A new site for latest updates

We have moved. The Biblical Presbyterian Network has moved to Biblicalpresbyterians.net Please go to this site for the latest on what is happening with the BPN or go to the facebook site.

planning meeting set for December 16.

The BPN in western Pa is having a planning meeting at Glade Run UP Church on Wednesday, Dec 16th in Valencia. Be there if you can at 9am. See www.gladerunchurch.org for directions.

My take on the latest Presbyterian News

It appears that San Francisco Presbytery and Twin Cities Presbytery have been given the green light to allow candidates for ministry to scruple Biblical and Book of Order requirements for ordination. Moreover, we now have a minister of the Word and Sacrament in NJ who has now declared that she has "married" her same sex partner. The PCUSA appears to be ready to dive off the cliff of relativism holding hands with the Lutherans and the Episcopalians. Where does that leave us who are faithful to Biblical guidelines, who are also members of the Presbyterian Church USA: In a pickle to say the least. Not only are we battling a unified movement to destroy ordination requirements, be we as evangelicals are not together in how we will face this new challenge. On top of that, there are now less of us to make the stand. It appears that we stand in a fairly impossible position. We are a bit like Gideon or any one of the situations in the Old Testament where the Israelites were outnumbered and overpowered. As always we look to God for help. But there is also this, we who are faithful must come together in fellowship. United we stand, divided we fall. I don't know if there is enough time to build a strong coalition of evangelicals, but I do know this: we won't know unless we try. I encourage all interested folks in the Pittsburgh area to join us for the next gathering in January. See the blog for more details or on Facebook. I expect that much of our time might be spent in prayer for one another and especially for the denomination. May you be blessed by the Lord during this Christmas season.

Don't wait!

Now more then ever, evangelicals need to come together with a common voice. We need to be heard and we need to work together for our common witness in the PCUSA. Pull the documents off the website and e-mail us that you are joining us as a church or as an individual. Let's not stand back to see if the BPN will work out. Now is not the time to wait and see. It's time to act. We need leaders who will help fine tune what we are doing and to lead the movement in every area of the country. We are looking for point people in every presbytery of the PCUSA. Pray and see if the Lord might be leading you to be a part of this movement. We are not intending to replace current renewal groups. We intend to work alongside of them. We are looking for more then affiliates who send in dues and receive newsletters. We are looking for committed members who are actively engaged in the Biblical Presbyterian Network.

Disaster at the GAPJC

Well I guess we all know about the recent disaster at the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission rulings. Down the road there may be hope, but for now the courts of our church will uphold Local Option on the issue of unrepentant homosexuality for church officers and those preparing for office in the church.

The bitter fruits of the PUP Report continue to be reaped.

But the Biblical Presbyterian Network offers evangelicals another path from the old strategy of Stay/Fight/Win. We are offering a vision of connected, equipped and sent Presbyterians who base their lives on the gospel.

Why include that last reminder in a post about rulings of the GAPJC? Because we are asking, if we don't do this now, then when will we? When will evangelicals who are committed to the Reformed faith come together and stand together so that we may truly be connected, equipped and sent?

As the word gets out about this disaster for our beliefs, into both the local press and national news, may we allow God to use this furthering of the crisis to impel us to covenant with one another for a gospel witness.

If not now, then when?

Happy Reformation Day!

A Call to Action

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

Psalm 46:1-3 ESV

As Presbyterian leaders in this age of contention about the heart of the Gospel, we the members of the Biblical Presbyterian Network announce to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and to the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ our intention to unite those who hold to the historic, biblical and confessional Reformed faith within the PC(USA). We further announce our intention to covenant together for the living out of the gospel, the faith that was once delivered for all the saints. (Jude 1:3)

We issue this call as we sense the urging of the Holy Spirit to embark upon this work. We understand that in the past we have failed to actually unite congregations who hold the same understanding of the gospel into covenanted fellowships and we seek to change this. We seek to bring hope to dark places and to bind our hearts together for the work of reformation in our time. We seek to reach out with gospel hope to church leaders and congregations within our denomination, to bring us into fellowship for the cooperative effort of reformation, according to the Word of God.

