Presbyterian Polity

May and June already have proven exciting for churchmen of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), and this coming week promises to bring us together for vigorous deliberation in Louisville. What is a commissioner to do to get the most out of, or give the most into, the 53rd General Assembly?

Fellowship

In the first place, the scheduled opportunities for fellowship are abundant. Beginning tonight, commissioners of all ages can hear from Derek Rishmawy and Robert Hasler about engaging with “the young people” of our denomination at the annually recurring “Next Generation Forum” (aka. Millennial Forum), now in its third year (click here for information and to register).

Throughout the week, seminaries and official PCA entities will host food functions, the exhibit hall will be buzzing with activity, and a variety of networks will bring their constituents together for mutual encouragement. Here are just a few events that stuck out to us:

Monday Night: Next Generation Forum at Redeemer Louisville PCA
Tuesday Night: Carolinas Church Planting Collective Meet-Up
Wednesday Breakfast: PCA Foundation Discussion on Fundraising Campaigns
Wednesday Lunch: Greenville Seminary Luncheon featuring Dr. Ian Hamilton
Wednesday Dinner: Gospel Reformation Network Banquet featuring Dr. Jon D. Payne
Wednesday Night: MORE in the PCA / Ruling Elder Network Shindig at the historic Pendennis Club
Edification

The PCA is a teaching church full of Teaching Elders, and our annual free seminars at General Assembly are a feature (not a bug) of our national gathering. Here are a few seminars (offered by Teaching Elders, Ruling Elders, Deacons, and Members) that seem especially interesting:

Tuesday @ 2:30 PM – RE Scott Hatch of Christ Presbyterian Church Burke, VA on Resetting the Foundations of Moral Reasoning (Room L011-012)
Tuesday @ 2:30 PM – TE Duncan Hoopes and Mrs. Debbie Hoopes of Reidville Presbyterian Church on Exploring Hospice Care within the Church (Room L013)
Tuesday @ 3:35 PM – TE Lowell Ivey of Metanoia Prison Ministries on Ministry to the Incarcerated
Tuesday @ 3:35 PM – TE Matthew Everhard of Gospel Fellowship Presbyterian Church on Bold as a Lion: Christian Courage in an Age of Fear
Tuesday @ 3:35 PM – DE Benjamin Shultz of Central Florida Presbytery on Presbytery Diaconal Connectionalism (L011-012)
Tuesday @ 3:35 PM – TE Seth Hammond, TE Andrew Halbert, & Mrs. Susan Horn of Christ Covenant Knoxville on Empowering Women for Effective Ministry (M108)
Tuesday @ 3:35 PM – TE DeMyron Haynes of New City Fellowship Grand Rapids on Walking with the Flock: The Lost Art of Pastoral Visitation
There are many more fine seminars being offered as well, and you can read descriptions and a schedule here.

Business

The business of the Assembly itself convenes on Tuesday night at 6:30 PM with the Call to Order by the outgoing Moderator (TE Kevin DeYoung), followed immediately by our first worship service of the week. However, Committees of Commissioners meet throughout the day on Monday and Tuesday. The Overtures Committee is generally regarded as the most exciting of the Committees, and it starts its work at 10 AM today (Monday). This year, the Overtures Committee has over 90 overtures to dispose of before giving its first partial report (on any proposed amendments to the Rules of Assembly Operation) on Tuesday evening. The bulk of the Overtures Committee Report will be given as a “Special Order” beginning at 10:15 AM on Thursday.

We are confident that whatever the Overtures Committee does to organize and present its business will be interesting and impressive. The most controversial items are those relating to the ordination of women, and it is likely that the Assembly will decisively answer in the negative each of the proposals to allow for the ordination of women.

Other Committees of Commissioners meet throughout the day on Monday beginning at 1 PM (Administrative Committee, Covenant Theological Seminary, Geneva Benefits Group, Reformed University Fellowship) and Tuesday beginning at 9 AM (Committee on Discipleship Ministries, Covenant College, Mission to North America, Mission to the World, PCA Foundation, and Ridge Haven; Interchurch Relations at 10:30 AM). If anything like last year, we expect that the open portion of the MNA Committee of Commissioners meeting will be particularly well-attended.

