Greetings from Chattanooga! I greatly enjoy gathering with elders in the PCA for General Assembly. It is here that we worship together, pray for our church, and make decisions that impact our denomination and individual churches. The biggest takeaway for me is always our unity! We disagree well, debate well, and give each other great deference as brothers in Christ – it is the very thing we must represent at Redeemer! The gospel is too big and too great for us to not celebrate. It is not good for us to withhold our appreciation or to look suspiciously on our church family – we are all one in Christ.
On Tuesday very little business was conducted, as it really only begins after worship Tuesday evening. We elected Kevin DeYoung as moderator of the assembly, the one who will conduct the meeting portions of our time together over the course of the week. I have a great respect for Kevin, and nearly worked alongside him at his church in Charlotte several years ago! He will do an excellent job in this role.
Before the start of formal business, there were some seminars available to those interests – and I attended two of them – one regarding the use of allusions to the Old Testament in preaching led by Dr. Greg Beale – who is a fantastic scholar! And another regarding the role of deacons, which was led by a deacon in a church from Athens, GA. It was a phenomenal seminar and challenged me quite a bit in how we view the diaconate – so I’m quite thankful for it and excited to share what I’ve learned with our deacons.
Today we will hear reports from all the committees and agencies within the PCA, and we’ll hear reports from like-minded denominations all around the world – which is always thrilling. They are here with us in person, and that creates a strong bond of unity for what the Lord is doing all over the globe. We are one church – all believers in Christ – and we are one arm of that church, or maybe pinky toe if you prefer – but we’re attached to Christ, the head of the church – and that should give us extraordinary confidence! Be well, church. I love Redeemer and I hope to represent you well here.
Pastor Mark