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“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Presbyterian Church Nicaragua Legally Established 20 March 2014
[2] Church of Scotland General Assembly Votes to Send to Kirk Presbyteries Overture Allowing Homosexual Ministers [3] Denial is Not a River in Egypt, Nor in Ulster for That Matter
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[1] Presbyterian Church Nicaragua Legally Established 20 March 2014
The Presbyterian Church Nicaragua was legally established on 20 March 2014 with the signing of a Nicaragua Non-Profit document. The new denomination includes three churches in Esteli: Shalom Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church Saving Grace, and Presbyterian Church El Shaddai, with plans to plant ten more churches in the next five years.
For more information, please contact Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship Missionary Emerson Wilson at 352-301-5136 toll free or email peaceandchrist@gmail.com.
+ Presbyterian Church Nicaragua, c/o Emerson Wilson, Apartado 3, Esteli, Nicaragua
+ Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship, 425 State Street, Suite 312, Bristol, Virginia 24201, 276-591-5335, Fax: 276-591-5349, admin@pefministry.org
[2] Church of Scotland General Assembly Votes to Send to Kirk Presbyteries Overture Allowing Homosexual Ministers
A 21 May 2014 STV article titled “Church of Scotland Moves Closer to Ordination of Gay Ministers” reports that the Church of Scotland General Assembly on 21 May 2014 voted 369 for to 189 against sending an overture to the Kirk presbyteries allowing individual congregations to decide whether or not to have a homosexual minister who is in a civil partnership.
If a majority of the Kirk’s forty-six presbyteries vote in favor of the overture, the 2015 General Assembly will have the opportunity to vote upon whether or not the overture will become church law.
A 27 May 2014 The Scotsman article titled “Call for Unity in Kirk over Gay Marriage” reports that in a 23 May 2014 address to the Kirk General Assembly by moderator the Rt. Rev. John Chalmers, an appeal for unity was strongly urged, and those considering exiting the Kirk over the issue of homosexual clergy were told to rethink their position.
Chalmers continued:
“This Church of ours has to stop its navel-gazing, get out from under subjects that no-one is actually talking about and get out there and capitalise on the fact that people still want purpose and faith in their lives. They just need it to be accessible, relevant, generous, forgiving.”
Chalmers additionally addressed the shortage of Kirk clergy:
“A quarter of our charges do not have an inducted minister and we only have two ministers under the age of thirty: when I was inducted, there were seven of us in my presbytery. Four times the number of ministers will retire in the next six years than we are likely to recruit in the same time-frame.”
+ STV, Pacific Quay, Glasgow G51 1PQ, Scotland, 0141-300-3704, yourview@stv.tv
+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
[3] Denial is Not a River in Egypt, Nor in Ulster for That Matter
A 25 May 2014 BBC article titled “Presbyterian Moderator Condemns James McConnell's Islam Remarks” reports that in the wake of a 25 May 2014 sermon by the Rev. James McConnell of Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle Church (Presbyterian Church in Ireland) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where McConnell described Islam as "heathen" and "satanic," and said that "a new evil had arisen" and "there are cells of Muslims right throughout Britain," the moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland the Rev. Dr. Rob Craig criticized McConnell’s remarks, saying:
"They are not consistent with the Gospel of Christ and the love of God."
"I would be deeply offended if someone were to brand either all Presbyterians or all Christians with some extreme act by someone who claimed to do it in the name of Christ.
"I want to treat my neighbour as I would want to be treated myself."
Police are investigating the content of Pastor McConnell’s sermon.
+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398
+ Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW, Northern Ireland, 028-9032-2284, Fax: 028-9041-7301, Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
"But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand." [Ezekiel 33:6]"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Argues Scottish Independence Will Diminish the Place of Christianity in Scotland
[2] Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Moderator Says That in the Absence of Repentance by Leading Politicians, Christians Should Pray for Their Downfall and Their Removal from this Earth
[3] Pre-PCA-GA Conference on Presbyterian History
[4] Former Pastor of Sunrise Christian Reformed Church in Lafayette, Indiana Pleads Guilty to Ten Counts Related to Video Recording Women and Girls in Church Restroom Stalls
[5] Westminster Presbyterian Church of Greensboro, North Carolina PCUSA Senior Pastor Put on Paid Leave after Admitting Adultery
[6] Kirk of the Hills Church (EPC) of Tulsa, Oklahoma in US$2 Million Judgment for Two-Year-Old Abused at Church Day-Care Center
[7] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
[8] Headlines from The Christian Institute
[9] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[10] The Thinning Blue Line
[11] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[12] The Religion of Peace
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[1] Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Argues Scottish Independence Will Diminish the Place of Christianity in Scotland
In a report to be presented to the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) [the week of 18 May 2014], the denomination’s Committee on Public Questions, Religion & Morals claim that under current independence proposals the place of Christianity will be diminished.
“The constitutional arrangements which would be likely to result from the proposals for independence are unlikely to be an improvement on the existing ones in terms of the place afforded to Christianity – in fact quite the opposite. We have no confidence that a constitution produced in the way set out in Scotland’s Future will give any particular recognition to the rôle which the Christian faith has played in Scotland or grant any special privileges to the Protestant reformed religion.”