Tuesday Night

When the Assembly meets on Tuesday night, it will elect a new Moderator. We do not have a formal campaign season for our Moderator, but the word on the PCA street is that RE Melton Duncan will be nominated, along with (potentially) RE Jay Neikirk. Both are fine Christian fathers/brothers, assiduous churchmen, and highly capable of moderating a meeting with decency and order. RE Duncan serves ably as Calvary Presbytery’s Stated Clerk and on the General Assembly’s Administrative Committee. He has also served previously on the Standing Judicial Commission, and he is recognizable to the Assembly as the always delightful Committee of Thanks Chairman.

The Assembly will also be electing a Stated Clerk (something we do each year), taking up the recommendation of the Administrative Committee to elect TE Fred Greco to the post. RE John Bise has served us exceptionally well as Provisional Clerk this past year, and we are sure that he is eagerly anticipating TE Greco’s election to the role in a more permanent capacity.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, the most engaging matters of business before us (from my limited and humble perspective) include the Review of Presbytery Records Committee Report at 9 AM and the Mission to North America Committee of Commissioner Report in the afternoon (after 3 PM). It appears that several citations included in the Committee’s Report relate to the PCA’s ongoing debates over deaconesses and other confusions surrounding women in ministry. We wish to commend RE Melton Duncan (Clerk of Presbytery) and TE Robert Cathcart (Recording Clerk) on preparing Calvary Presbytery’s minutes such that they met with the Review of Presbytery Records Committee’s approval “without exception” (Docket, pg. 1415).

The deadline for Floor Nominations to Permanent Committee positions is 4:30 PM on Wednesday, and there is every indication that we will have a number of nominees from the floor again this year. We are especially interested to see what options will be before the Assembly for the three open Teaching Elder slots on the Mission to North America Permanent Committee, seeing as TE Zachary Groff was narrowly elected from the floor last year. We understand that TE Rob Pacienza will be nominated from the floor for one of the slots.

Thursday

The Nominating Committee Report takes place as a “Special Order” at 9:30 AM on Thursday. This is arguably the single most important part of the Assembly’s work all week. The outcome of the elections that take up this report will determine the makeup of our Permanent Committees and the Standing Judicial Commission for the next year. Much of the ongoing work of the Assembly through the course of the year is transacted through these Permanent Committees. It is of utmost importance that commissioners carefully review the biographical information of the nominees, both those produced by the Nominating Committee and those offered from the floor. We urge our fellow commissioners to be especially aware of the nominees’ commitments to public statements, recorded votes, protests, and alignment with various groups operating within the denomination (e.g., Alliance for Mission and Renewal, A Call for Prayer and Lament, National Partnership, Gospel Reformation Network, Ruling Elder Network/MORE, etc.). Though the General Assembly (thankfully) does not have political parties, it is a visible society. The participants in this spiritual society have discernible commitments, perspectives, viewpoints, and convictions that affect how this society operates in its various parts and pursuits. Thus, it is incumbent upon each of us to be as informed as possible of the candidates put forward for potential service in our General Assembly-level ministries, Committees, and Commissions.

After the Nominating Committee Report, the Assembly will take up the Overtures Committee Report, which runs through the end of the Assembly (hopefully Thursday afternoon, but potentially extending into Friday morning).

General Assembly week is full of excitement, but we must not forget that it is a week of important, even solemn, business. We are about the glorious work of ordering the affairs of the Church at a national scale for the purpose of promoting the reformation of its worship in its local expressions both at home and abroad. General Assembly exists for the sake of the Church’s worship, and not the other way around. May the Lord bless our enduring Reformation according to His Word, the Word of Christ our King who rules and reigns from His heavenly throne. All glory be to Christ! Soli Deo Gloria!

