» News: Lagniappe Church Dedicates Home

Keeping up with the good work being done by Lagniappe Presbyterian Church (PCA) on the Mississippi Gulf Coast would be a fully time job for any reporter. We wanted to highlight what is thankfully a common event in the life of Lagniappe - the dedication of a home that they have built for victims of Katrina. Read about it at the Lagniappe Church blog.

» News: URCNA Blogger Reflects

A URCNA blogger - "Glenda" - discusses the recent URCNA Synod; her coverage includes details and personal reflections that will no doubt be of interest to RN readers. (HT: Heidelblog)

» News: URCNA Synod Adopts Justification Declarations

The URCNA Synod, meeting this week in Palos Heights, IL, adopted the following statement concerning the doctrine of justiication on Thursday:

Synod affirms that the Scriptures and confessions teach the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone and that nothing that is taught under the rubric of covenant theology in our churches may contradict this fundamental doctrine. Therefore Synod rejects the errors of those:

1. who deny or modify the teaching that "God created man good and after His own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness," able to perform "the commandment of life" as the representative of mankind (HC 6, 9; BC 14);

2. who, in any way and for any reason, confuse the "commandment of life" given before the fall with the gospel announced after the fall (BC 14, 17, 18; HC 19, 21, 56, 60);

3. who confuse the ground and instrument of acceptance with God before the fall (obedience to the commandment of life) with the ground (Christ who kept the commandment of life) and instrument (faith in Christ) of acceptance with God after the fall;

4. who deny that Christ earned acceptance with God and that all His merits have been imputed to believers (BC 19, 20, 22, 26; HC 11-19, 21, 36-37, 60, 84; CD I.7, RE I.3, RE II.1);

5. who teach that a person can be historically, conditionally elect, regenerated, savingly united to Christ, justified, and adopted by virtue of participation in the outward administration of the covenant of grace but may lose these benefits through lack of covenantal faithfulness (CD, I, V);

6. who teach that all baptized persons are in the covenant of grace in precisely the same way such that there is no distinction between those who have only an outward relation to the covenant of grace by baptism and those who are united to Christ by grace alone through faith alone (HC 21, 60; BC 29);

7. who teach that Spirit-wrought sanctity, human works, or cooperation with grace is any part either of the ground of our righteousness before God or any part of faith, that is, the "instrument by which we embrace Christ, our righteousness" (BC 22-24; HC 21, 60, 86);

8. who define faith, in the act of justification, as being anything more than "leaning and resting on the sole obedience of Christ crucified" or "a certain knowledge" of and "a hearty trust" in Christ and His obedience and death for the elect (BC 23; HC 21);

9. who teach that there is a separate and final justification grounded partly upon righteousness or sanctity inherent in the Christian (HC 52; BC 37).

The statement makes no reference to current controversies by name, but the discussion concerned a possible response to the Federal Vision controversy that has been discussed in many reformed denominations. References to "HC" are to the Heidelberg Catechism, "BC" refers to the Belgic Confession, and "CD" refers to the Canons of Dort.

The advisory committee reported to the floor of Synod a recommendation not to adopt the RCUS report concerning Norman Shepherd; grounds were supplied, but RN does not have access to those at present. Synod agreed and the RCUS report was not adopted. The nine declarations above were considered and honed by the committee and approved by Synod leading some to argue that forming a committee to study the Federal Vision would be unnecessary. The committee also recommended against a study committee to study the Federal Vision. Cornelius Venema's arguments in favor of forming a committee set the tone for passage of the idea at the Synod level. A committee was appointed to study the Federal Vision only with regard to the issue of justification by faith. The committee will report back to Synod after a period of three years. The committee consists of 14 members; as soon as the names are released, RN will be able to report on the committee's makeup.

URCNA Posts Press Releases Online Daily

» News: PCA Ruling Elder, Son Killed by Intoxicated Driver

Sunday morning, Allen Mays and his 12 year old son Madison were killed in a head-on collision with an intoxicated driver, Juan Manuel Landaverde, who crossed the median. Mays and his son were seated on the driver's side of the vehicle. His wife and daughter, seated on the passenger's side, were only slightly injured. Landaverde, who received only minor injuries, has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of first-degree assault. Baldwin County police are holding Landaverde until a bail hearing later this week.

Allen Mays served as a Ruling Elder at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Athens, GA. Readers of RN from Redeemer have contacted us and requested prayers for the church, for Mays's parents who are both members, and for his wife and daughter.

Source for Details: News Article

» News: URCNA Synod Begins Today

The URCNA General Synod begins today in Palos Heights, IL. Kim Riddlebarger blogs a preview of the issues he anticipates. We will report on Synod happenings as news is released.

» RIP: Harold O.J. Brown

Press release from RTS:

HAROLD O. J. BROWN GOES HOME TO BE WITH THE LORD

Harold O. J. Brown, John R. Richardson Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina, went home to be with the Lord July 8, 2007 at 8:25 pm. He was born July 6, 1933 in Tampa, Florida to Dr. Harold Ogden and Mary Bakas Brown. He would have celebrated his 74th birthday this year.

Brown earned four degrees from Harvard University and Harvard Divinity School. He received the Bachelor of Arts in Germanic languages and biochemical sciences, the Bachelor of Divinity in theology, the Master of Theology in church history and the Doctor of Philosophy in Reformation studies. He also studied at the University of Marburg, Germany, and the University of Vienna, Austria, and taught courses in Basel, Switzerland, and Yeotmal, India.

In 1975, Brown founded the Christian Action Council with former United States Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D. The Christian Action Council was the leading evangelical pro-life action group and an educational and service ministry, which he served as chairman until 1998. The Christian Action Council is currently known as Care Net, Inc. He was the director of the Center on Religion and Society at the Rockford Institute and taught in the International Seminar on Jurisprudence and Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.

Brown's areas of expertise included systematic theology; right-to-life issues; ethics, especially ethical and family values; journalism, public affairs; and political philosophy. He is a member of the American Theological Society, and the Turnerschaft Saxonia Marburg.

Brown received several awards, including many for his pro-life work. He received Fulbright and Danforth awards and was voted Faculty Member of the Year at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he held the Franklin Forman Chair of Christian Ethics and Theology and was professor of biblical and systematic theology. He taught at Trinity as a visiting professor in 1971 and 1975 and served as associate professor of systematic theology from 1976 to 1983. After four years as a pastor in Switzerland, Brown returned to the Trinity faculty in 1987. He joined the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary on its Charlotte, North Carolina campus in the summer of 1998 and remained a vital part of the community until his passing.

Brown served on the editorial staff of Human Life Review and Christianity Today and served as contributing editor for Christianity Today and Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture. He was editor of The Religion and Society Report and wrote numerous articles over the last 40 years in such magazines as National Review, Eternity, Hemelios, Human Life Review, and publications in Germany, Austria, and London. His books include The Protest of a Troubled Protestant (Zondervan, 1969), Christianity and the Class Struggle (Arlington House, 1970), Death before Birth (Thomas Nelson, 1977), The Reconstruction of the Republic (Arlington House, 1977), and Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy and Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the Present. His most recent books are Sensate Culture (Word, 1996) and Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church (Henderson, 1998).

Brown and his wife, Grace, had two children, Cynthia Brown Erb and Peter E.H. Brown. In his spare time, Brown enjoyed crew, skiing and mountaineering.

Harold or 'Joe' as many of us called him was a rich blessing to RTS, not only in his solid scholarship and classroom excellence but also in his personal relationships and care for students, staff, and other faculty. He had a European "dry wit" and a great sense of understated humor. Even though slowed by poor health in his later years, he was always challenging in his teaching and tender in his thoughtfulness to others. We will miss him but we rejoice in the heritage he left to us and in his presence with our Savior.

-Dr. Robert (Ric) C. Cannada, Jr., Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary

» News: Mainstream Press Coverage of Presbyterians

The "Get Religion" blog explores press coverage of religion - as in, "The Press just doesn't 'get' religion". In a posting today, a PCA member notes how often the press aims to make a point about the decline of mainline Presbyterianism yet fails to distinguish carefully between presbyterian denominations.

