Throughout Scripture, God calls upon his people to remember and recount his acts of faithfulness toward them. In many ways, the completion of the newly published PCA Digest reflects an effort to do just that.
Under the direction of Stated Clerk L. Roy Taylor, a team comprising members of the Administrative Committee as well as teaching and ruling elders designed the Digest to provide guidance in interpreting and applying the PCA’s Book of Church Order (BCO). The completed work contains a clear and concise account of the undertakings of the PCA and the decisions of the General Assembly relating to the government and discipline of the church.
Dr. Taylor’s vision and priority for the Digest was to create a document in one volume that is rich in information, yet concise and easily navigated.
Dr. Taylor wrote the Preface and approved the Introduction and User Guide, which states:
The aim of this Digest is similar to that of the previous PCA Digest and Supplements, which were built on the longer tradition starting back in 1809 by the American Presbyterian Church, “of preparing a book, and having entered therein such decisions of the Assembly as relate to the general government and discipline of the Church, and the duties of judicatures, that such decisions may hereafter be selected and printed for the general use of the churches.” More than mere tradition, such books were intended and organized, above all, for practical use.
Priscilla Lowrey, who serves as documents manager for the Administrative Committee and Office of the Stated Clerk, played an instrumental role in the creation of the Digest. According to Lowrey, Dr. Taylor’s vision and priority for the Digest was to create a document in one volume that is rich in information, yet concise and easily navigated.
“As with any ‘digest,’ this volume aims to present information in capsule form and guide serious readers to the original sources for full and contextualized understanding. The Digest will help church sessions, committees, pastors, and ruling elders as they seek to lead wisely and fairly, according to the standards of our church — the Scriptures, the Westminster Standards, and the BCO,” said Lowrey.
Much of the early work in creating the Digest involved deciding how to organize the material in a way that would be user-friendly. Toward that end, the committee reached out to the types of people mentioned above who would be most likely to make use of it. The committee also researched other church digests, including those of our PCA forebears.
The new PCA Digest covers a 20-year period from 1999 to 2018. The actions of the General Assembly are arranged according to the chapters of the BCO. Moral and theological topics on which the Assembly has spoken are arranged alphabetically by topic, as are the relationships of the PCA with other bodies. The advice of the Committee on Constitutional Business is organized according to relevant BCO chapters as well. The decisions of the Standing Judicial Commission (SJC) are arranged by judicial case number and summarized. The Study Committee Reports are arranged alphabetically by topic.
The Digest’s system of referencing directs users to the pages and sections of Minutes of the General Assembly related to the digested action. The index was compiled in such a way as to ensure its maximum effectiveness for readers, not simply in noting the many past actions of the General Assembly, but also for observing how the strands of important concepts and principles can be found weaving through the four major sections.
Because the Digest is a historical record, Lowrey emphasized the care those involved took in writing, editing, and checking the accuracy of the information included within it. She noted that much of the work she contributed as documents manager might appear to be mundane and commonplace. However, in reflecting on her efforts in the compilation of the Digest, Lowrey said:
“It reminded me that our teaching and ruling elders are really serious about wanting to be true to the Scriptures and our Confession of Faith. In much of what I do, in the everyday commonplace task of making sure documents are accurate, I am reminded that God is faithful to provide resources in material and people — however ordinary the endeavor may seem. As I do that, I remember just how significant the work of General Assembly and its committees and commissioners is to the ongoing ministry of the PCA. What often seem overly tedious procedures actually enable different points of view to be expressed in General Assembly in a way that is honoring to God. And now, that is recorded in the Digest.”
The new Digest is now available for sale from the PCA bookstore.