+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev. John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org
[2] Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Moderator Says That in the Absence of Repentance by Leading Politicians, Christians Should Pray for Their Downfall and Their Removal from this Earth
In his inagural address, the Rev. Allan Murray, the new Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) argued that in the absence of repentance by leading politicians, Christians should pray for their downfall and their removal from this earth.
“We value the freedoms we still have, but true democracy, which takes into account the will of the people, has been paralysed in Great Britain for a number of years. Recently we saw the sinister picture of the leaders of all the main political parties, who in all other circumstances would be fighting against one another, and so keeping a check on one another, totally united in promoting the most ungodly piece of legislation in history, the re-definition of God's holy ordinance of marriage, to change it, and to mix it, with the most abominable of practices, defiling what the word of God has declared to be undefiled, the marriage bed. This reminds us of the two enemies, Herod and Pontius Pilate, being made friends at the trial of Christ. This is the united rage of the heathen against the Lord and His Annointed (Psalm 2).
“Even public opinion did not matter. It was just swept aside. It was all so evil, so unjust, so anti-God and anti-Christ. The oppression and frustration we felt was intense and crushing. We were so powerless: but, the David Camerons, the Nick Cleggs, the Ed Millibands, the Alex Salmonds of this world will be put down, unless they repent. Yes, we should be praying that God would bring them to repentance, and that He would do all that is necessary to bring that about. But in the absence of repentance we must pray for their downfall; for their removal from this earth; and for a hastening of the day when they will be put under the feet of Christ.”
+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev. John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org
[3] Pre-PCA-GA Conference on Presbyterian History
As the Presbyterian Church in America meets in Houston this year for its Forty-second General Assembly, the PCA Historical Center will be sponsoring a pre-GA conference on Presbyterian history. The conference will convene on Tuesday, June 17th, between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., meeting in Ballroom J of the Hilton Americas there in Houston.
The conference will be composed of two panels, with three presenters per panel. Panel #1 will have the floor from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and will offer a wide range of topics from American Presbyterian history. Panel #2 will then present their papers between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., with presentations focusing on the theme of Presbyterians and Race Relations.
Each panel will be assisted by moderators who will offer comments on the papers presented, and perhaps field questions from the audience as time permits. TE Nick Willborn will offer comments for Panel #1 and for Panel #2, TE Carl Ellis and TE Lig Duncan will offer their comments on the presentations of that panel.
Barker Productions will be taping the Conference and will have recordings available for purchase.
The breakdown of speakers and the titles of their respective presentations are as follows:
Panel 1 – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
American Presbyterian History : A Little Something for Everyone
TE David Filson, Christ Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN - “A Fountainhead of Misunderstanding: Apologetic and Theological Method in J. Oliver Buswell and Cornelius Van Til”
TE Caleb Cangelosi, Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS -
“Congre-terians and Presby-gationals: Seeking the Sources of the 1801 Plan of Union”
RE Wayne Sparkman, Director, PCA Historical Center, St. Louis, MO - “Communion in the Courts of the Church: The Surprising Origin of the Practice”
Comments: TE Nick Willborn, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Oak Ridge, TN
Panel 2 – 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Presbyterians and Race: A Historical Conversation
Dr. Otis Pickett, assistant professor of history, Mississippi College -
"Multiethnic worship in southern Presbyterian mission churches, 1865-1874"
TE Bobby Griffith, City Presbyterian Church, Oklahoma City, OK -
“Protesting the Struggle: Carl McIntire and the Conservative Case against the Civil Rights Movement"
TE Sean Michael Lucas, First Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg, MS -
"Race, Civil Rights, and the Southern (Presbyterian) Way of Life."
Comments: TE Carl Ellis, independent scholar, and TE Ligon Duncan, Chancellor/CEO, Reformed Theological Seminary
+ PCA Historical Center, 12330 Conway Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63141, 314-469-9077, archivist@pcahistory.org
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[4] Former Pastor of Sunrise Christian Reformed Church in Lafayette, Indiana Pleads Guilty to Ten Counts Related to Video Recording Women and Girls in Church Restroom Stalls
A 15 May 2014 Journal and Courier article by Steven Porter titled “Ex-Pastor Admits to Planting Restroom Video Cameras” reports that Robert Lyzenga, former pastor of Sunrise Christian Reformed Church in Lafayette, Indiana on 15 May 2014 pleaded guilty to ten counts related to Lyzenga’s video recording of women and girls in two church restroom stalls.
Lyzenga faces a jail term of between two and ten years when he is sentenced on 18 July 2014.
+ Journal and Courier, 217 North 6th Street, Lafayette, Indiana 47901
+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org
[5] Westminster Presbyterian Church of Greensboro, North Carolina PCUSA Senior Pastor Put on Paid Leave after Admitting Adultery
A 19 May 2014 News and Record article by Nancy McLaughlin titled “Westminster Pastor Admits to Affair, Goes on Paid Leave” reports that senior pastor the Rev. Reggie Weaver of Westminster Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) of Greensboro, North Carolina, has been placed on paid leave after admitting to an extra-marital affair with a woman outside the Westminster congregation. Weaver and his wife have begun the process of getting a divorce.
