A Brief Report on the 2022 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)

Redeemer sent four delegates to this year’s PCA General Assembly in Birmingham, Alabama- the birthplace of our denomination. Like so many other conservative churches and denominations, the PCA has been wrestling with the various pressures from secular culture against biblical Christian ethics and practices. The issues before the denomination this year worked to draw a record number of delegates to this 49th General Assembly of the PCA. There were over 2,300 commissioners present and voting this year with over 30% being ruling elders, another record.

From your elder’s perspective, the various actions taken by the assembly were encouraging for the future of the PCA. I will send a link to the members of RPC when the final summary of the General Assembly’s actions is published by the stated clerk in the next week or so.

Some highlighted actions, with some of my perspective, include the following:

1. A report from the assigned committee on domestic abuse and sexual assault was presented and received. Christian churches have to be vigilant to safeguard against these sinful actions and have a process in place for dealing with these issues. The report offers thorough and helpful information and suggestions about the whole topic of abuse.

2. The PCA voted to leave the National Association of Evangelicals. In recent years this association has become more concerned with political advice than promoting the basic tenets of evangelicalism. It was decided by a good number of PCA delegates that membership in the NAE was no longer in our best interest. The vote was 1099-699, which is a sizable margin compared to many closer votes.

3. Most poignant given the controversy over the so-called “Side B Gay Christianity” issue pressing the PCA in recent years, was the overwhelming approval of a statement our Book of Church Order to clarify a requirement for ordained ministers. The statement requires approval from the presbyteries (there are 88 presbyteries) over the course of the next year, but most believe it will pass the presbyteries easily and become officially part of the BCO in 2023. This is very good news, and it has given me renewed optimism about the future of the PCA. If you want to know more about the “Side B” controversy, you can refer to the joint Sunday school class I taught this past fall on the PCA biblical sexuality report (see the RPC website). Here is the statement that was approved by the General Assembly with a vote of 1922-200:

Officers in the Presbyterian Church in America must be above reproach in their walk and Christlike in their character. While office bearers will see spiritual perfection only in glory, they will continue in this life to confess and to mortify remaining sins in light of God’s work of progressive sanctification. Therefore, to be qualified for office, they must affirm the sinfulness of fallen desires, the reality and hope of progressive sanctification, and be committed to the pursuit of Spirit-empowered victory over their sinful temptations, inclinations, and actions.

The PCA is one of many Christian denominations. A denomination is a group of churches with a common confession of faith who are identified by the same name. Our denomination has a very well-defined constitution. The Westminster Standards (The Confession of Faith and Catechisms) along with our Book of Church Order make up the PCA’s constitution. Obviously, denominations can “go bad”. History shows it to be rare that a denomination maintains biblical fidelity much more than 75 years. The PCA is almost 50 years old.

At this point, our denomination, by God’s grace, is maintaining biblical fidelity and properly engaging the challenges that crop up from within and without. Issues that arise can be frustrating when they do not seem to be dealt with fast enough, but that is also the function of a very deliberate system. Our denomination has several courts, starting from a grass root, local level. Our local Session is the most important safeguard for Redeemer’s concerns. The next court is the presbytery, which in our case, includes 9 other churches in the immediate geographical region. Our presbytery, by God’s grace, is very confessionally minded, and wonderfully unified in our fellowship and ministries. The next court is the General Assembly, which includes representatives from the whole denomination. This is the meeting we just attended.

The beauty of being part of a “grass roots” presbyterian system is the relative autonomy of the local congregation with the wider affiliation and accountability of a presbytery and General Assembly. Leaving this year’s PCA General Assembly in Birmingham left me hopeful about the future of our denomination. Nevertheless, your elders, on behalf of your church, take the admonition of Jude 1:3 very seriously – “I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints”.

In the Lamb,
Pastor Tony Felich