By Matt Adams | May 24, 2024
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The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) will gather for its 51st General Assembly in just a few weeks. There, commissioners will discuss many proposals (called overtures) for refining our Rules of Discipline. Admittedly, many of those disciplinary overtures are the focus of much of our attention. However, one overture that the Assembly needs to consider seriously is Overture 3, which comes to us after passing unanimously in the Pee Dee Presbytery. This overture offers a brief amendment to our Directory for the Worship of God, but then calls on the Assembly to constitutionalize Chapter 53 of our Book of Church Order (BCO) on the preaching of the Word of God.
I cannot spend much time explaining the complicated history behind ratifying the PCA’s Directory for Worship as constitutionally binding. My friend Jared Nelson has already produced a great article on the topic, and you can access it here. Yet, I must mention that our Book of Church Order formally includes the Directory for Worship as part of our constitution (Preface III, BCO 26.1). I know this is a point of contention amongst elders in the PCA, but this tension does not have to continue unresolved.
Approving Overture 3 would reemphasize our commitment to being a Word and Sacrament denomination.
Many of you will know that the PCA gave constitutional status to the BCO chapters concerning the sacraments in 1980. The ratification of chapters 56-58 as fully constitutional ensured that our ministers and congregations were rightly handling the sacraments prescribed by Christ: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This was a proper and fitting decision for our denomination; however, what about the other ordinary means of grace, namely preaching and prayer? Moreover, why not constitutionalize chapter 53, as it pertains to rightly handling the Word preached, the primary means by which our God draws sinners unto Himself (WSC 89)?
As Presbyterians, we have historically agreed that the preaching of God’s Word is the most essential element of our worship services. Furthermore, we have stated that sitting under the Word of God preached is the climax of the Christian life. Therefore, would it not be fitting for us to ratify as fully constitutional that portion of our Directory for Worship that presents how the Word is to be handled rightly among our congregations (2 Tim. 2:15)? If we have affirmed as a denomination that we must rightly administer the sacraments, how much more so should we give the same constitutional status to the right preaching of God’s direct and special revelation to His people?
Approving Overture 3 would affirm our commitment to the scriptural understanding of the office of Elder.
As we consider rightly handling the Word of God, the PCA has historically and continues to affirm that the office of an Elder is to be filled only by men. To prove this point, we cite scriptural texts like 1 Corinthians 14, 1 Timothy 2-3, and Titus 1-2. We believe that men who handle the Word of God must prove themselves qualified and able to preach. Every elder ought to have the gift of teaching, and pastors are to prove themselves ready to handle the Word rightly.
Indeed, the scriptures make explicit provision for safeguarding the pulpit, which should not surprise us. If God has established the preaching of His Word as the primary means to save sinners and sanctify believers, you must understand that He would also require qualified men to ascend into the pulpit to preach and exhort.
Therefore, this overture proposes a fitting and straightforward amendment. It calls on the Assembly to add the language of “qualified men” or a “qualified man” to chapter 53 at appropriate points. This simple amendment helps ensure that Sessions, who are tasked with ordering worship and guarding the pulpit, only allow called and competent men to exposit God’s Word on the Lord’s Day before the people of God.
Approving Overture 3 would strengthen and apply what we already have agreed upon.
It might be here that you have noticed that this overture does not offer a narrower understanding of what we have all affirmed. We as a denomination already publish to the world that we believe and teach everything that this article has mentioned. Yet, it is time to strengthen our longstanding commitment to these vital points of our doctrine of worship.
I once heard that if your tent is about to be blown away by ferocious winds, it is time to put another peg into the ground. Well, the cultural winds of egalitarianism are blowing fiercely upon us. Not only have we seen multiple denominations move toward allowing female clergy and preachers, but we have also experienced a small sampling of these things within our denomination. One might think of the recent instance in Metro New York Presbytery, but this is not the only occasion where women have functionally preached before a congregation during Lord’s Day worship.
Are these delinquent practices going to continue manifesting themselves around the PCA? I surely hope not. However, this overture puts another peg in the ground to keep our tent from blowing away. If approved, this proposal will give constitutional authority to our robust understanding of the importance of the preached Word. Furthermore, it will provide an even more concrete mechanism to address (and correct) any aberrant practices. The Assembly commissioners must not see this overture as an imposing narrowing of our beliefs and practices, but rather as a needed practical application of our existing convictions. We are a Word and Sacrament denomination; therefore, we should desire to see these ordinary means given an extraordinary emphasis within our Directory for Worship (and Book of Church Order). If we can ratify this chapter as constitutionally binding, we will experience greater harmony amongst the fathers and brothers of our beloved denomination.
Matt Adams is a PCA Teaching Elder serving as Pastor ofFirst Presbyterian Church (PCA)in Dillon, SC.
