Promised Report on General Assembly

Once again I want to thank all of you folks at CPC for sending Allen, Wayne, and me to the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We belong to this denomination and it has been quite a while since one of us went as a delegate. I don't think we have ever sent three delegates.

I also thank you for your prayer support. God answered the prayers we had asked you to pray, and answered them powerfully. All three of us enjoyed safe travel to the west coast. We were able to share housing and have good times of fellowship and prayer together as we discussed the day's events.

I thought I would share a few of my personal highlights from the week.

I enjoyed being with men I have known for years, but have not seen since the last time I attended GA. The opportunity to share meals, to have conversations, and to learn about each others' ministries was very satisfying. Fellowship at the Assembly is important to the ongoing work of the church.

I also enjoyed seeing Nate Lee's dad. General Douglas Lee is a pastor in the PCA who also has served for many years as a chaplain. He has recently become the head of the Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Chaplains Commission. In that capacity he will lead the board that oversees all of our OPC chaplains, as well as those of several other sister denominations. He spoke to the combined Assembly. I know that he will do a great job in his new post.

We heard some very encouraging reports on the work being done to establish new churches in the US and around the world. The OPC is working as a denomination to establish churches in particular urban settings, including DC. We are continuing work in Haiti, Africa, and Japan, as well as starting a new mission in Uruguay. Jonathan Falk, who spoke at a recent Mission Month at CPC is now going to be leading the work to start churches in Uruguay.

One of the things that the three of us went to address is the Amended Proposed Revised Version of our denomination's Directory for Public Worship. This is a part of our constitutional documents and gives us guidance about how OPC churches structure their worship. The committee who is working on this has a tough job, and has been working on it for many years. We are now at the point where we are discussing and approving the APRV so that it can be approved by the Presbyteries and the finally put in force. We spoke to several issues that this revision raises. We also spoke to some topics where we have differences with the current and the revised Directories. The debates on the floor revealed that pastors in the OPC has some divergent views about how to conduct worship. There were some discussions that brought those differences starkly into focus. We wrestled with how to accommodate each other's views while being Biblically driven in what we do. The discussions will continue at next year's GA and I hope that we will have delegates from CPC in attendance.

I also believe, in line with the class on Stewardship that I taught this past year, that CPC has a stewardship with regard to our denomination. We have learned a lot of lessons in our ministry here. We can share those lessons, both in the fellowship we have with other pastors at GA, but also in the debates on the floor as we decide how to vote on the various motions at GA. We have a voice in our denomination, and I am glad that you sent us to this GA to speak.

If you have any questions about General Assembly, our denomination, worship, or something else related to this blog, feel free to get in contact with me at the church office.

Steve