BCO D (Chappell/Meek) Flashcards
Name the courts of the church. What is the proper or original jurisdiction of each? What officers must each court have? How are they chosen?
The courts of the church are sessions, presbyteries, and the General Assembly.
These courts have only ministerial and declarative jurisdiction (not civil or political). A session has jurisdiction over a single church, a presbytery over what is common to ministers, sessions, and churches within a prescribed district, and the General Assembly over matters concerning the whole Church.
Each court must have a moderator and a clerk.
The moderator of a session is the pastor, by virtue of his office, unless he decides to invite another minister of the same Presbytery to moderate in his place. All other officers are elected by the body which they will serve.
Who are the members of the church session? What are the main duties of the session?
The members of the church session include the pastor, any associate pastor(s), and ruling elders.
The main duties of the session include:
1. Inquiring about church members under its care, disciplining, receiving, or dismissing them as necessary
2. Examining, ordaining, and installing ruling elders and deacons
3. Approving actions of special importance affecting church property
4. Calling congregational meetings and overseeing all church ministries (Sunday school, special groups, world missions, etc.)
5. Exercising authority over worship, sacraments, and preaching
6. Observing and carrying out lawful injunctions of higher courts
Who are the members of presbytery? To what church does a minister belong? How is an ordained minister received into a presbytery? How is a church received into a presbytery? What are the main duties and responsibilities of the presbytery?
The members of presbytery include all teaching elders and churches within its bounds that have been accepted by presbytery.
A minister does not belong to any church but to the presbytery within whose geographical bounds he resides.
Ordinarily, an ordained minister must have a call to a definite ecclesiastical work within the bounds of a particular presbytery to become a member of it. If transferring from another presbytery, a minister must be examined on Christian experience, theology, sacraments, and church government.
A church can be received into a presbytery after its ruling elders have met with a commission of presbytery and answered affirmatively the questions required of officers at their ordination.
The main duties and responsibilities of the presbytery include:
1. Receiving under care, examining, and licensing candidates for ministry and receiving, dismissing, ordaining, installing, removing, and judging ministers
2. Establishing or dissolving the pastoral relation
3. Setting apart evangelists to their proper work
4. Seeing that lawful injunctions of the higher courts are obeyed
5. Condemning erroneous opinions, redressing evils, and uniting, dividing, dissolving, dismissing, forming, receiving, or specially overseeing churches
6. Proposing advantageous members for the Church at large to the General Assembly
What are the main duties and responsibilities of the General Assembly? What are the permanent committees and agencies of the General Assembly? What is a committee of commissioners? How do a committee of commissioners and a permanent committee or agency differ?
The main duties and responsibilities of the General Assembly include:
1. Receiving and issuing appeals, references, and complaints
2. Giving advice and instruction
3. Reviewing Presbytery records
4. Devising measures for the Church’s prosperity and enlargement
5. Erecting new Presbyteries
6. Instituting and superintending agencies for evangelization
7. Suppressing schisms
8. Receiving other ecclesiastical bodies (with 3/4 of Presbyteries’ approval)
9. Superintending the whole Church’s affairs
10. Corresponding with other churches
11. Recommending measures for promoting charity, truth, and holiness in churches
Permanent committees:
1. Administrative Committee
2. Committee on Discipleship Ministries
3. Committee on Mission to North America
4. Committee on Mission to the World
5. Committee on Reformed University Fellowship
Permanent agencies:
1. Covenant College
2. Covenant Theological Seminary
3. PCA Foundation
4. Geneva Benefits
5. Ridge Haven Conference Center
A committee of commissioners is an annual gathering of General Assembly attendees (commissioners) tasked with reviewing the records of a PCA’s permanent committee or agency and then recommending business to be concluded on the floor of the General Assembly.
A permanent committee operates year-round, while a committee of commissioners operates only once a year.