The author, Daniel Pulliam, writes:

"As a member of the Presbyterian Church in America I found it downright frustrating that the article failed to mention that there are in fact other Presbyterian denominations out there. Lots of them. But the article is not really about Presbyterians, except for the fact that other denominational struggles are mentioned only briefly. It's really about conservative and traditional Presbyterians abandoning the PC USA for elsewhere due to what they view as an abandonment of basic biblical teachings. And this story is hardly unique to the Presbyterian denomination as you all know.

But this isn't really news for Presbyterians, at least in the context the story gives us. Presbyterians have always been abandoning each other in the search for doctrinal purity. The various splits go back as far as John Knox of the 17th century in Scotland."

» News: Second PCA Pastor Responds to Nine FV/NPP Declarations

Previously, RN reported on Peter Leithart's letter written in response to the PCA's adoption of the recommendations of the General Assembly study committee concerning the "Federal Vision" and "New Perspectives on Paul". This week, Pastor Steve Wilkins (Monroe, LA) drafted a letter to the Louisiana Presbytery and made the letter public (pdf). The Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church's Federal Vision page contains a number of documents related to the Louisiana Presbytery's ongoing judicial case with the PCA's Standing Judicial Commission.

» News: Gospel Coalition Website Launches

The companion website for the Gospel Coalition's recent national meeting is now online. The site contains a confessional statement as well as a theological vision for ministry that contains support for a realist epistemology. The theological vision statement sketches a vision for conducting the ministry of the church that the author's see to be rarely practiced. The goal of the vision is a gospel "balance" about which the authors write:

"We believe such a balance will produce churches with winsome and theologically substantial preaching, dynamic evangelism and apologetics, and church growth and church planting. They will emphasize repentance, personal renewal, and holiness of life. At the same time, and in the same congregations, there will be engagement with the social structures of ordinary people, and cultural engagement with art, business, scholarship, and government. There will be calls for radical Christian community in which all members share wealth and resources and make room for the poor and the marginalized. These priorities will all be combined and will mutually strengthen one another in each local church."

In addition to documentation, the website hosts audio and video of the plenary session speakers, and will eventually host media from the workshop sessions.

» News: CRC Receives 1M Lillly Grant

The Christian Reformed Church has received a five-year, one million dollar grant from the Lilly Foundation to continue its pastoral excellence program. The CRC Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (SPE) project intends "to create a culture of pastoral excellence in the CRC. It offers funding for peer learning groups, continuing education events, and mentoring."

» News: Lagniappe Presbyterian Church Featured on Weather Channel

The Weather Channel covered the Lagniappe Presbyterian Church (PCA) of Bay St. Louis and its valuable ministry activity. The church not only serves the hurricane-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast, but it also was born amidst the disaster, being formed as it ministered to the coastal area. The church has helped manage the activities of nearly 7000 volunteers and continues to help build houses and do other reconstruction efforts. The video below contains footage of an interview with Pastor Jean Larroux who describes the work they are doing. Thanks go to readers who sent us this clip. The segment aired on June 5, 2007.

» News: New Books from PCA Pastors

Reformation Trust has published Jesus the Evangelist: Learning to Share the Gospel from the Book of John by Richard D. Phillips (PCA). The publisher's blurb reads:

"Rev. Richard D. Phillips digs into the early chapters of the Gospel of John to discover principles for Christian outreach that were modeled by witnesses for Jesus and by Jesus Himself. Phillips unfolds biblical principles for evangelism by examining the ministry of John the Baptist and the calling of the first of Jesus’ disciples. Then, through a brief study of the Lord's encounter with the Pharisee Nicodemus, he presents us with a theology of the gospel. Finally, he focuses in on Jesus' stirring encounter with the Samaritan woman to show exactly how Christ shared the good news. Phillips' clear and concise handling of these key stories will both motivate and instruct believers in their witness on behalf of Christ."

Phillips's book is available from the Reformation Trust. Phillips is Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC.



Canon Press has published The Baptized Body by Peter Leithart (PCA). The publisher's blurb reads:

"What does baptism do to the baptized? Nothing? Something? In this study, Peter Leithart examines this single question of baptismal efficacy. He challenges several common but false assumptions about God, man, the church, salvation, and more that confuse discussions about baptism. He aims to offer a careful and simple discussion of all the central biblical texts that speak to us about baptism, the nature of signs and rites, the character of the church as the body of Christ, and the possibility of apostasy. In the end, he urges us to face up to the wonderful conclusion that Scripture attributes an astonishing power to the initiation rite of baptism."

Leithart's book is available from Canon Press (and other retailers). Leithart is pastor of Trinity Reformed Church in Moscow, ID.

» News: Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church (USA) Breaks Ground

Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church (USA) of Newport Beach, CA held a groundbreaking ceremony after its Sunday Services to celebrate the start of construction plans to renovate two buildings. The church's original plans called for underground parking and the creation of a gym, but residents of the neighbhorhood and town challenged the construction on the grounds of increased traffic. The story received coverage by the Newport Beach "Daily Pilot".

» News: Presbyterian Church Assists in MS Rebuilding

First Presbyterian Church (USA) of Pascagoula, MS received some good press for its efforts in helping out with the "100 Homes in 100 Days" project being carried out on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Members helped with the rebuilding of four homes on Saturday in the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

(Keep in mind that the RN reports current news; we are aware of the good work that many other churches, including PCA churches and MNA Disaster Relief, have done and are doing on the MS Gulf Coast and will report as news comes to us.)

» News: OPC General Assembly Completes Business

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church completed its General Assembly on Wednesday, June 20. A complete summary of the assembly's activities is available online. Also available is a slide show of photographs.

» News: New Website for CREC

The Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches has launched a new website. An interesting feature of the site is a list of frequently asked questions.

» News: Gospel Coalition

The Gospel Coalition website now promises that the materials from this conference will be available on June 28th. We previously reported on this parachurch organization and its diverse participants.

» News: OPC General Assembly Update

Saturday, The Orthodox Presbyterian Church considered its proposed Directory for Public Worship, section by section. After completing the perfection and approval of 5 out of the 18 sections, the assembly deferred further consideration of the directory to 2008's General Assembly. The assembly made its decision to defer on the basis of time constraints.

On Monday, the assembly approved a name change for the Presbytery of Northern California. The presbytery will now be designated as the "Presbytery of Northern California and Nevada" because of the addition of three churches in the state of Nevada. The assembly heard from the Committee on Christian Education and Great Commission Publications, including word about several new publications orderable online.

The assembly considered the much anticipated report on illegal immigration Monday evening. To quote from the OPC's GA summary:

"While a prima facie case might be made that many illegal aliens cannot make a credible profession of faith because of their apparent failure to submit to the governing authorities ... it is nevertheless appropriate for sessions to judge the credibility of a person's profession of faith based on a case-by-case basis." Hence, "it is not wise for presbyteries and sessions to determine in advance that a person's illegal status automatically disqualifies him from membership in the church, neither would it be appropriate to determine in advance that an illegal status is of no consequence... It should be the goal of presbyteries and sessions that as much as possible all members live as legal aliens or residents in keeping with Romans 13:1-2 and the implications of the fifth commandment (LC qq. 125-128) and the ninth commandment (LC qq. 144-145). It is therefore appropriate for the presbyteries and sessions to provide assistance to members seeking to change their status so that they may live as legal residents."

No word yet on the Assembly's conclusion concerning this report.

Tuesday's work largely concerned a judicial case brought by Gregory Baus. Baus appealed several decisions of the Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic. The assembly declined to sustain his appeal in a nearly day-long consideration of the matter.

The Assembly has not yet adjourned; RN will continue to update as new information is released. Photographs of the assembly are being posted online and, as mentioned previously, there is a running summary of events at the OPC website's update page.

