Unofficial Record of Actions Taken - 32nd General Assembly, Pittsbugh, TN, 2004

Disclaimer: Please note that this narrative is provided for your convenience in following the business conducted on the floor of the General Assembly. They are not the official record or minutes of the Assembly and should not be misconstrued to be such.

Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday

JOURNAL

MINUTES, THIRTY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

First Session - Tuesday Evening

June 15, 2004

 

32-1  Assembly Called to Order and Opening Worship

            The Thirty-Second General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America gathered for the opening worship service at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 in David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

[Here will be inserted the printed order of worship]

 

            Following worship, the Assembly recessed to reconvene at 9:20 PM.

 

32-2 Declaration of Quorum and Enrollment

Moderator RE Joel Belz reconvened the Assembly for business at 9:25 PM with prayer by RE Richard Chewning.

The Moderator declared a quorum present with 885 Teaching Elders and 367 Ruling Elders.

 

            [Here will be inserted the complete roll]

 

32-3Adoption of the Docket

The second draft of the docket was adopted as amended to order the vote on the amendments to the SJC Manual at the same time as the vote on BCO amendments.

 

32-4  Election of Moderator

            The Moderator opened the floor for nominations for Moderator of the 32nd General Assembly.  TE William Barker placed in nomination TE Peter Lillback.  TE Jim Baird placed in nomination TE Ligon Duncan.  On motion, nominations were closed and TE  Duncan was elected Moderator 674-108.  The Moderator thanked the Assembly for his election and addressed the Assembly.

            The Chairman of the Administrative Committee, RE Ed Hackenberg, presented to the retiring Moderator a plaque in token of the Assembly’s appreciation for his year of service as Moderator. 

 

32-5  Election of Recording and Assistant Clerks

            On nomination by the Stated Clerk, TEs David Dively, J. Robert Fiol, and Steven Meyerhoff were elected recording clerks; RE William Stanway was appointed timekeeper; Frank M. Barker III and Jesse Reagan were appointed Sound Engineers; RE Dale Carroll was appointed A-V Engineer; TE James A. Smith was appointed Chairman of the floor clerks and RE Ric Springer Vice Chairman; Mr. Steve Lawton was appointed Photographer; Mr. Jeff Bone was appointed Webstreaming Engineer; Mr. Bryan Davis was appointed Webmaster; Dr. Larry Roff was appointed Assembly Organist; Mr. Bill Lloyd was appointed Network Manager.

The Moderator appointed RE Samuel J. Duncan and RE John B. White, Jr. as assistant parliamentarians.

 

32-6Constitutional Inquiry

The Assembly received and referred to CCB the following two non-judicial inquiries from RE Tom Bingham, Chairman of the Review of Presbytery Records Committee: 

1.      What is the constitutional definition of “papists” in WCF 24-3?  Does this term include Roman Catholics who can give a credible profession of faith in Christ alone as their savior?

2.      What is the RPRC’s responsibility under current BCO 21-4 in reviewing presbyteries’ granting of exceptions to the constitution?  Is the action by a presbytery reviewable by RPRC under RAO 14 and BCO 40 (Note:  RPRC currently understands that RAO 14 and BCO 40 task it to review minutes and make recommendations relating to violations of the constitution to GA).

 

32-7Personal Resolution #1

The following personal resolution from RE Patrick Shields, Potomac Presbytery, was received and referred to Bills and Overtures.

“A Declaration of Conscience Addressed to the President of the United States of America, and to the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives”

Whereas, there is an urgent need for a clear and unambiguous public affirmation of God’s Word concerning homosexuality and marriage and addressing the fundamental moral principles relevant to the national moral debate concerning these interrelated matters; and

 

Whereas, such an affirmation is properly a part of the calling of this Assembly (Confession of Faith, XXXI.IV.); and

 

Whereas, the Potomac Presbytery, meeting on June 8, 2004, commended the presentation of this personal resolution for the consideration of the 32^nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America;

 

Therefore, I, Patrick Shields, RE Potomac Presbytery, move that the 32^nd General Assembly adopt and forward to the President of the United States of America and to each of the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives (with copies to the governors of the several states and to any other interested parties) the attached letter, for the purpose of humbly offering the Pastoral Counsel of this body of the Church of Jesus Christ to the designated recipients regarding the clear teaching of scriptures on the subject of homosexuality and marriage.  The attached proposed letter has been constructed to meld two prior teachings of the PCA:

1)   The pastoral counsel previously provided by the 21^st General Assembly of the PCA in a letter to the President of the United States, updated to current cultural context in which homosexual “marriage” is a topic of discussion and prospective civil government action; and

2)   The statement made by the 31^st General Assembly of the PCA regarding the biblical definition of marriage.

