A Newbie’s Guide to General Assembly
While we can easily look up the powers of General Assembly(G.A.), it is sometimes difficult to understand all the purposes of the General Assembly. This was the problem I found myself facing a few years ago when I attended my first G.A. I was sent by my church, but what was I there for? To...
3 Questions About Online Debates Among Christians
More and more I am becoming disturbed by certain patterns of communication that some people choose to employ in their defense of their opinions. It seems that whenever a hot button issue comes up in the PCA, a few people seem to think that they are justified in putting on their rhetorical brass knuckles, and...
An Interview with Sam Wheatley
At their 2012 winter meeting, the Northern California Presbytery received a request to conduct a study on a topic that, so far ,has proven too hot to handle–woman in the diaconate. This request came from Pastor Sam Wheatley of New Song Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, UT. Following this Presbytery meeting Wheatley’s paper was...
New Commenting System
We are working on a new commenting system. We’ve realized that we often have a lot of comments on facebook but not as many on the site itself. We are taking a shot as using facebook comments in order to bring the two together. We are going to keep up all of our old comments,...
What the PCA Could Learn from Soma: Recap
Having been back in the normal patterns of Church life in our community, I have had some time to process my time with Soma, and some of the things that the PCA can learn from Soma. As I end, I'd like to recap and suggest where we can go from here.
What the PCA Could Learn from Soma: Reformation
This is a short four-part series examining some of the things the Presbyterian Church in America, could, and I would say should, learn from Soma Communities, a group of churches in the Northwest.
What the PCA Could Learn from Soma: Theology
I was expecting to go to Soma and find patterns and systems, lacking theology. I figured that I, the PCA guy, would have to fill in the theological and scriptural support for their non-theological pragmatism. Instead, the Lord humbled me.
What the PCA Could Learn from Soma: Discipleship
As I begin this series, I realize that I might offend or irritate many Godly and respectable people. Please understand that I am not seeking purposely to offend, but rather I am unsettled by the questions I have about our denomination. My line of questioning comes from a week I spent living with Soma Communities,...
Why I’m Angry About This Meeting of Understanding
A week and a half ago, around 50 pastors and elders in the PCA met in Atlanta. Atlanta is our denominational headquarters, and Presbyterians love meetings. At first this doesn’t seem like it should be news worthy. Then byFaith put out a short article explaining what happened at the meeting: The meeting had two specific...
The Privilege of Reading in the 21st Century
Just imagine how different the world would be if you could never send a letter or write a note or email someone. Reading is a gift that most of us don’t appreciate. Most people aren’t even aware of how much they read on a daily basis. We read and write all the time, just think...
Video – Re-Imagining Theological Education
I recently came across a very interesting short video from the folks at 3dm. It profiles some of the issues that have bothered me about theological education. While their solution isn’t being talked about much here, do you think they have the right diagnosis? It seems like this video shares the thinking that the PCA...
Are We Neglecting the Lord’s Supper: 3 Starter Questions
Ever since seminary I’ve heard whispers and murmurs on one topic, but never open discussion. On most theological subjects in the Reformed Community there is plainly agreement or disagreement, yet when it comes to the Lord’s Supper this doesn’t seem to be true. Sure we learned about the three views in the Reformation: Consubstantiation, the...