» News: PCA General Assembly Overtures

Examining the recordings of the PCA General Assembly committee of Bills and Overtures, we may now report action on the following Overtures:

Overture 1 from Southeast Alabama Presbytery (to CCB & OC)
"Revise BCO 35-7 to Omit Transcript of Testimony" - NEGATIVE

Overture 2 from Presbytery of New Jersey (to CCB and OC)
"Delete 'or' and substitute 'the' in BCO 56-4.d." - NEGATIVE

Overture 4 from Westminster Presbytery (to CCB & OC)
"Revise BCO 21-1 Regarding Presbytery's Declining to Approve a Pastoral Call" - NEGATIVE

Overture 9 from James River Presbytery (to CCB & OC)
"Revise RAO 15-2 to Limit Service on Overtures Committee to Three Consecutive Assemblies" - NEGATIVE

Overture 10 from The Presbytery of Eastern Canada (to CCB and OC)
"Amend BCO 12-1 and 12-2 to Change Quorum Requirements for Session Meetings" - AFFIRMATIVE (with ammendments to perfect the language)

Overture 13 from Alexandria Presbyterian Church (VA), Rejected by Potomac Presbytery (to CCB and OC)
"Revise BCO 13-1; 14-2 to Require Church Giving to Higher Courts in order to Vote in Higher Courts" - NEGATIVE

Overture 14 from North Texas Presbytery (to OC)
"Resolution of Praise to God for the Ministry of TE Paul G. Settle" - AFFIRMATIVE

Overture 15 from Potomac Presbytery (to OC, CCB)
"Amend BCO 21-4, Paragraph 7, Regarding Teaching Approved Exceptions" - NEGATIVE (Vote: 58-1-0)

Overture 16 from Southeast Alabama Presbytery (to OC)
"Honor RE W. Jack Williamson" - (~ AFFIRMATIVE, already acted upon in the assembly, no need to vote)

Overture 21 - NEGATIVE

Overture 7 from James River Presbytery (to CCB & OC)
"Add 'from presbyteries' to RAO 11-1" - AFFIRMED

Overture 8 from James River Presbytery (to CCB & OC)
"Revise RAO 14-8.d and RAO 19-2 to Delete Oral Reading of Reports" - AFFIRMED

The following Overtures were not mentioned in the reports of the committees we have reviewed, and we will continue our attempt to find the outcomes. In the cases of Overtures 20 and 21, neither of these were included in the original list of overtures. Most of the remaining overtures below concern Presbytery configuration changes.

Overture 17 from Tennessee Valley Presbytery (to MNA)
"Change Boundaries of Tennessee Valley Presbytery"

Overture 18 from Nashville Presbytery (to MNA)
"Change Boundaries of Nashville Presbytery"

Overture 19 from Heartland Presbytery (to MNA)
"Divide Heartland Presbytery; Create Platte Valley Presbytery"

Overture 20 - ?

Overture 3 from Metropolitan New York (to MNA)
"Redefine Metropolitan New York Boundary" -

Overture 5 from New York State Presbytery (to MNA)
"Redefine Boundary New York State Presbytery"

Overture 6 from Philadelphia Metro West (to AC)
"Commemorate 500th Anniversary of Calvin's Birth"

Overture 11 from James River Presbytery (to MNA)
"Change Boundaries of James River Presbytery"

Overture 12 from Eastern Carolina Presbytery (to MNA)
"Change Boundaries of Eastern Carolina Presbytery"

» News: OPC General Assembly Continues

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) has provided a detailed summary report of the actions and activities of the General Assembly meeting this week at Dordt College and wrapping up no later than Wednesday the 20th of June.

One innovation employed at this year's OPC assembly is electronic voting by the delegates, allowing for instant, accurate counting of votes for various motions and elections. Today's sessions are dedicated to considering the draft of a new directory of public worship, a rare liturgical development among conservative Reformed Presbyterian churches.

Photo Credit: David K. Thompson

» News: CRC Synod Summary

The Christian Reformed Church (CRC) completed its Synod Friday at Calvin College. The CRC has conveniently posted a summary of the major decisions of its Synod here. Some highlights that may be of interest to RN readers:

1. Synod approved plans for a new hymnal to replace the Psalter-Hymnal
2. Synod voted to remove the word "male" from its requirements for holding ecclesiastical office.
3. Any CRC congregation may now ordain women as ministers, elders, deacons, or ministry associates.
4. A provision was added allowing that delegates to classis or synod who believe that including women delegates is in violation of the Word of God may record their protest officially
5. A report about "third-wave" pentecostalism was recommitted for further study.
6. Synod approved the ESV (English Standard Version) of the Bible for ministry and worship use
7. Synod repented for past "racist values" evident in some of its decision-making
8. Synod appointed a study committee to consider paedocommunion
9. Synod voted to dissuade congregations from practicing infant dedication and reaffirmed commitment to infant baptism.

» News: PCA General Assembly Wrap-Up

Complete archives of the PCA General Assembly videocast are now available in Windows Media format. This format is playable on both Windows and Mac computers.

The assembly finished its work on Thursday. As previously reported, on Wednesday the PCA voted by a large majority (90 to 95% by most estimates observed online) to adopt the recommendations of the Federal Vision / New Perspectives Study Committee. The Assembly's adoption of the recommendations has the following effects: 1. The assembly commends the committee's report to the PCA for consideration, 2. The assembly reminds the PCA of the role of the Westminster Standards "as standard expositions of the teachings of Scripture in relation to both faith and practice", 3. The assembly commends the 9 declarations of the report to the denomination as "a faithful exposition of the Westminster Standards" and calls upon ruling and teaching elders to inform "their courts" (i.e., sessions, presbyteries) of any differences between their views and the 9 declarations, 4. The assembly reminds Sessions and Presbyteries of its duty to exercise doctrinal oversight, and 5. The assembly dismisses the study committee with thanks.

The nine declarations of the report now become the focus of the PCA's consideration. The declarations each have the form of stating that a particular view associated with either the Federal Vision or New Perspectives on Paul is contrary to the Westinster Standards. Two questions confront Presbyteries as they examine elders who are either accused of holding suspect views or elders who submit their views to Presbyteries for consideration: a. do their views in fact fall under one of nine disallowed views, and b. if so, will their views be considered allowable exceptions or become grounds for further discipline. Currently the PCA does not have uniformity with regards to what exceptions are allowable or disallowable by every presbytery. One case is presently before the Standing Judicial Commission (SJC) that tangentially involves the Federal Vision issues; it relates to the procedures used by one presbytery in its examination and exoneration of a minister accused of holding views associated with the Federal Vision that are out of accord with the Westminster Standards. As a result of the SJC's inquiry, the presbytery, Louisiana Presbytery, conducted a reexamination of the minister in question, Steve Wilkins, in accordance with the SJC's instructions to keep minutes and record the examination (recordings available in MP3 - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). On January 20th, the Louisiana Presbytery met to consider the issue and voted to forward its decision that there is no "no strong presumption of guilt" against Wilkins, together with a copy of the oral exam transcript, recording, and Wilkins's written responses. The next action in this case will come from the SJC and we will report any action when it occurs. The only other judicial case arising from challenges to ministers based upon alleged violations of the Westminster Standards with regard to the issues associated with the Federal Vision was handled by the Pacific Northwest Presbytery in the case of Peter Leithart (report pdf). The Northwest Presbytery examined Leithart and issued its report, stating the need to devote further time to investigating the issues involved with the Federal Vision perspective. It did not find sufficient warrant to discipline Leithart, but recommended studying the issues further.

The General Assembly is not specifically a time for theological controversy - by far the vast majority of floor time at the General Assembly is spent reviewing the ministries and activities of the church. Commissioners heard reports from the denominational seminary, Covenant Seminary, as well as the various missions committees of the church - Mission to North America, and Mission to the World. A video presentation highlighted two PCA works that seek racial reconciliation and community integration between caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans.

In the Thursday morning report of Covenant Seminary Bryan Chapell noted that 250,000 people per month download the seminary's online courses. The seminary has experienced 17 consecutive years of annual record enrollment. Chapell showed photographs of the building process of "Founders Hall" - a new addition to the campus, doubling the number of classrooms. Chapell noted that 300 hours of supervised field work are now required of M.Div. students. Covenant's placement rate is over 90% in the last decade for those seeking ministry positions with the school's recommendation. The retention rate (for the first 5 years in ministry) is four times the seminary average in North Ameirca. One in four M.Div. graduates will plant a new church within 8 years of graduation. Chapell emphasized that the seminary teaches from a "grace perspective" - love for Christ overcomes love of sin; redemption is more than freedom from guilt, it is freedom from the alluring power of sin. Chapell emphasized the qualities of this generation of incoming students - most are concerned to break down walls of prejudice, antipathy and class, wanting to teach confessional theology beyond traditional social boundaries.