 

TO:      The President of the United States of America and to the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives

FROM:            The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America

RE:       A Declaration of Conscience and Pastoral Counsel

 

Mr. President, Senators, and Congressmembers, in this Declaration the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America humbly declares its conscience concerning the moral legitimacy of homosexuality and concerning the appropriate definition of the institution of marriage.  God has spoken without equivocation through His Word declaring homosexuality to be a perversion of His created order, His moral law, and the foundations of society.  He has spoken just as clearly in defining the Holy institute of marriage to consist of one man and one woman and established this union to be one of those foundations of society.

This General Assembly is the highest governmental unit of the Presbyterian Church in America, a denomination representing 311,817 members and 3,181 ministers.  Though founded by 250 congregations in 1973, the PCA traces its ancestry to the first American Presbyterians who organized themselves on these shores in 1789, and it now has some 1,516 congregations throughout the United States and Canada.  It is not the regular practice of the General Assembly to address matters before the civil government.  Our silence is not for lack of concern; on the contrary, we instruct and support our members in the God-given duties of civic responsibility.  Nevertheless, we do not believe that the Church, as the Church, ought to engage in essentially political activity.  Our Church constitution states, in accordance with Holy Scripture, that “Synods and councils are to handle, or conclude nothing, but that which is ecclesiastical; and are not to intermeddle with civil affairs which concern the commonwealth, unless by way of humble petition in cases extraordinary....” (Confession of Faith, PCA, 31.4).  And yet we now find before us what we take to be a case extraordinary.

In particular, we feel compelled of conscience to speak because of the slanderous way in which truth has been portrayed, as if opposition to homosexual practice, and to the “marriage” of those individuals engaging in a homosexual relationship to one another, is merely a matter of prejudice against a minority.  Please be informed that to act on this basis is to misjudge the issue entirely.  This is a question of moral principle, striking at the very root of God’s authority, man’s created nature, and the structure preservation of human society.  We do not act out of a hateful prejudice which rejects the rights of minority peoples and seeks to exclude them from our communities.  On the contrary, we affirm and rejoice in the God-created differences among the peoples of the world and we condemn prejudice as contrary to the heart of the gospel by which we live:  that Jesus Christ is by His grace making of various peoples one community of love and fellowship.  As His disciples we are called to judge, not by appearances, but to judge righteous judgment (John 7:24).  The God we serve has made it plain that with Him there is no partiality, and that in this we must be like Him (Romans 2:11, James 2:1-9).  As citizens we support the recognition and protection of the civil rights of all peoples.

            And yet in perfect consistency with this commitment we stand resolutely opposed to homosexual practice as incompatible with the temporal good of our nation and the eternal good of its people.  As a part of the Church of Jesus Christ, the Presbyterian Church in America has a primary concern for the spiritual well-being of women and men created in the image of God.  Responsibility to such a calling will thrust us into irreconcilable conflict with any government policy ostensibly approving a way of life under its sphere of responsibility which is contrary to the eternal good of its citizens.  Further, such approval would be a grievous violation of the government’s own God-ordained calling (Romans 13:1-4).

Mr. President, frequent references in your speeches give evidence that you hold the Bible in high esteem as an authority to be cited in favor of your views, and as a source of wisdom in guiding our country.  Senators and Congressmembers, many of you have made speeches and public statements in which similar affirmations can also be found.  The Bible teaches that sexual distinction and union are created by God and are to be expressed in marriage according to His purpose and ordinance.

 

And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  And God blessed them; and God said to them. “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”... For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.     Genesis 1:27-28; 2:24.

 

Together a man and a woman, united outwardly in the institution of marriage, united inwardly in love and affection, and united physically in sexual relations, are the means of transmitting and nurturing life, and that life, growing and flourishing in families, is the necessary foundation of all society.  Homosexuality is a violation of these creation ordinances: it is a perversion of human nature, the gift of sexuality and the social order.

The Bible makes this plain when in the Old Testament God’s law for the people of Israel clearly forbids this violation of His created purposes.

 

You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.... Do not defile yourselves by any of these things.... Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you...I am the Lord your God.     Lev. 18:22,24,28,39; cf Lev. 20:13.

 

Here nature itself, the land personified, is portrayed as revolted by homosexuality as a perversion of God’s purposes.  Lest this be thought of as an outmoded and unenlightened perspective, the New Testament affirms this same truth with even greater clarity when it excludes, not merely from the land of Israel, but from the eternal Kingdom of God, those who pursue homosexual practice.

 

Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived; neither fornicators...nor homosexuals...shall inherit the kingdom of God.    

