Our Synod’s present tension was not generated by anyone opposed to unity or peace. It was generated by scandal and – let’s be honest – a failure of nerve to address it. I could wish unity were the problem. If it were, it would be painlessly solved. But it is not the issue. Trustworthiness is,... Continue Reading

Following defeat of their proposed funding plan, the Administrative Committee of the Presbyterian Church in America (AC) now registers its concern about future financing in their report to GA. The report indicates that the AC finished this year in the black, as they have seven of the last twelve years However, the report notes: Since... Continue Reading

Last year, the Administrative Committee (AC) proposed a plan to fund their committee by mandatory contributions. This plan was passed by last year’s General Assembly (the 38th), but it failed to even receive a majority of the Presbyteries, though it needed [a super majority of] two-thirds to pass. In the General Assembly Commissioner’s Handbook for... Continue Reading

As an exercise, try to answer any typical presbytery exam question (Bible, polity, theology, church history, etc.) with any of these standard answers. In light of my experience this past week being examined for licensure in Florida Presbytery (ARP), I have given some thought as to how various theologians and pastors (or, the RTS category:... Continue Reading

Westminster Presbyterian Church was officially constituted as a local church with an organizational meeting held on July 30, 1961. At this first meeting, the congregation selected the name Westminster, called a pastor and elected elders and deacons. FORT WALTON BEACH — Westminster Presbyterian Church will celebrate 50 years of establishment with several events planned for... Continue Reading

The Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church are flexing their collective muscle to launch a joint church planting project in four “test areas,” including West Michigan. It marks the first collaborative church multiplication venture between the two denominations since they split in 1857. Dubbed Kingdom Enterprise Zones, the three other states tapped... Continue Reading

The United Methodist Judicial Council has ruled that the New York Annual (regional) Conference resolution and policy allowing clergy “to marry at their own discretion” is “neither valid nor constitutional.” The council upheld the church’s current prohibition against same-sex marriage and pastors who are “self-avowed practicing homosexuals.” A policy adopted but not yet implemented by... Continue Reading

The change to the district’s bylaws had been in the works since 1993. That year, the denomination scheduled a Thomas Jefferson Ball and encouraged members to come in period costume. African Americans objected, asking whether they should wear “rags and chains.” To many Americans, Thomas Jefferson is a symbol of liberty and religious freedom, the... Continue Reading

Although a BBC camera crew recorded the arrests during the first week, the government has since tried to block media access, briefly detaining a CNN crew on Easter and preventing three Al-Jazeera reporters from accessing the site on May 1, Asia News reported. For the fourth week in a row, a Chinese “illegal” church refused... Continue Reading

“One of the silver linings of this economic recession is that where these manses exist, they have become huge assets to pastors and their congregations,” Ewing said. The ongoing upheaval in the real estate market has added new appeal to the old-fashioned church manse. Presbyterian churches use the term “manse” to describe a residence for... Continue Reading