In his sovereignty and for his good purpose, God has placed our ministries within the PC(USA), a denomination which is our context for ministry even as it continues down the path of departure from the faith once held. And yet, even our denomination fails, stumbles and so often impedes the work of God’s Spirit, we acknowledge that this reality does not change our calling to be faithful where we are. Our denomination’s chosen path need not impede our connection to one another or our calling to work for reformation. Instead, this situation calls us to greater activity in Christian living, teaching and preaching in fidelity to the gospel.

To this end, we now call upon all Presbyterians who hold to the Biblical and Reformed faith, who are committed to a gracious and truthful witness, to undertake with us the task of building regional networks of congregations within a national fellowship with elected leaders at every level. We call all who are restless with the status quo in our denomination and our churches to join us in the work of reformation for this time and this place. Friends in the gospel, the time of reformation and revival is upon us. May we begin and join our sovereign God in this important work which he is already doing in our midst. May we join together in covenant for the sake of the gospel in our time.

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.

--Isaiah 61:1 ESV

To God Alone Be the Glory!

Addressing the lack of hope

One of the issues that started our work on the idea of a Biblical Presbyterian Network is the reality that in the PC(USA)'s most conservative presbyteries, we're losing churches at a tremendous rate. Just yesterday, the Sacramento Bee wrote of the departure of yet another 3 churches from one of our strongest presbyteries. Here in Beaver-Butler, we have lost two this year and are about to lose another congregation to the EPC sometime this year or next.

How do we account for this? How do we deal with this reality, as in our best presbyteries we are losing some of our most vibrant churches? For those of us on the leadership team for the formation the BPN, we see the reason as being the utter lack of hope for evangelical congregations within the PC(USA).

Where is our collective witness? Where is our voice? Where is our hope? This is what people in congregations are asking their leaders.

There are plenty of "renewal groups", certainly. There are tremendously talented groups of evangelicals within the PC(USA), who write brilliant papers, who offer exactly correct polity fixes for our ills and controversies and who offer wonderful  resources for our churches to use in most areas of our life together.

And yet, congregations continue to bleed away to the EPC. Despite the work of the renewal groups, so many congregations still feel that they had no voice and no compelling reason to stay within the PC(USA). They lack hope for a promising future ministry.

Our prayer is that the BPN can change this perception in our congregations. We seek, as our Call to Action statement states, "to bring hope to dark places". We seek to unite congregations that hold to Reformed faith within historic orthodoxy in a way that has yet to be truly attempted in the PC(USA).

In years past, the Confessing Church Movement (CCM) was our greatest hope. With over 1,000 congregations nationwide joining within a relatively short period of time, that movement was local and grassroots in the best sense of the term. But the CCM failed. Nothing was ever asked of its signatories, other than signing a brief statement. Nothing transformational was accomplished, so the movement became nothing more than a temporary release valve for anger at the General Assembly.

Our desire is that the BPN would bring hope to our congregations through asking them to covenant with their sister congregations who share the same faith and desire to give a good witness. This covenant would ask them to form into regional networks that would meet on a regular basis for prayer, worship, preaching, teaching and common concerns.

But going further, to avoid any sense that we are calling churches to enter into some kind of ghetto of isolation, we are also praying that these regional networks would also witness to pastors, elders and congregations within the PC(USA) about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In short, we're asking this question: If we are staying in the PC(USA) for the moment, why not share Christ with those who may not even know who he really is? Why not teach the faith and demonstrate what it looks like to those within the PC(USA) who have never really encountered a gracious yet truthful Reformed witness?

Our desire is that God would make the BPN into just such a witnessing fellowship. And that above all else, we will stand together, elect leaders to represent us to the denomination and show the PC(USA) what will be lost if we are driven off by such radical departures from biblical faith and practice.

We think this brings hope and we think this is the best reason to stay. we're asking congregations, just don't stay isolated! Stay with your brothers and sisters, trusting in our sovereign God who called you to be exactly where you are, for His good purpose. What greater hope can there be?