I Corinthians 6:9-10.

 

Please note:  in condemning homosexual practice we claim no self-righteousness.  The Bible we cite also teaches that all particular sins flow from one rebellious disposition of heart, a disposition of heart that belongs to all (Ephesians 2:1-3).  If we have been preserved from this perversion, it is only by God’s mercy.  And that mercy in Jesus Christ is so broad and free that may extend even to those caught up in homosexual practice, freeing them from its bondage.  In the same passage we cited above the Apostle reminds the Corinthian believers, “And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.”

In fact, in many of our own churches we have people who have left that lifestyle behind out of loyalty to Jesus Christ.  In addition, one of our presbyteries supports a very active ministry of truth and compassion to the homosexual community in Philadelphia.  Our categorical rejection of homosexual behavior as wrong and destructive cannot fairly be taken to mean that we have not extended ourselves or are unable to extend ourselves in compassion and courage to men and women in our society who are homosexual.

Nevertheless, the New Testament is quite graphic in its warning that the prevalence and approval of homosexual practice in a culture is a sign of the judgment of God upon those who reject his rule.

 

For This reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burning in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.  Romans 1:26-27.

 

In the understanding of the New Testament, moral darkness has descended over a people who, though perhaps not given to such perversions themselves, nevertheless, “give approval to those who practice them” (v.32).

In addition, we would bring to your attention the disregard for the family implicit in any public sanction of homosexual practice or extension of the definition of marriage beyond the union of one man and one woman.  Such policy will generate confusion and contradiction as parents seek to foster and nurture the God-given sexual identity of their children.  The delicacy of the formative experiences of children in relation to what is publicly approved by our national leadership is incompatible with a “value-neutral” approach which necessarily distorts the value-laden realities of sexuality as created by God.  Our American civil government has historically respected the family’s primacy in such matters, and has sought to nurture it.  Any policy that legitimizes homosexual practice abandons this time-honored tradition.

Last June, the 31st General Assembly of this denomination, duly noting the disturbing trend and pressures on our government with regard to policies addressing homosexual practice, and especially with regard to the institution of marriage, pronounced the following statement and admonishment:

 

The Church now declares to the world the teaching of God’s Word concerning the family as summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith 24.1-2.

·        Marriage is to be between one man and one woman: neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband at a time (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Proverbs 2:17).

·        Marriage is ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, for the increase of mankind with legitimate issue, and of the Church with an holy seed; and for the preventing of uncleanness (Genesis 2:18, Malachi 2:15, I Corinthians 7:2, 9).

Furthermore, the Scriptures warn of the danger of any nation that defies God’s law regarding the family (Proverbs 14:34);

 

In the ensuing year, the previously disturbing trend has become alarming.  The pressures on you, the leaders of this nation’s civil governmental institutions, have increased proportionally to the extent that we feel this humble declaration of conscience and pastoral counsel to be warranted.

To conclude, while condemning homosexual practice, we affirm our duty to love and do good to all, even those who are pursuing this perversion.  But for us such love includes the responsibility to speak the truth in love.  The truth is that our nation will suffer grievously if accommodated to this perversion.  More profoundly, however, the truth is that those given over to homosexual practice will face the judgment of God.  We understand the gospel to teach that there is no hope for such persons until they see this truth, embrace it, and turn away from their perversion through the power of Jesus Christ.  Thus love requires that we bear witness to their hopeless condition in order that they might find hope.  Love forbids our silence in the face of the eternal consequences of believing a lie.

As citizens of the United States we share with others in our community the blessings or curses that follow from the acts of our civil government.  God Himself is the Author of sexual distinctions and the complementarity that finds its fulfillment in the loving union of a man and a woman in marriage, and which is designed to produce that new life which is the natural and blessed fruit of that union.  You should understand that the God Who created the world and Who rules it even now is neither ignorant of nor indifferent to what the government of the United States of America will do with regard to His institutions.  The people of our country and their elected leaders must give account of themselves to God.  Our prayer is that you will stand against any and every pressure that would be brought to bear on you in the conduct of your governmental duties by those who would further legitimize homosexual practices and pervert God’s holy institution of marriage.  Further, it is our prayer that, instead of being tempted by such pressures, you will stand firmly in the exercise of your duties for the sake of this nation’s well being.

32-8Announcements

The Stated Clerk made several announcements, among which included announcements that every person on the premises is asked to wear a printed nametag at all times for security purposes and that voter cards will not be reissued.

 

32-9Recess

The Assembly recessed in prayer at 10:05 PM with prayer by TE William Hughes to reconvene at 8:00 AM Wednesday morning.