103 articles from 57 issues, 1996 to 2026 · Page 6 of 9
How do you read a long denominational report without getting lost? Alan Wisdom says to start with the bold-print recommendations, watch the verbs, and see why Recommendation 5 is the real centre of the Peace, Unity and Purity report.
Does the Adopting Act of 1729 let each presbytery decide what is essential? Toby Brown reads the Act itself and finds that the early synod allowed scruples only within defined limits, so the Task Force misreads its own history.
Should the church loosen its ordination standards for the sake of peace? Jerry Andrews, Susan Cyre, James Edwards, Robert Gagnon and Ulrich Mauser answer from creation, covenant and the love commandment, and ask the church to hold to the confessions.
Should faithful Presbyterians stay and work for reform, or leave? Terry Schlossberg turns to Wilberforce, the prophets and the Reformers to argue that repentance, discipline and patient work from within are the way forward.
Why do General Assemblies keep receiving the most inexperienced commissioners? Bob Davis argues that presbyteries have neglected their stewardship of the covenant, and sets out four steps, drawn from Scripture, the confessions and the Book of Order.
What would a denomination with Reformed teaching on marriage and the family say to a generation of upheaval? Alan Wisdom reads the proposed PCUSA policy on families and finds recommendations that avoid definitions, sidestep Scripture and duck the social science.
What should a church do once it has voted the same way again? Jerry Andrews tells the Presbyterian Coalition that the wider margins suggest the legislative season is ending, and asks evangelicals for patience, trust and a love of truth that does not harden into anger.
Is church reform a distraction from the church’s work, or part of it? Diane Knippers tells the story of a pastor who lost his post for standing for the truth, then names six marks of the renewal movement, from its maturity and ecumenism to a new generation of reformers.
Why does the church talk only about trials when it talks about discipline? Charles Wiley turns to the Consistory of Calvin’s Geneva, where most cases were quarrels between relatives, and argues that discipline should begin with the ordinary, local and restorative kind.
What does the church give up when its General Assembly meets only every other year? Susan Cyre sets out reasons to restore annual assemblies, from the cost estimates and the deluge of business to the weakening of elected leaders against national staff.
Should Certified Christian Educators be ordained as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament? Carol Shanholtzer reviews ten proposed amendments to the Book of Order one by one, and argues that they blur the office of minister and should all be defeated.
Why has discipline become a word the church would rather not use? Paul Leggett argues from three basic doctrines, that God is love, that the church is one body and that repentance lasts all of life, that church discipline is a gift and not a punishment.
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