+ News and Record, 200 East Market Street, Greensboro, North Carolina 27401, 336-373-7000
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
[6] Kirk of the Hills Church (EPC) of Tulsa, Oklahoma in US$2 Million Judgment for Two-Year-Old Abused at Church Day-Care Center
An 11 May 2014 Tulsa World article by Shannon Muchmore titled “Kirk of the Hills Church Ordered to Pay $2 Million in Child Abuse Case” reports that Kirk of the Hills Church (Evangelical Presbyterian Church) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 9 May 2014 was ordered by a Tulsa County District Court jury to pay US$2 million to the family of a toddler who was abused at the church’s day care center by former day-care worker Meredith Allison Howard, 41.
Howard was originally sentenced to twelve years in prison followed by three years of probation, but the judge later suspended the prison sentence and said that the developmentally-disabled Howard would be placed in a residential treatment facility in Arizona.
+ Tulsa World, 315 South Boulder Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103, 918-581-8400, news@tulsaworld.com
+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 17197 North Laurel Park Drive Suite 567, Livonia, Michigan 48152, 734-742-2020, Fax: 734-742-2033, webmaster@epc.org
[7] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
-- Mississippi Pastor Jailed for Displaying Anti-Abortion Sign
-- Fifteen-Year-Old Pregnant Girl Held in Buffalo, New York Abortion Clinic against Her Will Rescued by Police
-- Wichita, Kansas Abortion Facility Dumps Cow Manure on Sidewalk to Keep Away Pro-Life Counselors
-- Canadian Bioethicist Udu Schuklenk: Parents Should Have the Right to Kill Their Severely Disabled Newborns
+ The Christian Broadcasting Network, 977 Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23463, 757-226-7000, Contact Page
+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[8] Headlines from The Christian Institute
Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:
-- Essex County Council Wrongly Tells Churches They Must Conduct Gay Marriages
-- Church of England Endorses Stonewall Sex-Ed Materials in New Guidance
-- Promotion of Sharia Law by Law Society Questioned by U.K. Justice Secretary
+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk
[9] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
-- White House to Hold Event Unveiling Postage Stamp Commemorating Child Sexual Predator Harvey Milk
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[10] The Thinning Blue Line
-- Imperial, California Cops Beat Veteran Tommy Yancy to Death after Traffic Stop for No Front Plate
-- New Jersey Evangelist Jailed after Preaching the Gospel at Public Train Station Found Not Guilty
-- University Place, Washington Man Dies after Being Tased by Deputies
-- Plainfield, New Jersey Man Allowed to Sue the Officers Who Forced Him to Confess to a Crime for Which He Was Innocent
-- Akron, Ohio Police Brutally Beat Woman for Taking Tylenol for Tooth Ache
-- Baltimore, Maryland Teenage Hospital Patient Dies after Police Tasing
-- Palm Bay, Florida Cop Threatens to Shoot and Kill Compliant, Unarmed Teens for No Reason
-- Diabetic Pastor in Columbus, Mississippi Sues after Being Arrested, Denied Food and Water for Holding Pro-Life Sign
-- Boynton Beach, Florida Cop Standing Toe-to-Toe with Handcuffed Middle Schooler Outside School Bus Kicks Child’s Legs out from under Him
-- Martinsville, Indiana Cop Tasers Ten-Year-Old at Daycare Center
-- 7th U.S. Circuit Court Says: ‘It’s Legal for Police to Kick in Your Door and Take Your Guns’
+ Clash Daily
+ Christian News Network, Post Office Box 30000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, Contact Page
+ KOMO, 140 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 370, Seattle, Washington 98109, 206-404-4145, tips@komo4news.com
+ The Free Patriot
+ Girls Just Wanna Have Guns, Contact Page
+ The Liberty Crier
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com
[11] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- Drug War Insanity: Round Rock, Texas Teen Faces Life Sentence for Baking Pot Brownies
-- Obama’s FDIC Choking Gun Owners out Of Business by Forcing ‘High Risk’ Label on Them
-- Engineers at Stanford Invent Wireless Power Transfer for Human Implantable RFID Chip
-- US$250,000 Fine for Lying on Federal Health Insurance Forms
-- Michelle Obama to High-School Grads: Monitor Your Parents for Thoughtcrime
-- Roman Catholic Pope Francis Says Christians Do Not Exist outside the Roman Catholic Church
-- Texas Department of Transportation Orders Ten Commandments Sign to be Removed from Private Property
-- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Commemorates 'International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia'
-- Obama to Bypass Congress with Executive Action to End Deportation of Illegal Immigrants
-- U.S. Department of Agriculture Orders Submachine Guns with Thirty Round Magazines
+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com
+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page
+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org
+ Christian News Network, Post Office Box 30000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, Contact Page
+ Girls Just Wanna Have Guns, Contact Page
[12] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Pastor Saeed Abedini - Beaten and Forcibly Removed From Hospital and Returned to Iranian Prison
-- Pakistan: Christian Man Beaten for Taking Two Extra Days Off after Easter
-- Nigeria: Jihad/Martyrdom Suicide Bomber Murders Twenty in Christian Area
-- More Than 160,000 Killed in Syria’s Three-Year Conflict
-- Nigerian Government 'Sympathises' with Boko Haram
-- Syrian Al Qaeda Rebel Group ISIS Pledges to Conquer Jerusalem, Rome
-- Cameroon: Boko Haram Murders One Chinese Road Worker, Kidnaps Ten More
-- Nigeria: Islamic Jihadists Murder At Least 118 with Bombs in Crowded Jos Business District
-- Syria: Islamic Jihadists Destroy 3,000-Year-Old Assyrian Artifacts
-- Israel: Islamic Jihadists Firebomb Bus Full of Schoolgirls
-- World Leaders Pledge to Combat Nigerian Islamist Militants Boko Haram
