General Assembly Preview: Polity, Procedure & Personnel

The PCA's 51st General Assembly in Richmond lacks the social controversies that overshadowed recent assemblies, but this year's GA has the potential to reshape the character of the PCA.

Thanks to last year’s overture from the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley (PMV), a broad consensus regarding officer qualifications and character seems to be emerging in the PCA. This much-needed respite from debates on sexuality and abuse has given the PCA the luxury to focus on other issues that may seem less exciting, but may be more significant.

This year’s Assembly will focus largely on three main issues: Polity, Procedure, and Personnel. The Assembly will have the opportunity to consider whether to uphold our polity and/or to reform our judicial procedures. Additionally the Assembly will take crucial votes regarding the personnel who comprise our GA Committees and Judicial Commission as well as for the staff who administer the daily operations of the denominational agencies.

A number of men have prepared guides to and analyses of the overtures as they prepared for GA. Some of them have been made available to others; this is not an attempt to sway votes, but to aid the brethr…