition" provided by TE Nathan Newman: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qcdbk87t8fbkbic24lhtx/Media-impact.docx?rlkey=8c06hc11zqwugrjfdsqsivelt&dl=0 Article referenced regarding Francis Collins: https://www.mediaite.com/news/former-national-institutes-of-health-director-admits-to-narrow-really-unfortunate-pandemic-mindset-we-werent-thinking-about-collateral-damage/ Link to support TE Nathan Newman's work on Capitol Hill: https://give.pcamna.org/to/nathan-newman-mts-minister-to-members-of-congress/

The PCA continues to grow in her commitment to the historic Reformed Faith as she experiences a renewal of confessional integrity. A consequence of this revival is that congregations who share a love for the historic Reformed Faith are drawn into the PCA, but also those congregations whose commitments to the Reformed Faith are compromised by deviant views on issues such as paedocommunion, feminism, the federal vision, or human sexuality are departing the PCA for broader faith communions. In today's episode, we consider the case of the Providence Reformed Congregation in St. Louis, which voted to leave the PCA to join the CREC. Link to episode with video witnessing the practice of paedocommiunion when this was a congregation of the PCA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jayx1389gaw.

On this week's Westminster Standard Podcast TEs Todd Pruitt, Nick Bullock, and Matt Stanghelle as well as RE Steve Dowling join the program to assess the dangers posed by the distortions of the Federal Vision theology and mood..

RE Joshua Torrey joins the program to discuss an overture he wrote that would require PCA Presbyteries and Sessions to create policies to implement background checks as part of their examinations of potential elders and deacons. The overture Torrey wrote has since been passed by two presbyteries (Warrior and South Texas). View the overture passed by South Texas Presbytery here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6fkd3wrjxvpws7iw8psfs/Mandatory-Background-Checks-for-Officers-2024-STP-FINAL.pdf?rlkey=dssu04j67qwse5geaej4d9f7v&dl=0

What are the limits of state power and the Christian's duty of obedience? Christians are called at all times to be submissive to the governing authorities, but is submission to the governing authorities the same as obedience? In this episode we contemplate both the origin of the civil magistrate and his authority as well as the limits on the civil magistrate's lawful authority as understood by Reformed Theologians historically.

At the end of last year, RE Melton Duncan was kind enough to share a few minutes with me reflecting on what it was like growing up in the PCA as those faithful men of the founding generation labored to seek God bring a Continuing Presbyterian Church into existence. As we looked back on the 50th Anniversary of the PCA last year, we can see how God has strengthened and enriched the PCA in her commitment to the historic Reformed Faith through the work of the faithful seminaries serving the PCA. RE Duncan provides an overview of the many histories that have been written about the PCA and the events leading up to her formation. Many of these books would make great additions to your 2024 reading list.

The Lord is reviving the PCA and bringing new churches to unite with the PCA because of a shared commitment to the historic, Reformed faith. Visit the Saint Andrew's PCA Website: http://sachapel.com. More information on the work of Ligonier & Birmingham Theological Seminary: https://rfbwcf.substack.com/p/a-prison-a-seminary-and-the-church

PCA Pastor Alex Ford is the stated clerk of Northern California Presbytery and the author of Overture 2, which proposes to bring greater clarity to our process for transferring ministers into PCA Presbyteries. Link: https://pcaga.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Overture-2-Northern-California-BCO-13-6-website.pdf BCO History Project: https://www.pcahistory.org/bco/index.html