-- Coptic Solidarity Condemns Death Sentence of Pregnant Sudanese Christian
-- British Tourists Evacuated from Kenya amid Fears of Jihad Terror Attack
-- Potentially Fatal Middle Eastern Respiratory Virus (MERS) Reaches United States
-- Pregnant Christian to be Executed for Leaving Islam after Giving Birth – U.S. State Department Stands Idly By
-- Egyptian Christian Arrested for Using Home as Church
-- Devout Muslim Group Al Shabaab Calls On Muslims in the West to Strap On Homicide Vests and Slaughter Non-Muslims
-- Vigilante Villagers Kill Scores of Boko Haram Militants in Ambush, as Nigeria Searches for Schoolgirls
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ American Center for Law and Justice, Post Office Box 90555, Washington DC 20090, 757-226-2489, Fax: 757-226-2836
+ Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch
+ The National, Post Office Box 111434, Abu Dhabi, 971-2-4145328, newsdesk@thenational.ae
+ World Watch Monitor, Contact Page
+ The Algemeiner Journal, Post Office Box 250746, Brooklyn, New York 11225, 718-771-0400, Fax: 718-771-0308, Contact Page
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Breitbart.com, 149 South Barrington Avenue #401, Los Angeles, California 90049
+ Assyrian International News Agency (Nineveh Software Corporation, 2317 West Farwell, Chicago, Illinois 60645, 773-575-5863, Fax: 773-761-8534)
+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Five Reasons It Might Be Time to Leave the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
[2] Appalachian Association of Sacred Harp Singers Annual Convention Scheduled 17 May 2014 at Pisgah Presbyterian Church in Versailles, Kentucky
[3] Former Free Church of Scotland Moderator the Rev. John Ross Says Christians Cannot in Good Conscience Vote for an Independent Scotland
[4] Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland Plans Massive March in Edinburg in Opposition to Scottish Independence Referendum
[5] New Trinity Review Article "Masters of Deception and Intrigue: Yet another Glimpse into the Work and Psyche of Westminster Seminary" Available Online
[6] Reformed Theological Seminary Announces New Full Tuition Scholarships for ARP M.Div. Students
[7] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
[8] Headlines from The Christian Institute
[9] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[10] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[11] The Religion of Peace
---
[1] Five Reasons It Might Be Time to Leave the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
Adopted by the Session of Providence PCA, Fayetteville, North Carolina at its stated meeting on May 10, 2014
1) A Failure to Exercise Discipline: In 2007 several ministers who were known advocates of Federal Vision (FV) theology drew up and signed what they called, “A Joint Federal Vision Profession” in which they tried to make clear what advocates of the Federal Vision affirmed and denied regarding doctrines at the heart of the Christian faith. This profession was signed by ministers from the CREC (which has become well known as an FV friendly denomination) as well as several ministers from the PCA including Jeff Meyers, Mark Horne, Steve Wilkins, and Peter Leithart. The question of whether these ministers were FV advocates had never really been in question, but their signatures on the Profession certainly removed all question regarding their FV beliefs.
Later that year the 35th PCA General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to approve the recommendations of the ad interim study committee on “Federal Vision, New Perspective on Paul, and Auburn Avenue Theologies.” In so doing, the PCA condemned Federal Vision theology as contrary to the Westminster Standards and joined the rest of the NAPARC denominations in publicly declaring that at a number of critical points, including Justification and Sacraments, the Federal Vision was not Confessional, Reformed, or true to the teaching of the Scriptures. Peter Leithart and Steve Wilkins were both quoted in the PCA Ad Interim report as advocates of the Federal Vision and examples of people holding to the opinions being condemned in the report.
Following this declaration by the PCA, Peter Leithart sent a letter to his presbytery, Pacific Northwest (PNWP), in which he once again made public his FV beliefs and pointed out several points at which his theology was at odds with the report that the PCA GA had just adopted. He also published an article entitled “Against the PCA GA FV Report (twenty-four variations on a response)” in which he went into further detail regarding his FV beliefs and his strong disagreement with the positions adopted by the 35th General Assembly.
Despite these self-indicting actions, Leithart’s presbytery neglected to bring charges against him deciding that there was no reason to presume that he was teaching anything out of accord with the Westminster Standards. Following a complaint, the PCA Standing Judicial Commission (SJC) decided that PNWP had erred in not indicting Peter Leithart. They informed PNWP that they should proceed to trial against him, but declined to take up the case themselves, arguing that it should be done in Leithart’s presbytery. This resulted in the rather absurd and pointless exercise of a Presbytery that was convinced that Peter Leithart’s teaching was not out of accord with the Westminster Standards, and which had repeatedly said exactly that, having to conduct a trial. There was never any possibility that Leithart would be found anything but not guilty, and that is exactly what happened. When in 2013 the decision of PNWP was complained against, and a request was made of the SJC to take up original jurisdiction, the SJC declined to do so, interpreting the Book of Church Order in a way that made taking original jurisdiction from an erring Presbytery almost impossible. The SJCs decision effectively meant that if a Presbytery did not object to the FV teachings of one of its members, and made some token effort to investigate his teaching (thereby ‘acting’), there was nothing the broader denomination could do to enforce its own public declarations regarding the Federal Vision.
