8/12/2019 1990 Issue 6 - A Light to the Nations - Counsel of
Chalcedon
1/2
tape series to hear .
This is asubject that
deserves the new
insight brought to it
by Rev. Morecraft.
in
the
last issue
we asked
for your
response
to what
you
would like to see The
Counsel of Chalcedon
feature in future
issues. We appreciate
the
response
we have
had and
encourage
you to share your
thoughts
and needs
with us.
We
appreciate
hearing
from you.
the third and last
installment of A Diary
from South
Africa by
Becky
Morecraft
will
appear next month . .
We hope
you have
enjoyed
this personal .
account of her visit
earlier this
year.
ED.
I am an experienced high
school teacher in
MA
TH/SCIENCE/BffiLE
and want a position in a .
Reformed Christian School
this fall.
Thomas
W
Prior
Rt
20 Box
479
~ ~ i ~ f,
~ 1 ~ ~
REPORT
ON
T
HE
GENERAL
,ASSEMBLY OF THE REFORMED
PREsBYTERIAN cHURCH IN
THE UNITED STATES
by
Joe Moreaaft,
m
With
the preaching
at
the General
Assembly
of
the
Reformed
Presbyterian Church in
the
United States and the Atlanta
Christian Training Seminar on
June 8 - 10,
some
commented
that
God
brought to
them
the
most important spiritual revival
forty-five
years. The
frre
of the
Spirit
of
God began glowing
among
us
at the opening
of our
RPCUS General Assembly on
Friday morning
when
Carl
Bogue, a PCA pastor
from
Ohio,
preached a powerful message
from the word of God, entitled
The
Awe
and All of the Gospel
Message , taken
from
Acts
20:17ff and Matthew 28:18-20.
As we met in General
Assembly, something
became
more and more obivous. God
was not only burning His
word
within us, he was shining
the
light
of
His
word
through
our
small body of men
and women to
our whole nation and to the
world
In
fact, it continues to
surprise
us
how many millions
of
people hear the gospel from the
lips of
our
preachers
and
missionaries
and
magazines each
year
. God is to be praised
for
being faithful to his promise that
he
would make THE WORlD'S
NATIONS CHRISTS
DISCIPLES.
Two
events illustrate the
spreading influence for Christ of
our denomination around
the
nation and world. First,
we had
to
form three additional .
presbyteries
for
the better
governing
and ad
vancing
of
the
RPCUS.
The
four presbyteries
are
COVENANT
(Georgia) ;
I
AM
INTERESTED
.IN BUYING USED
CHRISTIAN BOOKS
AND SCHOLARLY
PUBLICATIONS .
John R Hunt
10545 W 62nd Ave
Arvada,
CO
80004
(303) 423-4620
The Counsel o
Chalcedon
July
199
Page 3
8/12/2019 1990 Issue 6 - A Light to the Nations - Counsel of
Chalcedon
2/2
Nicaragua);
HANOVER
(Virginia-
New England); and
NORTIIWEST (Nebraska
Washington-Alberta).
Now our
.
earnest prayer is
that
God would
bless
our
presbyteries to be .
faithful to
His word
and
to
grow
rapidly, spiritually, and
numerically. Second, because
the RPCUS is growing
internationally with churches in
the U
S., Canada, Nicaragua
and
plans to ordain a new .
:illimster
in Y
orkshite,
England
.
we have changed the
.
:denomination
name
to I HE
'REfORMED PRESYBTEIUAN .
,
CHURCH IN THE
AMERICAS.
The voting members who
attended the General Assembly
include Ruling Elders Bill
]3rown, Chalcedon Presbyterian
Church, Atlanta, GA; Bob
Bailey, Christ
Community
Presbyterian Church,
Lawrenceville,
GA; Jack
Draguet, Christ Presbyterian .
Church, Lakeland, FL; -Reuberi
Euba:Dks, First Refonned
Presbyterian Church, Managua,
Nicaragua;
Greg
Barrow,
Reformed
Mission Church,
Edmonton, Canada;
and
Dana
Rykken, Sovereigt:i. Grace
Church, Spokarie, W A.
