Presbyterian Church Government: Standards and Courts
General Assembly meetings for the PCA and the OPC each reconvene in June. At about this time of the year, various issues begin to swirl and pick up pace ahead of these meetings. Social Media platforms are ablaze with opinions, controversies, confusion, and jokes. Even if you are not a church polity geek, you are likely aware of some issues and controversies that have taken place in church courts over the years. Additionally, decisions that are made at the national meetings of Christian churches often make headline news.
The Warfield Summer Institute’s mission is to equip the average congregant to know the faith, love the Savior, and serve the Kingdom. Often, issues related to church government, discipline, and the courts of the Presbyterian church involve average congregants, and they are caught unawares by the mechanical apparatus of church courts and its business. The goal, therefore, of this brief article is to help the average congregant understand a few key parts of church government, especially as it relates to today’s issues. If you are looking for a helpful guide to local Presbyterian church government because you always forget the distinction between a deacon and an elder, or something like that, check out one of our past articles. But if you are wondering how the church functions, especially in the courts of the church, continue reading.
How is a Presbyterian Church Governed?
First, it is important to stress the centrality of our Lord Jesus Christ as the head of the church. Both the PCA and the OPC begin their books of church order with this theological truth. Jesus is holding all things together and is the head of the church; he is preeminent, by virtue of his nature and work (Col. 1:15–20).
Second, the head of the Church, Jesus Christ, is the revealer and the revealed. Hebrews 1:1–3 links the time-space revelation of God first through the prophets and now in Jesus (cf. John 1:1–5, 14) with the implied redemptive-historical usefulness of God’s written revelation for all of scripture (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16-17). This Word, therefore, is the primary standard of the PCA and the OPC, since it is the revelation of God through the prophets and apostles, all of whom, under the inspiration of the Spirit, proclaim the inerrant and infallible gospel of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:44–47; 2 Peter 1:16-21). It is believed by the PCA and the OPC that God’s Word speaks clearly to many practical matters of church life and order. Notice how the OPC pulls these first two governing parts together saying, “Christ orders his church by the rule of his Word; the pattern of officers, ordinances, government, and discipline set forth in Scripture is therefore to be observed as the instruction of the Lord” (Form of Government, hereafter FOG, 1.3).
Third, Presbyterian churches are also governed secondarily by confessional documents. For both the PCA and OPC, The Westminster Standards serve as our theological foundation of interpretation. These standards, including the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism, were crafted by the Westminster Assembly in London from 1643-1649. It is strongly believed that The Westminster Standards, as the capstone of the Reformation, are most abundantly faithful to the truth of God’s Word and equip us well as guardrails for faithful reading and interpretation of the Bible. Notably, these standards can be altered and have been altered at various points since the 1640s, since these works are simply the product of men and not also inspired by the Spirit. Importantly, no vital Christian belief has been “updated” in the editions subscribed to in the PCA and the OPC, as it has been in other places. Instead, alterations are just the product of history, since the document with its use in North America changed after the American Revolution (see WCF, 23), for example. Or it is no longer believed that the Pope is the anti-Christ as it was in the 1640s, with the Reformation and Bloody Mary in their more recent past. Alterations can also update the wording to fit the vernacular, word changes that increase readability. Certainly, other changes have taken place due to the church liberalizing as in some of the 1903 revisions to the Westminster Confession of Faith. But this type of path has not been taken by either the PCA or the OPC. Read more from us on the Westminster Standards.
Fourth, Presbyterian churches also have tertiary standards which include books that establish rules for procedure, discipline, and, in most instances, directories for worship. These rules are under the authority of the primary and secondary standards, doing what is expressly commanded in scripture or “by good and necessary consequence…deduced from scripture” (WCF, 1.6), but they are constitutionally binding upon members and member churches. As a tertiary standard, it is far more likely to be altered or amended than the secondary standards. It is just my hunch, but I believe a change to these standards is almost always a point of conversation in the PCA each year at the General Assembly, less so in the OPC. Importantly, though, it is these tertiary standards that give the most grief to average congregants because they are not very intuitive for the “uninitiated.” But they are available for both PCA and OPC members to read for free online, albeit a bit of a dry slog for most.
What remains below is a type of FAQ, especially given recent conversations and controversies.
What is a Moderator and Stated Clerk?
Every church court has officers, a moderator and a clerk (also a treasurer). The moderator effectively runs the meeting and does not normally vote, except to break a tie. The moderator has significant impact on the meeting itself and sometimes on the work that happens in between meetings, since he is often tasked to fill ad hoc committees or study committees. The clerk, in my experience, often sits in his role for longer than a year and acts as a type of secretary. Normally the clerk can vote in the normal proceedings of a meeting. This role in the higher courts can have significant sway over the agenda of the meeting(s) and the organization of the meeting(s), as well as the written record of what transpired and, at times, what comes before the church court. Every local church court, called a session, has a moderator, normally the Pastor or Senior Pastor. It also has a clerk, normally a Ruling Elder who is elected by the session. Every regional church court, called a Presbytery, has a moderator and a clerk, sometimes an assistant clerk too. These are filled by unique standing rules for each presbytery, which stipulate voting, tenure, suitability, etc. These offices are always filled with a member of the court and voted on by the court itself, typically annually. The General Assembly, the national church court, elects a moderator each year from its rank but sometimes has a clerk (also a member of the court) serving on a permanent or semi-permanent basis.
What Happens to Discipline Cases?
Normally, discipline cases are first dealt with locally by a church session, unless it involves a teaching elder (or pastor), who is officially a member of the regional church (presbytery) not the local church. But the ruling of session may be appealed to presbytery. Likewise, presbytery’s decision may be appealed to the General Assembly (or a commission thereof) for a final decision. These discipline cases ought to follow Matthew 18 as a Biblical rule and for the benefit of each court they should follow the tertiary standard’s rules too. For example, they should be sent to the clerk within a certain time and typically in a certain written form, clearly stipulating a sin that has been committed, normally citing the Ten Commandments. A book of church order will give these parameters and suggested written forms. Just like a civil court, the discipline case could be “thrown out” on a technicality if these parameters (and others) are not met. But if they are met than the issue is properly before the court, and they can determine whether to enter trial or not. If they go to trial and the accused is found guilty in the church court, that court may pass a censure (see WCF 30 and various books of church order). A censure is a disciplinary action taken against the guilty party, which can be as simple as (but still serious!) a type of verbal or written reprimand or as significant as removal from the Lord’s Supper and even more significantly, excommunication.
Who Gets a Vote?
The members in good standing of each court may vote in every decision. Normally, when there is a conflict of interest a member of the court may recuse himself, but this is not explicit in the tertiary standards, apart from (possibly) the OPC’s Book of Discipline when it discusses the rules for a trial and that “the accused may not sit in judgment on his own case at any stage…” (BOC, 4.3.a, unknown if the PCA has something similar). So, in normal situations, the members of the session, ruling elders and teaching elders (Senior or Associate, but not Assistant Pastors), may vote at monthly session meetings. All teaching elders (Senior, Associate, and Assistant Pastors) may vote at every Presbytery meeting, along with ruling elder delegates, or in some instances, any ruling elder who shows up. At the General Assembly of the PCA, all elders who are registered may vote. At the General Assembly of the OPC, all elders who are sent by their presbyteries as commissioners may vote, but no others, even if they are in attendance.