Something very similar, and even more disturbing, had happened in Missouri Presbytery (MOP) starting in 2010, when a Memorial signed by twenty-nine PCA Elders asking Missouri Presbytery to take action against Jeffrey Meyers, another signatory of the “Joint Federal Vision Profession,” failed to bring about the desired effect. Yet again the presbytery first refused to indict, and instead chose to impugn the men who signed the memorial, actually accusing them of breaking the ninth commandment by pointing out the PUBLIC TEACHINGS of one of their members. After MOP refused to indict Meyers, a complaint to the SJC produced a decision that they should have indicted Meyers, but again the SJC refused to take up the trial themselves, and again a presbytery that had already repeatedly declared that its member was innocent held another “foregone conclusion” trial which again found their member innocent.
While the SJC had not declared the FV to be within the bounds of orthodoxy, their stubborn refusal to try FV proponents themselves effectively made FV proponents in FV-friendly presbyteries invulnerable to successful prosecution and made the PCA’s condemnation of the FV a paper tiger. Although the PCA had gone on record calling the FV contrary to the Confession, all attempts to actually discipline FV proponents since that declaration had failed after years of hard work on the part of men attempting to bring charges and successfully prosecute ministers whose FV views were well known.
One of the problems that accelerated the decline of the PCUSA and PCUS, was the creation of “rotten presbyteries” that created safe havens within those denominations for men who believed and taught errors and heresies. Possibly the most famous example of this phenomenon was the way in which New York Presbytery defended Charles Briggs, a pastor who taught Higher Critical theories and attacked the inerrancy of the bible. Despite overwhelming evidence, the presbytery repeatedly declared Briggs to be innocent, and when forced to try him by the denomination, acquitted him on two occasions. Historians agree that the time, energy, and difficulty involved in finally removing Briggs from the pastorate helped to persuade the denomination not to attempt to remove any more heretics from the ministry, and as a result there was little or nothing to stop the leaven of error spreading throughout the denomination. Tragically, the PCA seems to be following exactly the same pattern.
2) Anarchy in Worship: While the PCA is supposed to follow the teaching of chapter 21 of the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) which states that we are not to do anything in worship that is not prescribed in the bible, in actual practice PCA churches ignore the RPW and do whatever they want to. This means that there is no uniformity in worship in PCA churches and one might find a PCA church whose worship seems positively Episcopalian, another whose worship resembles that of a Charismatic mega-church, another whose worship resembles that of the “Emergent Churches” and even a few that follow the Puritan RPW model. This creates huge problems when members of the PCA move and suddenly find that none of the PCA churches in their area have worship services that look remotely like the PCA worship to which they had become accustomed. In our case many PCA transplants who move to our city end up worshiping in charismatic churches instead of the two PCA churches in town because their former PCA churches had a charismatic worship style. Regardless, preference rather than the regulative principle is usually the determining factor in how a PCA church will order its worship and most churches in the PCA are likely to ignore every part of Chapter 21 of the Westminster Confession. This became painfully obvious during the recent intinction [1] debate when the RPW, which should have determined the PCA’s answer to the problem, wasn’t even seriously considered. In addition to a lack of uniformity in worship, the PCA generally has a low view of the Lord’s Day and the Sabbath is more likely to be observed in the breach that in actual practice. Somehow we have imbibed an idea that couldn’t be more opposed to the theory of faith and practice set forth in the Westminster Standards, namely that in worship, diversity rather than uniformity is what we should be seeking to promote. The bible nowhere teaches this view of worship, and instead teaches us that a desire to do what seems good in our own eyes rather than what God has told us to do, is regarded as a sign that things are seriously wrong in the church.
3) A Failure to Safeguard the Sacraments: In 2012 an overture to the GA that year attempted to insert language into the BCO to prevent the practice of intinction noting that dipping the bread in communion into wine instead of taking the bread and the wine in two separate sacramental actions is not what we are directed to do in scripture. During the debate regarding this overture, it became clear that many PCA churches were already practicing intinction and they fought hard to keep their practice. Several PCA ministers saw the attempt to ban intinction as an attempt to impose the Regulative Principle and fought hard against it as an attempt to “norm” worship and eliminate diversity. At no point in the debate did we consider that the only sections of the Directory of Worship in the PCA BCO that have constitutional authority are the sections that deal with the sacraments, and that intinction failed to follow the guidelines established there and in the Westminster Standards. Ultimately, the anti-intinction amendment failed and intinction, which fails to administer the Lord’s Supper as Christ gave it to the church, was allowed to continue.
2012 was also a bad year for the sacraments in the PCA because it was also the year that the GA decided, during the Review of Presbytery Records, that paedocommunion [2] was an acceptable exception to the teaching of the standards and that presbyteries did NOT need to explain to the GA why they had ordained men who believed in it. The practical effect of this is that the PCA is now freely ordaining men who believe in paedocommunion, the belief is spreading, and several PCA churches already practice de facto paedocommunion. Inevitably the practice of paedocommunion will become de jure once enough men who believe in it are ordained.
