As the PCA nears its 50th birthday, members and leaders can feel nostalgic for the good work the Lord has accomplished thus far through the denomination: gospel ministry furthered by remaining faithful to Scripture, true to the Reformed faith, and committed to the Great Commission.
But after a difficult year of racial unrest, political divisions, and the pandemic, now’s not the time for resting on laurels. Bryan Chapell, PCA Stated Clerk Pro Tempore, has assembled a panel of theologians and leaders to share their hopes for the future of the PCA.
Chapell will moderate the six-member panel of teaching elders coming from a range of callings from the pastorate to college presidency, from work in distinctly PCA settings to ecumenical settings: Michael Allen, academic dean at Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando; Chuck Garriott, executive director of Ministry to State; Brian Habig, pastor of Downtown Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina; Julius Kim, associate pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church and president of The Gospel Coalition; Philip Ryken, president of Wheaton College; and Thurman Williams, urban church planter and member of the Mission to North America permanent committee.
Chapell said that when the PCA was founded in 1973, the founding fathers had a clear vision for a Reformed church with missional zeal and commitment to Scriptures in order to be a light to an increasingly-secular culture. At this critical juncture, “It is important that we have a clear vision of our future purpose so that we coordinate our efforts and unite our hearts in Christ’s mission,” he said.
The goal is to help the PCA remember that God’s blessings in the past prepare us for his work that still lies ahead of the church.
Panel members will share their hopes for the denomination and what they see as the PCA’s greatest needs in the years to come.
As the church recovers from a difficult season in which churches were forced to livestream services and adhere to government restrictions on in-person gatherings, it can be tempting to hurry back to the way things used to be before the pandemic. Michael Allen of RTS Orlando believes that now is a good time to think about the future, not just the past.
“We need to instead ask what future God would be calling us to, how does God’s Word call us to glory and to more faithfully follow Christ and bear witness to the wider world and function as a body together,” he said.
This year’s Assembly docket includes a range of policy issues including sexuality, qualifications for elders, biblical ethics and digital media, white supremacy, and the rise in Asian-American hatred in the U.S.
Allen believes the Assembly-wide seminar can provide a theological and biblical context for the debates that will occur during the Assembly. He hopes the way panel members interact with each other, and with questions posed to them, can “set something of a framework for some of the discussions we need to have.”
Chapell titled the seminar “The Future Glory of the Church: The PCA We Envision for Christ’s Purposes.” The goal is to help the PCA remember that God’s blessings in the past prepare us for his work that still lies ahead of the church. Panelists from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and callings can help the PCA think beyond current worries to consider the work the Lord might be calling the PCA to accomplish in the world for Christ’s sake.
The seminar, which takes place on June 30 at 9:15 a.m., offers “leaders from a variety of perspectives the opportunity to give us a clear picture of an ‘envisioned future’ that excites God’s people and gives us the ability to focus resources and energies on the matters that are most uniting and true to that calling,” Chapell said.
But with a variety of perspectives represented, it’s likely that panel members will disagree. Julius Kim said he hopes that panel members can model how to listen well. In their word choice and tone, they can set an example for how brothers and sisters in Christ discuss difficult topics and respectfully disagree.
Social media and the polarized media landscape have siloed information in such a way that we no longer share a set of common facts about reality. Even as the leader of a media organization like The Gospel Coalition, Kim is concerned about how the media landscape has pitted believers against each other. “We need to learn how to learn from one another again,” he said. “I hope this panel will jumpstart or initiate that again.”
When believers gather to engage in honest, serious conversation on things that matter — which is the goal for discussions and debates at General Assembly — it demonstrates our commitment to Scripture and the Westminster Confession, Allen said. “I fully expect that while there will be lively conversation on the panel, it will be evident that there are shared common principles even as people come from different experiences.”
As attendees hear from PCA leaders about the blessings, challenges, and opportunities they see in their ministries, Chapell hopes they will be encouraged and excited about what God is calling the PCA to be and do.