RN will report on the outcome of the various overtures in a future story.

» News: Updates on Coverage

The Friday news roundup and roundups from all the various Synods and General Assemblies will be published tomorrow, Lord Willing. Today was "catch up on your day job" for RN.

» News: Sparkman Reports on PCA Logo Progress

General Assembly News: Wayne Sparkman, PCA Historian, began his report today on the development of a PCA logo with an historical overview of the question of creating a logo - a question that has been on the agenda of the PCA for quite a while. Sparkman noted his desire to receive logo suggestions, and announced that there will be a new section on the Historical Center website dedicated to the development of a logo.

» News: CRC Synod Summary

Due to limited resources, we at RN will have to confess an inability to adequately cover [live] the CRC Synod 2007, but the CRC has a well-designed news site where you can read news releases from the denomination as its Synod continues.

» News: PCA General Assembly Continues

Part of the work of a General Assembly is the hearing of reports by the various ministries that are undertaken by the church. Yesterday, the reports of Reformed University Fellowship (WMA Link) and Covenant College (WMA Link) were received. Reformed University Fellowship is a campus ministry of the PCA that places an ordained pastor on a college campus to organize fellowship and discipling activities among college students. RUF attempts to integrate college students into the local church, and part of the presentation consisted of testimonies from students who benefitted from the ministry. This morning, the denominational seminary, Covenant Theological Seminary, presented a report (we will add link when the archive becomes available). Reports from the other broad ministries of the church both in the USA and abroad will be presented later today (Mission to North America and Mission to the World).

» News: OPC General Assembly Begins

The Seventy-Fourth General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) began Wed, June 13th at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa. David K. Thompson and Stephen Pribble will be providing updates, from time to time, at the OPC website.

» News: PCA General Assembly Day 2

Will be blogging in this spot throughout the day.

10:30 a.m. - Today began with the singing of "The Church's One Foundation"

10:39 a.m. - Report of the Stated Clerk, Roy Taylor - annual membership growth rate of 1%, but many presbyteries do not report statistics. We now have churches in all 50 States.

10:44 a.m. - Now Taylor is talking about overtures. There is no commissioner's handbook PDF online as far as we have been able to see, but we will post a link if such is posted.

10:59 a.m. - Term limits for SJC members was defeated

11:02 a.m. - Discussing overture #7 (PDF) - it passed. Overture #8 (PDF) passed. All the overtures can be read here.

11:09 a.m. - Passed a few recommendations all at once in omnibus fashion. Prayer now for fraternal delegates from other churches to speak.

11:12 a.m. - Rev. Jack Sawyer, OPC (Pineville, LA) speaks to the assembly as fraternal delegate. OPC has grown by 2% this year. OPC will be receiving a report on illegal immigration at its GA this week. OPC also received a report on the Federal Vision / NPP and it is available in pamphlet form. Sawyer expresses the OPC's interest in the PCA's deliberation of the Federal Vision issue. Sawyer also memorialized a few ministers who passed away this year.

11:20 a.m. - URCNA Minister to speak - a Pastor Freswick of Bethany United Reformed Church, Wyoming MI. URCNA will be seeking to find a way to reciprocate fraternal relations with the PCA, though its rules do not currently allow this. URCNA Synod in early July will consider union with Canadian Reformed Church and will also consider a Federal Vision report. He is now speaking against paedocommunion and wondering why the PCA FV report contains nothing about paedocommunion. He praised the PCA's proposed report as well. Paul Gilchrist, of the Interchurch Relations Committee commended the PCA's previous report on paedocommunion to the URCNA delegate stating we were 'way ahead' on the issue.

11:28 a.m. - Presbyterian Church of Brazil representative, David Gomez, speaking to the assembly... 4% growth per year of Presbyterian Church in Brazil, and they now have nine seminaries and one post-graduate theological institution. Sending missionaries to 28 countries around the world.

11:35 a.m. - Korean Presbyterian Church representative speaking, Kim In-hwan, President of Chongshin Seminary.

11:42 a.m. - Rev. James Holland, EPC representative speaks and brings fraternal greetings. Their assembly meets next week.

11:44 a.m. - Brief introductions of other fraternal delegates. End of Interchurch Relations Report. (Some laughter about a "false fire alarm" notification that came through the PA system from the facility)

11:49 a.m. - Prayer and recess for Lunch

(Note: It isn't our intent to "live blog" the entire General Assembly, but we will update pretty frequently throughout each day.)

» News: PCA General Assembly Commences

The 35th annual PCA General Assembly began this evening at 7:30 central time in Memphis, TN. We will be posting updates through the evening as news emerges. You can watch the broadcast of the General Assembly opening worshipping service online at the PCA General Assembly website. Earlier, the Real Audio stream was not working, but the Windows Media stream worked fine.

9:18 pm Update: The worship service is over and there is a short intermission before the election of a new moderator.

10:09 pm Update: E.J. Nusbaum, Ruling Elder at Village Seven Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, CO is the new moderator of General Assembly. Nusbaum was the sole nominee. Previous moderator, Dominic Aquila, currently serves as Interim Pastor of Village Seven Presbyterian Church. At the 33rd General Assembly, Nusbaum served as Secretary of the Committee on Constitutional Business (CCB), class of 2007. At the 32nd General Assembly, Nusbaum was also secretary of the CCB. At the 31st General Assembly, Nusbaum served on the CCB, though he was not an officer at that point. Nusbaum is a graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point), serving seven years of active duty. He has worked as an insurance agent since 1985. He was ordained to the office of Ruling Elder in 1987 and served as Clerk of Session for five years. He also has served on the Rocky Mountain Presbytery MNA Committee among other service rendered to the church. Active in politics and government, in 2005, Nusbaum testified in the Colorado Senate committee on Business, Labor, and Technology against Senate Bill 5 that attempted to restrict the use of credit scoring by insurers in underwriting and rating purposes. He also testified before the House Committee on Business Affairs and Labor in opposition to a similar House bill.

» News: Signatures Increase to "Humble Answers" Letter

An update on a previously reported story - signatures added to the "Humble Answers" letter concerning the Federal Vision controversy in the PCA have been posted online. In addition to the original nine drafters, at the time of this news story, an additional 95 signatures have been added to the letter that seeks to defend the General Assembly study committee report from its detractors. Discussion of the Federal Vision issue is docketed for Wednesday afternoon at the PCA's general assembly and we will do our best to provide near-live coverage.

» News: News Roundup Continued

CRC: The Christian Reformed Church celebrated its 150th anniversary with a worship service attended by about 14,000 worshippers. The CRC annual synod meets this week at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. The delegates elected Rev. Joel Boot as its president; Rev. Cecil Van Niejenhuis as its vice president, elder Henry Baron as first clerk, and Rev. Jake Kuipers as second clerk.

ARP: The 203rd annual synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church met last week; details will be published as RN is able to collect further information. ARP is also planning to plant a mission church in Appalachia.

OPC: The Seventy-fourth General Assembly meets this week at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa, beginning at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 13.

RCA: Wes Granberg-Michaelson, the general secretary of the RCA's Synod told the gathered commissioners that the RCA should become a "missional" church. Says Granberg-Michaelson, "How do we take good, old wine--the core of our Reformed tradition--and pour it into new wineskins--missional styles and structures that engage the culture with the power of the gospel? We need models of ministry--new churches and revitalized congregations--that combine the best strengths of Reformed identity with the most courageous expressions of missional engagement."

URCNA: General Synod planned for July 9-14, 2007.

PCA: Former Moderator Sam Duncan, ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church in Hattiesburg, MS writes a summary of this week's PCA General Assembly. Speaking of the Federal Vision controversy, he summarizes, "For the layman, who is not familiar with this topic, the Federal Vision basically teaches that membership in a local church makes one elect; once one is elect, his salvation may be lost; baptism results in regeneration; and justification is achieved through both faith and good works."

» News: Fire Destroys PCA Church in Lincoln, NE

Early this morning, a fire destroyed large portions of the building of Zion Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Lincoln, NE. According to the local press, the over 100 year old building is "lost." For correspondence - office@zionpca.com; the church's offices are located at 610 'J' Street, Suite 20 / Lincoln, NE 68508.