Read on Presbyterian Polity here: https://pcapolity.com/2026/06/22/this-week-in-louisville-getting-giving-at-the-53rd-general-assembly/

Dr. Chris Jameson of Trinity PCA in Crofton, MD addresses the question of female deacons, from a thoroughly biblical perspective. Prepare for PCAGA53 by reading this supremely helpful treatment of the issue.

Female Deacons in the Church? If you’re an evangelical Christian in America, you have likely experienced unease when it comes to the question of women serving in leadership roles in the church. There are two sides to this…

"While it is true there is a distinction between Paul’s Apostolic authority and a modern-day Teaching Elder’s authority, pastors still have a derived authority that stands on the shoulders of the message once for all delivered by the prophets and apostles (Eph. 2:20; 4:11-16). The pastor’s authority is rooted and grounded in God’s Word, and the Scriptures have much to say about its nature." ~ TE George Sayour in "The Maligned Ministry of Authority"

The Maligned Ministry of Authority We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.…

"I believe the function of who is to shepherd the church is clearly taught in Scripture. The Greek word poimaninō (ποιμαίνω) is used 11 times in the New Testament and always speaks of Christ or His leaders in Christ’s church. The term is connected to the role of authority (Rev. 2:27). It is clearly linked to those who oversee the church (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:1–4)." ~ TE Thomas Richard in "Christ's Officers Are Sufficient"

Read the full article here:

Christ’s Officers Are Sufficient We need to stop seeking innovation in the structure of the Church. Jesus Christ as King and Head of the Church has given all the instructions we need to structure church leadership, which are expli…

Thomas Rickard continues his series arguing against use of the term "deaconess" in the PCA.

“Within courts and organizations, there are different opinions on various matters. However, some aspects of the PCA are not open to discussion, such as the fact that the ordained offices in Christ’s Church are open only to qualified, godly men.”

Confusion I hope these articles (first, second) continue to provoke thought and discussion regarding the practice of non-ordained commissioned deaconesses. I hope I am gracious and kind as I present my case …

Dr. Michael Mock has contributed two essays on matters of critical importance in Presbyterian churches:

1) Sola Familia: When Family Ties Divide

2) Our Common Confession: What Unites Brothers

You do not want to miss these important pieces.

https://pcapolity.com/2026/04/16/sola-familia-when-family-ties-divide/

https://pcapolity.com/2026/04/17/our-common-confession-what-unites-brothers/

Our Common Confession: What Unites Brothers Yesterday we considered the danger of familial fidelity over loyalty to truth. When Sola Familia rules the roost, many are roasted by the fire of unholy zeal. We have natural affections for our fam…

On the occasion of his retirement from the Presbyterian Polity Editorial Board, we wish to extend our sincerest thanks to RE Brad Isbell.

His contributions to the blog have always been great, and we hope that we will feature commentary from him in the future!

Associate Editor Rich Leino penned a thoughtful (and mercifully brief) rejoinder to the recent salvo by the Alliance for Mission & Renewal (A4MR). He writes, "I was struck by how similar the piece feels to the way political populism operates. It identifies frustration, dislocation, or division, and then rallies people around a sense of shared sentiment."

Read the full rejoinder here: https://pcapolity.com/2026/04/16/for-the-recovery-of-the-pca-a-rejoinder/

Dr. Michael Mock cautions against an unofficial "sola" that influences many Reformed churches:

"But the unofficial Sola rooted in many people’s hearts is Sola Familia, which is essentially a person’s (or group’s) commitment to a friend or family member over truth..."

Read more here: https://pcapolity.com/2026/04/16/sola-familia-when-family-ties-divide/

Zack Groff offers a critical (but fair-minded) review of "Reformed Christian Politics" co-authored by PCA pastors Zachary Garris and Sean McGowan along with independent scholar Stephen Wolfe.

Biggest takeaway: this book emphatically does not support Theonomy.

Read the full review here: https://pcapolity.com/2026/04/15/review-reformed-christian-politics-by-stephen-wolfe-zachary-garris-and-sean-mcgowan/