The Westminster Standard

TE Steve Tipton, the chairman of the Overtures Committee for PCA GA 51, along with TEs Jacob Gerber and Ben Ratliff join the show to reflect on what was accomplished by the PCA this year as well as how the denomination has changed in terms of her character and trajectory.

TE George Sayour and Dr Jesse Rine join the program to discuss the question of 'what is a Christian College' in light of a pair of essays written by Professor Jay Green of Covenant College. George Sayour is the pastor of Meadowview Reformed PCA in Lexington, NC. Jesse Rine is the executive director of the Center for Academic Faithfulness and Flourishing (https://www.faithfulcolleges.org). Essays by Dr Jay Green: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/keezjkhs8qm34cp1o91dz/Selling-Christian-Hillsdale.pdf?rlkey=5vild7c85w4azz0burretrcha&dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/aui53b6uzqphvlc3564nf/Some-additional-thoughts-about-Hillsdale.pdf?rlkey=yvkwzfttgeddqjeqden23yzhq&dl=0

A selection of some of the speeches given at the 51st General Assembly along with verbose commentary by TE Ryan Biese.

TEs Brad Mills and Ben Kappers join to share about their church planting experiences and testify to God's goodness as they saw Him build His church. They also share some exhortations with us regarding social media usage, ministry, and their hopes for the PCA.

RE Billy Ball, founder of the Ruling Elder Network along with TEs Job Dalomba and Ben Dunson join the show preview the General Assembly with expectations and opportunities for connection and fellowship.

In this episode RE Matt Lee along with TEs Jos. Pipa, Ryan Biese, Terry Johnson, and Paul Lee discuss the significance of the Korean Language Presbyteries in the PCA as well as the "Korean Style Prayer" that will feature as an element in Thursday's worship at PCA General Assembly in Richmond. The panel notes that the so-called "Korean Style Prayer" is not practiced in many PCA congregations and therefore it may be improper to label it as such. Additionally, there are biblical, historical, and theological reasons to be skeptical of the propriety of the practice as part of a public worship service. https://byfaithonline.com/pca-general-assembly-will-feature-korean-style-worship-service/ https://x.com/eminpodcast/status/1786464147154047194

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.