The stated clerk has released the following statement:

Dear fathers and brothers of Heartland Presbytery, Stated Clerks in the PCA, and brothers and sisters of Grace Covenant Church:

Please be in prayer for the congregation of Zion Church (PCA) in Lincoln, Nebraska and their pastors: Stu Kerns, Tobey Brockman, Adam Odell, and Keith Ghormley and elders. The main building and worship facility of the church was destroyed completely last night in a fire that apparently began in the basement kitchen area. By the time fire fighters were called to the building at 5:00 a.m., there were 15-foot flames emerging from the north side of the building and the fire had spread to the main floor. Firefighters had to go into "defensive" mode to keep the flames from spreading to nearby buildings, with the main building already a total loss. To learn more visit this site.

Zion has been a flagship church in our Presbytery, and a mother to many of us. Let us rally to her in her time of need. Please pray that they will be able to secure a meeting place tomorrow for what will no doubt be a time of grieving and worship. Also pray for the leaders as they seek to secure a temporary meeting place for worship, care for the needs of a grieving and stunned congregation, and plan for the future. Zion was to break ground on a new addition tomorrow in order to meet their growing needs for Christian Education space.

Grace,

Todd Bowen
Stated Clerk
Heartland Presbytery

Photo Credit: Keith Ghormley

» New: Friday News Roundup, Part 1

PCA: General Assembly meets next week, online webcast will be available, and RN will post a link when it becomes available. Currently, there are two websites - pcaga.com and pcaga.org - and the content appears to be spread across the two at this moment. As previously reported, a group of PCA ministers supportive of the GA FV committee published an open letter with an accompanying website. The website now has more content, including responses to specific objections to the report made by the earlier Open Letter by another group of ministers in opposition to the report. The writers of the "humble answers" document have solicited signatures to the letter, and we will link to the signature list once it is made available. RN has learned that the "30 Reasons" paper written by Jeffrey Meyers in response to the committee's report was mailed to every PCA session in the United States. Joel Garver has published a multi-part review and critique of the FV Study Committee Report: (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). Covenant Radio has posted a podcast that consists of a roundtable discussion with PCA Pastors Mark Horne, Jeffrey Meyers, and Mark Duncan about the Study Committee Report (MP3). Attorney and PCA member Jordan Mark Siverd has released a legal analysis (PDF) of the FV study committee report. Siverd also has created an online petition asking the 35th General Assembly to recommit the report.

» News: Charlotte ARP Church Plant Makes Good Start

Skybrook Fellowship (Charlotte, NC), a church plant of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church received some good press in the Charlotte Observer about its new start - moving from meeting in homes to meeting in a rented facility with around 20 participants. Learn more about Skybrook Fellowship at its website.

» News: More PCUSA Churches Leave Denomination, Plan to Join EPC

Sunday, the largest church in the Pittsburgh Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church USA denomination voted overwhelmingly to leave the PCUSA and affiliate with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Senior Pastor, Dean Weaver, was quoted by the Christian Post saying their aim was to "realign ourselves with other Presbyterians in our country and around the world who believe the same things we do and have the same passion for evangelism and for missions." 958 members out of the 1,051 who voted approved this change in affiliation. See coverage also in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and a brief discussion on Free Republic.

The previous Tuesday, May 29th, Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church (SMPC) in the PCUSA's East Tennessee Presbytery voted to leave the PCUSA and take steps to join the EPC. Signal Mountain's vote was also nearly unanimous and the PCUSA presbytery noted that it could detect no "identifiable PC(USA) remnant" in the church and that it was not "in schism." The PC(USA) presbytery dismissed SMPC and allowed the church to retain its property. SMPC has not contributed church funds to the denomination since 1993, though the agreement to release the church included several conditions, one of them being continued "mission support" for the East Tennessee Presbytery in the amount of 500k payable over five years.

» News: Release from PCA's MTW / RBI

RN received this joint press release from the Presbyterian Church in America's Mission to the World / Retirement and Benefits corporations - it relates to some rumors that have been circulating about the changes to the Retirement and Benefits Annuity plan. Below is the text of the release:

A Joint Communique from Gary Campbell, President of Retirement Benefits, Inc., and Paul Kooistra, Coordinator of Mission to the World

As the General Assembly approaches, we (Gary Campbell, President of Retirement Benefits, Inc., and Paul Kooistra, Coordinator of Mission to the World) know that there has been much talk about Mission to the World's decision to manage its own annuity program. We have a very active grapevine within our denomination noted by the many communications both of us have received. The talk has varied over a wide continuum. There have been some who have charged Mission to the World with being disloyal to the PCA and moving their annuity program to the Southern Baptist Convention. On the other hand, there have been those who have stated that RBI is in trouble and must be failing.

Both of us (Gary Campbell and Paul Kooistra) plan to jointly approach the Committee of Commissioners for our respective agency or committee. Together we plan to explain why MTW's decision to manage their own program is a reasonable decision for MTW and does no harm to RBI.

RBI has been blessed by God as their program has grown over the last few years. They also have a new president who God has uniquely gifted in the area of investments. The future is brighter than ever for the RBI annuity program.

MTW on the other hand has a very unique constituency that requires a specialized communication infrastructure and in place, dedicated international advisors that if RBI were to attempt to meet these needs the cost could raise expenses to all participants in the RBI plan.

As a result of this change, RBI will be able to focus more of their resources on the majority of their constituency. The requirement on RBI to meet the needs of MTW missionaries scattered around the world will be reduced and their services to non-MTW participants will be enhanced. Because the potential loss of some MTW participants is not significant relative to the total assets under management in the retirement plan, RBI believes that over time it will be able to lower the expense ratio from its present 1.12% as assets grow and expenses remain under control. For MTW there are significant advantages to having services that will allow missionaries spread all over the world, some in very sensitive places, to interact with their annuity program advisors in a more efficient way. For those who study investing you know how important that is to the ultimate performance of a retirement portfolio. MTW will also be able to reduce the number of personnel that they employ who are now involved in the annuity program from seven to three or four.

MTW is not moving their annuity program into the Southern Baptist Convention retirement plan as some seem to be suggesting. This program will be a PCA program just like the MTW medical program is at the present time. MTW will be the plan sponsor as well as the plan manager. GuideStone was one of several third party administrators and investment advisors MTW studied over the last two years. They were chosen for only one reason and that is because they have the most experience with missionaries.

It has been said that the committees and agencies of the PCA in Atlanta, Georgia, cannot get along and that this event is just another example of that fact. Because of that, there will be skeptics concerning our stand of unity. From the point of view of both of us, this has come about through much prayer both at RBI and MTW. Jesus said and Scripture teaches that the mark of the Christian Church is their unity and love for one another. This decision was not easy for either of us. We have seen God's spirit work through us as we have been honest with each other. If nothing else, this process has been a blessing for both of us as we have seen the love of Christ work in both of our hearts.

It is likely that readers who are interested in these issues can hear more about the situation at the upcoming General Assembly of the PCA where all the various PCA sub-organizations and committees report on their ministries and activities.

» News: Friday News Roundup

Here's all the buzz that buzzed near us this week:

PCUSA: Dennis L. Cobb, 50, pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree indecent exposure. The denomination has fired Cobb from his position as manager of assembly programming citing a "no tolerance" policy.

PCA: As mentioned previously, a group of 10 ministers has written an "open letter" urging fellow presbyters to vote against the denominational Federal Vision / NPP study committee report at the upcoming General Assembly in June. Discussion of the open letter occurred here at RN and here. A joint statement has been published by the Retirement and Benefits and Mission to the World corporations about some upcoming changes.

OPC: The June issue of New Horizons was published this week and it concerns the topic of worship in light of OPC discussions concerning whether or not to adopt a drafted directory for public worship. George R. Cottenden discusses the upcoming issue of the vote on the directory in a feature article and the issue includes articles by Hart, Muether, Larry Wilson, Peter Wallace, and William Shishko on various aspects of worship and sacraments. The June / July issue of Ordained Servant also was published this week and contains discussions of the church and science / technology. Reviews include D.G. Hart on Sean Lucas's book "On Being Presbyterian" (P&R, 2006).

