Earlier this year we considered two important issues that the PC(USA) General Assembly recommended to Presbyteries for study and vote: The Confession of Belhar to be added to the Book of Confessions and the new form of government (nFog) portion of the Book of Order. Unlike Amendment 10-A, the final decision on these issues has yet to be decided. Pines Presbytery voted yes on both issues.
The Confession of Belhar comes from the church in South Africa and encourages us to seek reconciliation for situations that seem intractable. To be included in the Book of Confessions, it needs to be affirmed by 2/3 of the 174 Presbyteries (116 positive votes needed) and affirmed by the 2012 General Assembly.
As of June 1, 85 Presbyteries had voted in favor of the Belhar and 55 had voted no (60.7 % in favor), with 34 Presbyteries still to vote.
To learn more about Belhar, visit these postings: http://fpcshreveportblogs.org/belhar-confession/ and http://fpcshreveportblogs.org/not-our-own-being-christian-in-difficult-times/
The nFOG provides a form of government that is more streamlined and more responsive to local ministry needs. One emphasis in the nFOG is missional ecclesiology or a recognition that “the Church is not a building or an institution but a community of witness, called into being and equipped by God, and sent into the world to testify to and participate in Christ’s work.” A majority of Presbyteries (87) need to affirm it for inclusion in the Book of Order.
As of June 1, 79 Presbyteries had voted in favor of nFOG and 81 had voted no (49.4 % in favor), with 14 Presbyteries still to vote.
To learn more about missional ecclesiology and the nFOG, see http://fpcshreveportblogs.org/what-is-missional-ecclesiology
Current vote tallies obtained from: http://www.reclaimbiblicalteaching.org/Vote_results.pdf