4) A Failure to Maintain the Teaching of Scripture Regarding Six-Day Creation: In 2000 the 28th PCA GA determined that there were four acceptable views of creation that her ministers could teach: Calendar Day, Day-Age, Framework, and Analogical Days. While this decision was confusing and contradictory (after all, Genesis 1-3 couldn’t possibly have four correct but contradictory interpretations!), one thing that everyone involved in the debate supposedly agreed on and affirmed was that THEISTIC EVOLUTION would never be an acceptable view of creation in the PCA. However, one of our Presbyteries, Metro New York (MNYP), and one of our best known Pastors, Tim Keller, of Redeemer PCA in Manhattan, have been promoting theistic evolution especially through Biologos, an organization that believes, “that the diversity and interrelation of all life on earth are best explained by the God-ordained process of evolution with common descent.” Several Biologos conferences have already been held at the Redeemer PCA church offices and Tim Keller himself was quoted in a Christianity Today article entitled, “Evangelical Evolutionists Meet in New York” as saying, “To develop a Biologos narrative is the job of pastors”.
In October of 2011, MNYP actually hosted a symposium entitled “Conversations Surrounding the Historicity of Adam” at the offices of Redeemer Presbyterian Church which invited three advocates of evolution who believed that the narrative in Genesis 1-3 was mythical and one creationist who believed that Adam was broadly historical, to explain their views to the presbytery. No representatives of the calendar day view were invited to address the presbyters.
Although these events were widely publicized, no attempt has been made at any level to discipline Tim Keller or to deal with the spread of theistic evolution in MNYP and the broader denomination. What we have learned is that the PCA’s 2000 compromise on creation was flawed from the outset and that it merely set the stage for Theistic Evolution to become an acceptable view in the PCA.
5) A Failure to Stand against Moral Compromise: When Vanderbilt University changed the requirements for Campus Religious Organizations, requiring that they either allow anyone regardless of their beliefs or sexual orientation to serve in the student leadership of that organization or leave the campus, only two evangelical religious groups on campus complied with the new policy. Unfortunately the PCA’s Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) was one of them and that decision was endorsed by RUF’s national coordinator, Rod Mays. Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain, the adviser of the Vanderbilt Christian Legal Society, publicly castigated RUF saying that RUF and the Baptist Collegiate Ministry, “betrayed their faith by complying with the university.” And that “It was a great disappointment that these two large groups did not stand with us.” Swain believes that the University might have backed down had these groups not agreed to comply. Predictably, both Rod Mays, the RUF coordinator, and Nashville Presbytery, which oversees the RUF campus minister at Vanderbilt have explanations for why they were willing to sign the documents such as their not wanting to damage the 23 year relationship between the University and RUF, but ultimately they sounded highly pragmatic, and none of them dealt with the idea that what they were being asked to consent to was evil, or that this was a situation when it was more important to say “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29) and then take our stand with other evangelicals and be willing to suffer loss for the sake of Christ.
While disappointing, this decision shouldn’t surprise us, compromise has become the PCA’s preferred response to any controversy within the church (which is how we ended up with four acceptable positions on Creation instead of one), and we have been compromising for so long that it is now part of the character of our denomination. It seems clear that when it comes to the inevitable legal conflict between homosexual activism and the evangelical church, that the PCA’s preferred methodology will be to seek a compromise while claiming that we are doing so that we might not lose an opportunity to preach the gospel in the public square. Indeed, it is hard for us to imagine any issue over which the PCA would be willing to take a stand that might cause us to be called nasty things by the media. We do not seem to be willing to be tied to the stake and burned for anything related to the faith. Simply put, the PCA does not appear to have sufficient backbone to stand against the storm of persecution that will be blowing against the church in the 21st Century.
There are certainly other issues in the PCA to be concerned about, including our gradual drift towards egalitarianism, women officers, and loose views of divorce, but the above five strike the session of Providence PCA as the most serious problems.
Recommendations:
Given the above, while there are still many faithful churches and even Presbyteries in the PCA, and while we love our denomination and desire to see her prosper, it seems clear to us that the PCA is no longer maintaining the three marks of the true church in their essential integrity and has entered into a period of prolonged theological declension.
Therefore, in order to safeguard the integrity of our congregation and maintain the kind of true biblical accountability and connectionalism prescribed in the New Testament, the session of Providence Presbyterian Church has decided to prayerfully begin the process of investigating other denominations to determine if we should affiliate with them. The session believes that this search should be conducted without haste and with due diligence and care. While we know we will never find a flawless denomination with which to join this side of heaven, it would be pointless and foolish for us to affiliate with a denomination with all or some of the same problems we have noted above. Above all, we should seek a Presbyterian and Reformed denomination that is self-consciously and deliberately theologically conservative, evangelistic, confessional, and committed to standing for the truth of the inerrant scriptures, even if that means they must do so contra mundum. We also need to make sure that any denomination that we join with respects laws rather than men and which will diligently exercise the biblical oversight that all congregations need this side of glory.