CREC: Nate Wilson publishes a book with Random House ("Leepike Ridge") and gets some kind words from Books and Culture, and Nate Wilson is also responsible for the text of a few new children's books published by Canon Press. The Augustine Presbytery of the CREC will have its meeting October 11-12, and the Anselm Presbytery will meet October 22-23.

CRC: Interesting press release- "What to Watch for a Synod 2007" including some interesting sacramental discussions about infant baptism and paedocommunion. Meeter Center purchases 1562 edition of a book by John Calvin about the doctrine of election. Korean CRC church plays role in Virginia Tech shooting healing.

EPC: General Assembly takes place June 20-23 in Colorado - new issue of the EPC's newsletter contains GA information.

Acts 29: Main session audio lectures of 2007 Seattle church-planting Boot Camp have been posted.

CPC: "Covenant Presbyterian Church" - this is not a denomination with which RN has familiarity, but they have sent us a press release (PDF) and we will attempt to cover them as well.

Reformed Parachurch: Reformation21's June issue is now out, including further reflections on Roman Catholicism by Carl Trueman, an article about blues music by Stephen J. Nichols, and Phillip Ryken reflects on the new atheism movement. Ligonier Ministries is offering a free gift subscription to Tabletalk with a regular subscription just in time for Father's day. Yes, that sound like a commercial, but we have received no funds from Ligonier, just thought readers would like the information. Still no word on the Gospel Coalition materials, but we continue to monitor the website and will alert you when these are available.

Interesting Discussions: Discussion of the Gospel Coalition at Daniel Kirk's blog, Against Heresies conducts a three-part interview with Michael Scott Horton, Lane Keister wraps up an eleven part review/critique of Jeff Meyers's 30 Reasons, Meyers releases a shorter version of his 30 reasons. Paul Helm takes on the issue of the relationship between Biblical and Systematic theology.

Note 1: Thanks for reading our site, and thanks for the letters. Please keep the news tips coming in and pay close attention to our sponsored advertising; we survive by God's grace via that advertising. Also consider getting involved in our discussion forums; it would be great if the Reformed world had a central place to discuss issues together.

Note 2: We've decided that our corrections policy will be to note the erroneous content in the comments for the post that contains the error. This keeps the correction with the material to be corrected. For example, see the comments for last week's news roundup for a correction made by a reader.

» News: Pastors Draft "Pastoral Letter" on PCA FV Report

A group of ten ministers has written a "pastoral letter" concerning the Federal Vision study committee report releasedto be considered in June at the PCA's General Assembly in Memphis, TN. This letter first came to our attention at the blog of PCA Deacon, Joel Garver. Download the letter here (PDF). The signatories are: Vito Aiuto, Matt Brown, Ray Cannata, Sam Downing, Josh Eby, John Haralson, Mike Khandjian, Iron Kim, Sam Wheatley, and Shayne Wheeler.

The letter divides its discussion into seven issues - the procedure of the committee's appointment, the issue of confessional interpretation, the issue of election, covenant theology, ecclesiology, baptism, and justification. The letter concludes, "Fellow presbyters, until the committee clarifies these issues, it would be premature for us to ratify their report. We encourage you to carefully and prayerfully think through these issues and not enter into this vote hastily. We are convinced that the report as it now stands lacks the quality and scholarship of a PCA General Assembly position paper. "

Vito Aiuto is the pastor of Resurrection Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Matt Brown is the pastor of Park Slope Presbyterian Church in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Ray Cannata is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New Orleans, LA.

Sam Downing is the pastor of City Presbyterian Church in Denver, CO.

Josh Eby pastors at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN.

John Haralson is pastor of Grace Seattle in Seattle, WA.

Mike Khandjian is pastor of Chapelgate Presbyterian Church in Marriotsville, MD.

Iron Kim is pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Orange, CA.

Sam Wheatley is pastor of Newsong Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, UT.

Shayne Wheeler is pastor of All Souls Fellowship in Decatur, GA.

Discuss the pastoral letter in our forums.

» News Release: By Faith Online's Forthcoming Issue

Received this letter today from By Faith, the magazine of the PCA - PDF. This press release is a promotional item about the next issue of the magazine. We will report on ByFaith's progress in gaining subscribers to its print publication after the report at June's General Assembly. At last year's PCA General Assembly, some discussion took place about the future of the magazine and its need for more subscribers. By Faith contains some denominational news, but its primary focus is on the people of the PCA and their ministries and would be appropriate reading for anyone in any Reformed denomination because of its positive tone and focus. By Faith Online is the web version of the magazine.

» News: Scientology Front Group in U.S. Public Schools

A developing news story involves Applied Scholastics, a Scientology related organization (with separate corporate structure) that is apparently making inroads into public schools by providing "study skills" classes. Readers with children in public schools are advised to research whether their local school district contracts for services from Applied Scholastics. Applied Scholastics is a kind of secularized version of Scientology's "technology" and has not only been recently discovered in Baton Rouge, LA public schools but also in teacher training workshops (paid for by taxpayers) all across the country. Read more at the Religion News Blog.

» News: Gospel Coalition Statement of Faith

We now have a copy of the Gospel Coalition statement of faith - you can download it here (pdf). More news and analysis to follow in the coming week.

» Feature: Weekend News Roundup

Calvin College gets some good press in Christianity Today for its focus on the Environment.

Peter Lillback continues as president of Westminster Theological Seminary, Pastor Andrew Webb (PCA) asks about a schism in the faculty. We have no hard information on this situation, but there have been several board meetings lately, and the new volume Justified in Christ contains all faculty authors, but no authors from the biblical studies faculty. We continue to monitor the situation.

The Mid-America Seminary faculty testimony on the issues related to justification has received heavy discussion this week here. Professor Alan Strange (OPC) of Mid-America participated in defending the faculty report against allegations of "violating the 9th commandment" by Douglas Wilson (CREC). The debate contains some interesting information about the history of the seminary and Norman Shepherd's part in that history.

We continue to monitor the Gospel Coalition website for updates - this conference appears to have been an interesting exercise in pan-Reformed relations and we look forward to reading the consensus confessional document as well as hear the seminars. Christianity Today provides report on the conference from a participant.

The Against Heresies blog has been serializing interviews with Carl Trueman (OPC), R. Scott Clark (URC), and others. This is an interesting blog because we've found so far in our attempts to cover the Reformed world that people tend to only grant interviews to friendly organizations, and it is helpful for all of us to be able to "listen in" on such conversations. RN attempts to be unbiased and so far commands no "clout" in getting responses to our questions. But we will press on, and try to prove our good intentions by our coverage.

Covenant Radio will also be interviewing many people from the Reformed world in the coming months. June 7, they will interview a roundtable of PCA ministers about the upcoming Federal Vision report and Pastor Jeffrey J. Meyers's response to the same. See their website for interviews scheduled into July. These interviews are audio podcasts.

5th Installment of Hitchens / Wilson debate posted at Christianity Today site. There will be one more exchange in the series.

PCA: The PCA's By Faith Online weekly newsletter contained many good items of interest: rebuilding in the MS Gulf Coast, pre-General Assembly WCF Conference, VBS materials based upon the Children's Catechism, November Mission to the World Conference. You can subscribe to By Faith's beautiful print publication here and the By Faith website contains a signup form for their informative weekly email newsletter.

Acts 29: Announces a new church planting boot camp in September.

ARP: (News Site) Mission church in Alabama finds meeting place for June 3 kickoff, Adams Farm Community Church ( Jamestown, N.C.) conducts AIDS benefit on June 9th to benefit Kenyan AIDS relief. Erskine College has created a prayer garden - the site promises instructions for how to create this devotional tool in its print news publication.

CREC: 4th Annual Conference on the Family, June 19, Lynchburg, VA. Great photograph, at that link, of a pastor and his extended family.

EPC: General Assembly Information - GA to be held June 20-23 in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Pittsburgh EPC church buys out local "nuissance bar" and turns it into ice cream parlor and coffee shop (full story PDF).