Teaching Elders attending
included
Robert
Hargrove,
Sovereign Grace Church,
Spokane, W A; Ken Talbot,
Whitfield Theological Seminary,
Lakeland, FL; Robert Lester,
Chalcedon Christian'School,
Atlanta, GA; am
Brown,
Immanuel
Presbyterian_Church,
Merrimac,
NH;
Geoff Donnan,
Caribbean Christian Ministries;
Wayne
Rogers,
Christ
Community Presbyterian
Church, Lawrenceville, GA;
John
Otis,
Triumphant
Publications, Atlanta, GA; Randy
Talbot, Whitfield Theological
Seminmy,OcMa,FL;Phil
Schmidt,
Christ
Church,
Louisville,
NE; Joe
Mellen,
Ualtiniore,
MD and Joe
.Morecraft,
i l l
Chalcedon
Presbyterian Church, Atlanta,
GA
Candidates under the care
of the
denomination include Chris
Strevel
and
Charining
Millet
from
Chalcedon Presbyterian
Church, Atlanta,
GA.
and
Todd
Streete from Chesapeake
Seminary, Jessup,
MD.
An important decision
made
by
the
Assembly
was
the
.unanimous adoption
of
the
original Form of Presbyterial
.Church-Government''
of
the
Westminster Assembly as
our .
book of
church order. Since
our
b e ~ i n n i n g
we temporarily used an
edited version of
the
first editon
of the PeA s
Book
of Church
Order. We adopted the
Form
of
P.reSbyterial Church-Government
for
several reasons. It confonns
to the general principles
of
Biblical church polity. I t has
copious scriptural footnotes
supporting each principle. It is in
the volume which contains
our
doctrinal constitution, the original
unedited Westminster Confession
ofFaith
and
Catechisms and the
directory of PUblic Worship of
God. Other
books
of church
order
are longer,
loaded
with
rules and regulations which
are
not to be found in
the Word
of
God,
but to which churches
usually require stricter conformity
than to the Westminster
Standards. It gives our churches
unity of form, government and
worship, but being principle in
nature,
it
allows for some
freedom as well.
Because
the
Form of
Presbyterial
Church-Government
was
written
orginally
for
use
in
England
and
Scotland in the Seventeenth
Century, it is culturally and
historically conditioned ;
therefore, we have added several
footnotes containing clarifications
and
exceptions
which
we believe
bring
it
into clearer conformitY
to
the word of
God.
Some of
the
clarifications
and
exceptions
P8ge 4 July _99 The Counsel
of
Ch8lcedon
include: (1) Ruling Elders
are
shepherds of the church-along
with Teaching Elders. (2)
Officers of
he
church are
to
be
elected by the male heads of
households
in
each congregation .
(3)
Hymns and
spiritual songs
may
be
sung along
with
the 150
Psalms. (4) Ministerial
examinations
do not
bave to
be in
~ a t i n Public prayers need
mclude mtercess10rts for Bavanan
royalty. For a complete set of .
our footnotes to the westminster
Book of
Church Order and other
constitutional documents please
call
Chalcedon Presbyterian
Church
at 404-396-0965.
We believe that
God
in
His
convenant has promised
His
Church a glorious future in Jesus
Christ, Isaiah 2. We look
forward to the future knowing,
with all its struggles, afflictions,
and
progressive victories,
it
belongs to the faithful people of
God
and
not to the humanists, I .
Cor.
3:21-22. Our vision
forlife
'
and
the future is determined by
the promises of
God's covenant
and
of Christ's kingdom. We
pray that
God
would usethe
J,UlCA
and
all
other
Refonned
and
Presbyterian denominations
to
bring the covenantal blessings
of
salvation to all of
the
families
of all
the nations
of
the worlci,
Psa. 22:27ff; Ga. 3:7ff.
We
believe that the kingdom of Christ
and
the
preaching of that
kingdom will leaven the whole
loaf ofhu:man: life and society, as
it
adv@ccs toward total victory,
Mk. 4:2L We work pray and .
hope
for the day
when
the
earth
will
be full
of
the knowledge
of
'
the
Lord
as the waters
cover
the
sea , Isa. 1 1 ~ 9
f
you
would like
to
talk about
joining with us,
or
i f you have .
any questions about
who
we are
and what
we stand for, we
would
be delighted
to hear
from
you. Call404-396-0965 or 404-
339-1162.