This paper will be presented to representatives of any perspective denominations we might consider affiliating with and they should be asked how they differ from the PCA at all the points outlined above and how they will seek to avoid the same decline that has affected the PCA.
Footnotes:
[1]. Intinction is the practice of observing the Lord’s Supper by dipping the bread into the wine before consumption by the communicant. It is not found in the bible and was not practiced in the church until the fourth century at the very earliest.
[2]. Paedocommunion is the practice of giving the elements of the Lord’s Supper to infants and very young children who are not capable of the self-examination required in 1 Cor. 11:28.
+ Providence Presbyterian Church (PCA), 1906 Morganton Road, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28305, 910-630-1215, FAX: 419-730-5385
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[2] Appalachian Association of Sacred Harp Singers Annual Convention Scheduled 17 May 2014 at Pisgah Presbyterian Church in Versailles, Kentucky
The annual convention of the Appalachian Association of Sacred Harp Singers is scheduled for 17 May 2014 at the Pisgah Presbyterian Church in Versailles, Kentucky from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT.
Sacred Harp or shape note singing is an early American form of notation for untrained church choirs. Each note is written not only on ordinary staff lines (for those who can read them) but also with a shape that indicates its position in the scale. There are 7-shape schemes.
+ Appalachian Association of Sacred Harp Singers, vitis41_@windstream.net
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
[3] Former Free Church of Scotland Moderator the Rev. John Ross Says Christians Cannot in Good Conscience Vote for an Independent Scotland
A 9 May 2014 The Telegraph article by Simon Johnson titled “Christians 'Cannot Vote for Scottish Independence in Good Conscience'” reports that former Free Church of Scotland moderator the Rev. John Ross said In a paper to the Free Church General Assembly that Christians cannot in good conscience vote for Scottish independence, because a ‘yes’ plebiscite would result in Christianity “being deprived of state recognition as Scotland’s national religion” for the first time since the Reformation.
+ The Telegraph, Victory House, Meeting House Lane, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TT, England, 0800-316-6977, telegraphenquiries@telegraph.co.uk
+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk
[4] Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland Plans Massive March in Edinburg in Opposition to Scottish Independence Referendum
A 13 May 2014 Edinburg Evening News article titled “Orange Order Plans Massive Referendum ‘No’ March” reports that the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland plans a massive march in Edinburgh on 13 September 2014 in opposition to the 18 September 2014 Scottish independence referendum, with the participation of up to 15,000 marchers expected.
The article describes the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland as a “fiercely pro-Union Protestant movement”.
+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620
+ Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, Olympia House, 13 Olympia Street, Glasgow G40 3TA, Scotland, 0141-414-1418, Fax: 0141-414-1419, info@orangeorderscotland.org.uk
[5] New Trinity Review Article "Masters of Deception and Intrigue: Yet another Glimpse into the Work and Psyche of Westminster Seminary" Available Online
The Trinity Review has published online a new article titled “Masters of Deception and Intrigue: Yet another Glimpse into the Work and Psyche of Westminster Seminary” by Mark W. Karlberg. The article is the sequel to Karlberg’s "The Changing of the Guard" and brings the reader up to date on Westminster Seminary.
The articles are available at:
http://trinityfoundation.org/PDF/The%20Trinity%20Review%2000304%20SpecialIssueMasterofDeceptionandIntrigue.pdf
and
http://trinityfoundation.org/PDF/The%20Trinity%20Review%200188a%20TheChangingoftheGuard.pdf
+ The Trinity Foundation, Post Office Box 68, Unicoi, Tennessee 37692, 423-743-0199, Fax: 423-743-2005, tjtrinityfound@aol.com
+ Westminster Theological Seminary, 2960 West Church Road, Glenside, Pennsylvania 19038, 215-887-5511, Fax: 215-887-5404, communications@wts.edu
[6] Reformed Theological Seminary Announces New Full Tuition Scholarships for ARP M.Div. Students
Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Charlotte, North Carolina is pleased to announce a new full-tuition scholarship program for qualified Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) seminary students who are enrolled as full-time students in the Master of Divinity program.
These scholarships are made possible by the generous gift of Glenwood ARP Church upon the sale of its church land and property. Glenwood ARP Church was established in Charlotte in 1919 and continued in existence for ninety-five years until May 2014. The chance to sell the building and grounds and donate the proceeds to RTS provided the members an opportunity to continue the Glenwood legacy. RTS Charlotte and the ARP denomination have a rich and long-standing relationship, with RTS boasting four full-time faculty members ordained in the ARP, numerous students who are ARP interns, and many alumni now serving in ARP churches. The investment that Glenwood ARP is making in RTS and in ARP seminary students will have great impact in years to come.