PCUSA: Prof. Daniel Kirk (Biblical Seminary) transfers membership from PCA to PCUSA, Confessing Church Movement now reports 1,317 congregations with 435,954 members, though their website looks to not have been updated in some time. PCUSA estimates per-capita budget will decline by 5% this year. Montreat (NC) congregation splits into two, by a vote of 189 to 69. A portion of the congregation will remain in the PCUSA while the rest will join the EPC.

RCA: General Synod meets June 7-12 in Pella, Iowa

As always, send us any news tips or links that need reporting; this roundup's length and content is limited each week only by the time of the editors (who have day jobs), and we can magnify our reach by enlisting your help in finding all the news that's fit to blog.

» News: The Gospel Coalition Wraps Conference

The Gospel Coalition grew out of a 2006 colloquium hosted by Tim Keller and D.A Carson in Chicago in which the issue of the relationship of the gospel to culture resulted in the drafting of a Reformed confessional statement on the subject. According to Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, part of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network, "The hope was to redefine a clear center for evangelicalism more akin to that previously articulated by men such as Francis Schaeffer, John Stott, and Billy Graham." This week, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School played host to the Gospel Coalition's first conference. Part of the conference's goal was to complete the drafting of this confession, along with a document expressing a mission statement for the coalition. See Mark Driscoll's comments after the first day of the conference. According to Driscoll, Mars Hill will fund the hosting online of the documents and seminars held at the meeting. RN will report further on the doctrine and mission of the coalition once the documents have been made public. Participants in the Coalition include well-known pastors such as John Piper, Tim Keller, D.A. Carson, Ligon Duncan, and Ray Ortlund.

Thanks to the reader who pointed us to this conference. RN is a shoestring operation at this point and we depend upon our readers to be our eyes and ears. We work hard to have unbiased, balanced content, but covering all parts of the Reformed world evenly is difficult at this point. If you have story tips or updates, please send them to the editor.

» News: Alumni of BTS Start Blog

Stephen Hague and John Ronning, alumni of Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, PA, have put together a blog site designed to bring attention to what they characterize as a departure from BTS's previous commitments. They explain:

Newcomers might ask, what is the basis for raising these serious questions? Broadly speaking, we can say that first, there was the publication of Beyond Foundationalism in 2001, co-authored by BTS theology prof. John Franke, with its view of Scripture clearly outside of evangelicalism. Secondly, the Seminary's newly chosen constituency, the emerging church, is moving in a post-evangelical direction, naturally raising questions about the Seminary's direction.

The site contains posts since January of 2007, along with comments by BTS defenders as well as those who agree with the perspective of the site owners.

» News: New Professor of Old Testmament for RTS (Atlanta)

From the RTS press release:

"Rev. John J. Yeo has been appointed assistant professor of Old Testament for the Atlanta, GA, campus of RTS. Rev. Yeo's undergraduate degree is from the University of California, Irvine. He holds a M.A. in Biblical Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary in California and a M.A. in Christian Education from Biola University. He earned a Th.M. in Old Testament from Fuller Theological Seminary. He is a Ph.D. candidate at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto. Rev. Yeo currently ministers as the assistant pastor at New Life Mission Church in Buena Park, CA."

Previously, RN reported the appointment of Guy Waters to the position of associate professor of NT at RTS, Jackson.

Source

» News: PCA Federal Vision / NPP Committee Report Modified

The Presbyterian Church in America's Federal Vision / NPP study committee report appeared on the news magazine By Faith Online on about the 7th of May (printout of original). This week, the PCA posted another draft, newly formatted, to the General Assembly website (pdf). The two drafts are nearly identical, content-wise, but the committee made at least one content change that some bloggers online have noticed.

In one section, the original report reads:

Furthermore, some FV writers have also denied that the covenant can be viewed from two different aspects. John Barach observed that "the Bible doesn't know about a distinction between being internally in the covenant, really in the covenant, and being only externally in the covenant." Likewise, Steve Wilkins argued that "all in covenant are given all that is true of Christ." Doug Wilson has implied that all baptized covenant members are participants in Christ in the same "strong sense," writing that "the person who did not persevere was not given less of Christ."

In response to this section of the report, Douglas Wilson notes that the writing referenced by the committee for this "implication" actually affirms the opposite. Likewise, the response of Jeffrey Meyers notes this error.

The revised report reads this way:

Furthermore, some FV writers have also denied that the covenant can be viewed from two different aspects. John Barach observed that "the Bible doesn't know about a distinction between being internally in the covenant, really in the covenant, and being only externally the covenant." Likewise, Steve Wilkins argued that "all in covenant are given all that is true of Christ."

The sentence regarding Wilson's views has been removed in the version of the report that will be distributed to GA commisioners in the General Assembly in Memphis this June. The questions some are asking online include: what motivated the change? which report is the official one? will further changes be made prior to the GA meeting?

In an attempt to understand the factors motivating the committee to change the report, RN contacted the committee on May 17th to inquire about the content change. Committee Chair, Paul Fowler provided no explanation and noted in an email, acquired by RN, to his fellow committee members, "Any suggestions on how to respond? Since we agreed not to respond to such sites, I am not sure what to do?" In the end, Fowler responded "We simply will not get involved in the blogs."

Previously, on May 16th, Fowler responded favorably to our request for a response from the committee concerning Meyers' paper, writing, "We will respond when we have opportunity to evaluate it."

We will continue to develop this story and keep you informed if Fowler or the committee releases further clarification.

» News: Mid-America Reformed Seminary Issues Theological Statement

Mid-America Reformed Seminary this week released a fifty-page statement titled "The Doctrinal Testimony Regarding Recent Errors" (pdf). According to the cover letter by Cornelis Venema, president of the seminary, the statement resulted from a request by the seminary's board to "to compose a clear statement concerning the doctrine of justification by faith with respect to current controversies relating to this doctrine, so that the Board may consider the statement for approval at its next meeting." Venema presents the statement as unanimously approved by the faculty and board of the seminary.

The statement clearly identifies the views it opposes - "New Perspectives on Paul" and "Federal Vision". The report states, "These errors are bringing about confusion within the churches, and are so egregious that they are undermining, even bringing about the abandonment of, the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Mid-America, located in Dyer, IN, is an independent seminary in the Reformed tradition. Current faculty members include: J. Mark Beach, Nelson D. Kloosterman, Alan Strange, Mark D. Vander Hart, Cornelis P. Venema, and Charles K. Telfer.

Previous faculty engagements with these controversies include Venema's article Getting the Gospel Right, and Strange's article Understanding the "Federal Vision", both in the February 2007 issue of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church's denominational magazine, New Horizons.

Corrections: 5/19/07 - corrected spelling of Venema's first name, changed second paragraph from characterizing the report as "targeting" certain views to "opposing" certain views in response to a reader's suggestion.

» News: Friday Blogosphere Roundup

In this weekly column, we will be reviewing the week in Reformed blogging, giving you, the reader, a sense of the general subject matter that has been of interest to Reformed bloggers.

Gender Roles: The issue of gender roles in the Reformed church is getting a lot of discussion this week. Long known for being concerned about the issue of the roles of men and women in the PCA, pastor Tim Bayly discusses his wish that the PCA would leave aside the Federal Vision controversy and focus on what he sees to be a growing movement of pastors who are bending the rules. He writes, "Over the long haul, the prevalence within PCA churches and presbyteries of egalitarian views is as great a danger as FV theology to our spiritual well-being." In a more recent post, Bayly specifically targets City Presbyterian Church (PCA) of Denver, Colorado and its Pastor's argument in favor of referring to an unordained, female member of the staff as a "minister of congregational life". If you have time, by the way, check out the work that City Pres is doing in Denver, as well as the outreach ministry to prostitutes that the Pastor Downing's wife, Leanne, established - Street's Hope. The discussion group "bbwarfield" discussed the motions concerning the use of the title "minister" brought up by Bayly's critique. In the background of this discussion over gender is the now year-ago movement out of the PCA into the RCA of the City Church in San Francisco. In other gender discussions, Mark Traphagen, a Westminster Seminary student, discusses a recent article by Carl Trueman that discusses some of the more cultural expectations that are imposed upon women in the conservative Reformed church.

