Sunday in Columbia

Anne, the children and I are in Columbia, South Carolina this Lord's Day. Tomorrow we'll head to Wild Dunes, near Charleston, SC for some much anticipated refreshment. This morning we worshiped with the saints of First Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Columbia. Sinclair Ferguson, their new Senior Minister, was preaching. It was glorious.

Derek is preaching for me these next two weeks in Jackson (thanks Derek!), and I'm looking forward to a good report of him. Meanwhile, Derek and I (along with about 1400 others) spent this last week at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America. While many of my friends have said that the week was "boring" -- half in jest no doubt -- I found it a very encouraging week.

Dominic Aquila, a long-time PCA minister who has held numerous significant posts and who is currently President of New Geneva Seminary in Colorado Springs, was elected Moderator. The following is his brief report of some of the highlights.

34^th PCA General Assembly Update

More than 1,400 PCA commissioners gathered at the Atlanta Hyatt Regency for the denomination’s 34^th General Assembly, June 20-23, 2006. Here is a summary of some of its actions,

Strategic Planning Committee Report

One of the major items considered by the General Assembly was the report of the Strategic Planning Committee, which had been erected in 2000. It had been studying various aspects of the PCA and its report contained recommendations for the future health and growth of the denomination.

“If the PCA continues its current rate of growth, we’ll have more than one million members by 2028,” said Frank Brock, chairman of the Ad Interim on Strategic Planning Committee. “This is the right time to think strategically about the PCA’s future.”

All of the committee’s proposed changes were approved by the General Assembly. These changes, which take effect at the end of the 34^th General Assembly, include:

• Several modifications to the General Assembly’s Rules of Assembly Operations (RAO)—intended to reduce the amount of debate on the floor of the GA on parliamentary procedures allowing for a focus on debate on substantive issues.
• An expanded Overtures Committee, which will include representatives from all 75 presbyteries. The hope is that this expanded committee will provide fuller participation by commissioners and promote deliberation within the body.
• The creation of a new Cooperative Ministries Committee. This committee will be composed of representatives from the PCA’s various agencies and committees, and will encourage networking and cooperation among the various groups.