A limited number of full-tuition scholarships are available each year. ARP students are encouraged to apply. For more information please click here, contact Stephane Jeanrenaud (sjeanrenaud@rts.edu), or download an admissions application at the RTS Charlotte website here:
http://www.rts.edu/Site/RTSNearYou/Charlotte/admissions2.aspx
+ Reformed Theological Seminary, 2101 Carmel Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28226, 704-366-5066, Fax: 704-366-9295
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
[7] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
-- Warren Buffett Invests US$1.2 Billion Dollars to Fund Abortion
-- Judge Rules against Activist Who Called NAACP ‘National Association for Abortion of Colored People’
-- Pro-Abortion Virginia Governor Lays Out New Strategy to Undercut Protective Abortion Clinic Regulations
-- Hundreds of Babies Born Alive after Failed Abortions in Canada, Left to Die
-- Harvard University Cancels Satanic Black Mass as Cultural Studies Club Withdraws Sponsorship
-- ‘Pizza and Porno’ Fundraiser Will Benefit Planned Parenthood
-- Virginia Woman Only Gets Three Years after Drowning Newborn in Toilet
-- Indiana Woman Takes Drugs to Cause Abortion at Thirty Weeks, Dumps Baby’s Body behind Restaurant
-- Abortionist Who Said He Aborted ‘Ugly Black Babies’ Accused of Raping Forty-Nine-Year-Old Woman in His Home
-- German Mother Accused of Killing Infant Son to Protect Sex Life
+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
[8] Headlines from The Christian Institute
Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:
-- Halal Meat: ‘Scandal’ over Unlabeled Food
-- ‘Designer Babies’ Could Be Next, Fertility Expert Warns
+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk
[9] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
-- Golden State Warriors’ Coach May Have Been Fired For ‘Traditional Values’
-- U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Is ‘Open’ To Lifting Ban on Transgender Soldiers
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[10] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- Obama Plants Joe Biden’s Son Hunter in Ukrainian Gas Company
-- Daytona Beach, Florida Couple Fined, Threatened with Jail for Feeding Homeless
-- Bearded Drag Queen Singing Contest Winner Crowned as New Darling of Europe
-- 20 Million More Healthcare Plans to Be Cancelled Due to Obamacare
-- Roman Catholic Church Must ‘Update’ Teaching on Marriage and Family: Pope Francis’ Head of Synod of Bishops
-- Miami Dolphins Fine Don Jones for Being Grossed Out by Gay NFL Kiss on Live Television
-- New York: The Nanny State: New Bill Will Force Parents to Take Parenting Class or Their Children Will Fail Grade School
-- The Trojan Horse – Islamism Is a Strategy, Not an Aberration by Individuals
-- Massachusetts DCF Move Justina Pelletier to Connecticut Hospital Psych Ward, Parents Still Lack Custody
-- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Sends Threatening Letter to All U.S. Public Schools
-- Obama Administration Releases Disturbing Photo of Obama Depicted as a King
-- Concerned New Hampshire Father Arrested for Objecting to Pornography on Daughter’s Public School Required Reading List
-- Home-Schoolers Need Not Apply
+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page
+ NBC News, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York 10112, mediainquiries@msnbc.com
+ Godfather Politics, 457 Nathan Dean Boulevard, Dallas, Georgia 30132
+ Clash Daily
+ Girls Just Wanna Have Guns, Contact Page
+ Conservative Home, Contact Page
+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
+ Western Center for Journalism, 42104 North Venture Drive, Suite B-122, Anthem, Arizona 85086, 202-370-6366, Contact Page
+ Ben Swann, Contact Page
+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
[11] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Christian Minister’s Son in Nigeria Murdered by Muslim Boko Haram Terrorists Because He Might Grow Up to Be a Christian Minister
-- Christian Teen Whose Dad, Brother Slain by Boko Haram Was Denied U.S. Visa
-- Iraq: Sunni Jihadists Murder Thirty-Four with Car Bombs in Shi’ite Areas
-- Pakistan: Jihadists Threaten English Schools; Learning English “Prohibited in Islam”
-- Mass Execution of Iraq Soldiers Brings Back Bitter Memories
-- Jihadist Trophies of War
-- Nigeria: Jihadists Screaming “Allahu Akbar” Stormed Church, Started Shooting Everyone
-- Malaysian Islamic Scholar: Sharia Punishments Apply to Everyone, Not Just Muslims
-- Al Qaeda Calling for Jihad Car Bomb Attacks on American Soil
-- Christians 'Crucified Again' for Refusing Islam
-- Obama Administration: Boko Haram Has ‘Legitimate Concerns’
-- Kenya: Devout Muslim Group al-Shabaab Vows to Kill All Non-Muslims, ‘You Will Soon Witness the Return of Our Islamic Caliphate’
-- U.S. Mosques Urged to Apply for Department of Homeland Security Security Grants
-- Sudanese Pregnant Mother Sentenced to Death for ‘Apostasy’
-- Devout Muslims Kill 200 in Fresh Nigeria Attack
-- “They Started Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar,’ and We Knew”: Nigerian Islamic Jihadists Kidnap Eight More Girls, Between Ages of Twelve And Fifteen
-- ‘Sex Jihad’ Fatwa Permits Incest in Syria
-- Pakistan: Devout Muslim Prayer Leader Kills Daughter over “Honor”
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch
+ Assyrian International News Agency (Nineveh Software Corporation, 2317 West Farwell, Chicago, Illinois 60645, 773-575-5863, Fax: 773-761-8534)
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ American Thinker, 3060 El Cerrito Plaza, #306, El Cerrito, California 94530, editor@americanthinker.com
+ Council on American-Islamic Relations, 453 New Jersey Avenue Southeast, Washington DC 20003, 202-488-8787, Fax: 202-488-0833, info@cair.com
+ World Watch Monitor, Contact Page