Federal Vision (FV): This controversy appears to be at its peak in the PCA; the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) issued its report on the matter last year, and the PCA is now looking to consider its committee report at the General Assembly in June. This week's main blogosphere event was the publication by PCA Pastor Jeffrey Meyers of a document providing 30 reasons to oppose the committee report's adoption. Some of the blogosphere commentary relates to the fact that both the committee report and Meyers's response are long and technical - hard to imagine that every presbyter will have the time or inclination to work through them both. It is not incorrect to generalize that the more FV-friendly blogs seem to regard Meyers's response as "devastating" while the places less friendly to the FV perspective tend to view Meyers's response as unsuccessful. Doug Wilson, for instance, writes "In my view, you could summarily throw any fifteen of his reasons out the window before you start reading, and his response is still devastating." Most of the discussion of Meyers's response is occuring in the following places, if you care to listen in: Green Baggins (post 1, post2), Meyers's own blog, The Puritan Board, and there has been limited interaction on the BBWarfield list. As for private lists, we rely on news tips, but we understand that the OPC discussion group has been having a lively discussion of the report and the response from Meyers. In other denominations, an Australian minister reports his disappointment at the failure of a motion to condemn the FV in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria.

Emerging Church: On this front, the Acts 29 church planting network has received some discussion. The Acts 29 network tends to be conservative and reformed, and one of its distinctives - male ordination only - has been generating negative responses from other parts of the emerging movement (for convenience, we are thinking of the Acts 29 network as part of the emerging movement, but it is arguably a sui generis enterprise). Traphagen's blog discussed a new video titled "With Weeping for my Sisters" that contrasts quotes from various reformed authorities (including from Mark Driscoll of the Acts 29 network) with photographs of the church life of intelligent and reformed women known by the director of the video. The director writes in "the point in making this video was that I wanted a way for my friends to understand the grief I was experiencing as I have been taking a class on the history of Christianity. I wanted to share my emotional experience with them of what its like to realize how all these quotes (and soooo many others I left out!) affect me today." The video may be viewed at YouTube. Driscoll's controversial church planting video ran into distribution problems, and he discusses the matter on his own blog.

Roman Catholicism: Because of the conversion of the president of the Evangelical Theological Society to the Roman Catholic Church, the blogosphere contained many discussions of what Berkouwer called "the Riddle of Roman Catholicism" - what is the ongoing reason for the split between protestants and Catholics? R. Scott Clark, minister in the URC and professor at Westminster California asks Why Can't Evangelicals See the Canyon? and Carl Trueman of Westminster Seminary reflects on the Beckwith departure in a very irenic way. Trueman's article generated discussion at the blog Barlow Farms that included interaction with Trueman from Philosopher Bryan Cross, himself a convert from PCA membership to Roman Catholicism. Cross's own blog advocates church unity.

Other Reviews and Miscellaneous Items of Note: Paul Helm, no not this one, the professor of philosophy critiques John Franke's approach to systematic theology. Books and Culture reviews Wilson's new response to Harris's "Letter to a Christian Nation." The Work Research Foundation (neo-Calvinist) published a new edition of their Comment magazine that covered the business world, calling, etc. We at RN are impressed by the design and layout of their print version of the same and look forward to reading it each month. Covenant Seminary's magazine "In Covenant" for Summer (Download PDF) featured a fascinating interview with PCA minister Marcus Toole who currently ministers among First Nations people in Alberta. The interview is a fascinating portrait of someone who is pouring himself out for his people. Blogger Jonathan Barlow proclaims that The Kinists are Back in a lengthy post that offers a critique of the Kinist philosophy. By "back" Barlow seems to mean back online after an absence. (Background: Kinism is a kind of racial separatist sociology combined with a reformed Christianity; a throwback to the non-egalitarian consensus of Southern Presbyterian culture in the style of Dabney or Thornwell).

Bloggers and discussion list participants discussed many other things this week - politics, the abortion stance of various politicians, whether Christians should vote for a Mormon candidate, gas prices, the situation that remains in New Orleans, the tragedies in Kansas, etc. But our journey must end somewhere. RN

» News: PCA Minister Responds to GA FV Committee Report

Breaking News Today: Pastor Jeffrey J. Meyers of Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church (PCA) in St. Louis, MO has released a response to the GA committee's proposed report about the Federal Vision controversy. Meyers titled his response 30 Reasons Why It Would be Unwise for the PCA General Assembly to Adopt the Federal Vision Study Report and Its Recommendations.

Meyers previously served on the Missouri Presbytery's study committee (PDF of their report) that considered some of the same issues comprehended in the denominational study committee report.

Editorial Comment: We hope to arrange interviews with Meyers and with committee members if they are willing to discuss the '30 Reasons' provided by Meyers in his response. We'll also be monitoring the blogosphere to get a feel for the zeitgeist. As far as we are aware, there has been little to no discussion of the committee report so far. As always, send us links if we are missing any interesting or inspiring news in the Reformed world.

» News: ETS Responds to Beckwith's Conversion to RC Church

The Christianity Today blog contains a press release from the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) concerning the resignation of Francis Beckwith, both from the ETS presidency and from membership in the organization. Despite Beckwith's contention that he could, in good faith, subscribe to the ETS statement of belief, the ETS response contains an argument against Beckwith's position. Though the RC church holds to inerrancy, and obviously holds to an orthodox position on the Trinity, the ETS press release attempts to include the extent of the canon in its definition of inerrancy and the nature of biblical authority. The implicit rule is that ETS members must 1. hold to inerrancy of the scriptures where "scriptures" indicates the Protestant canon, and 2. must hold no position on church authority that compromises the authority of scripture.

The blogosphere discussions of the decision relate to whether this statement represents ad hoc causuistry or is simply the plain intention of the ETS statement. Two notable Reformed church historians have confessed to letting their ETS membership lapse due to concerns about the ETS's "big tent" approach that includes advocates of Open Theism.

» News: PCA Federal Vision Study Report in Under the Wire

The PCA Federal Vision Study Report is currently available only at the PCA's denominational magazine. The General Assembly commissioner's handbook has been mailed out to participants and does not contain the report.

Committee member Sean Lucas reports that "the report will be part of the supplemental packet that all commissioners will receive when the register for GA. The committee literally worked until the very last day before the supplemental materials were to go to the printer. However, we wanted to make sure that commissioners had access to it prior to GA; that was why it was distributed first through ByFaithonline."

The lengthy report will be considered for adoption between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13 at the PCA's 34th General assembly in Memphis.

Editorial Comment: So far, there has been little debate of the report's content in the blogosphere. We will keep our ears to the ground and alert readers to discussions that develop.

» News: New Pastor for 2nd Pres, Greenville

Second Presbyterian Church of Greenville, SC will soon have a new pastor - Richard Phillips, formerly a pastor in Margate, FL.

(Sources: 1, 2)

» News: Christopher Hitchens v. Douglas Wilson

Christianity Today invited Douglas Wilson, minister in the CREC denomination, to debate Christopher Hitchens, contrarian journalist and author of God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. The debate will take place online, in a series of articles.

Editorial Comment: Whatever your opinion of Douglas Wilson, this represents serious interaction between the world of intellectual Christianity and the world of secular political / cultural reporting and will no doubt get the Christian worldview into the public consciousness. And Hitchens is a true liberal - perhaps he will be persuaded and go on to persuade others. Wilson's engagement with Sam Harris will be reviewed in a future post here at the RN blog.

» News: Salon.com Covers Acts 29 Pastor Mark Driscoll

Salon.com published a feature article profiling Mark Driscoll and the Mars Hill Church. The article takes a political or sociological approach to Mars Hill, allowing the church to epitomize what the author calls the "Discple Generation" - "Within this movement lies something as old as America itself, and as terrifying and alluring as anything Orwell predicted; something that is at once political, emotional, deeply anti-intellectual, and more galvanized than you can imagine. I call this population of fierce young evangelicals the Disciple Generation."

The author, Lauren Sandler, focuses on Driscoll's emphasis of fruitfulness in marriage and his emphasis on "traditional" gender roles. Sandler represents Driscoll's soteriology as though Driscoll preaches legalism: "When Driscoll invokes his Lord, he describes an uncompromising disciplinarian who demands utter obedience from his followers in exchange for rescue from an eternity in hell."

Salon.com notes that the article is adapted from Sandler's book Righteous: Dispatches From the Evangelical Youth Movement.