Since June, presbyteries have been voting on 13 BCO amendments handed down by the 52nd General Assembly. For BCO amendments to be ratified, at least two-thirds of the PCA’s 87 presbyteries must approve them. This requires 58 presbyteries to vote in favor of an amendment. Once an amendment fails in 30 presbyteries, it is mathematically impossible for it to reach the approval threshold. 

Now, two of those amendments have officially failed to meet the approval threshold. 

The two BCO amendments that failed are items 1 and 13. 

• Item 1 amended BCO 8-4, 20-1, 21-1, and 23-1 for the calling and dissolution of TE relationships for Needful Works. 
• Item 13 amended BCO 57-2 regarding the examination of young persons for admission to the sealing ordinances. 

Item 1 passed the overtures committee by a vote of 112-4 before being approved by the Assembly on the floor with 1,708 commissioners voting in favor and 28 against. It has been disapproved by 57% of the presbyteries that have voted on it so far. 

The overture addressed teaching elders who are called to legitimate works outside the congregational context (chaplains, campus ministers, etc.). When the overture was sent by Houston Metro Presbytery, the presbytery urged the Assembly to adopt it to “regularize how those calls are presented and dissolved and to avoid the confusion that has sometimes resulted from a lack of clarity.” 

Item 13 passed the overtures committee by a vote of 101-23 before being approved by the Assembly on the floor with 1,022 commissioners voting in favor and 650 against. It has been disapproved by 65% of the presbyteries that have voted on it so far. 

The overture addressed an area in the BCO where discretion is given to elders when examining a young person for membership. When the overture was sent to the Assembly, the originator said it was intended to provide “guidance as to what would be the minimal elements of such an examination.”

Of the remaining BCO amendments, most appear to be garnering the necessary approvals for ratification, with item 5 being the exception. It has been approved by 67% of the presbyteries whose votes have been received so far. You can keep track of the voting using the Administrative Committee’s dashboard.