A Summary of Actions Taken by the 45th General Assembly of the EPC

This week my denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, held its 45th stated General Assembly in Detroit, Michigan. This is the annual meeting and council (synod) of my church, and every pastor has a right to attend and every congregation may send elder representatives. This was a quiet assembly, and in many ways an archetype of EPC gatherings. Lots of things went on at the assembly, but below is a summary of its official actions.

To amend the EPC’s constitution requires a majority vote of one assembly, a majority vote of three-fourths of the presbyteries over the next year, and then a majority vote of the subsequent assembly. The GA completed that amendment process to clarify how presbyteries deal with transitional pastors (interim pastors) who are ordained in other denominations, want to maintain their ordination in their home denominations, but still want to temporarily serve an EPC congregation in a transitional role.

The EPC’s formal ecumenical relationships are called “fraternal partnerships” and are aimed at increasing cooperation on mission, church planting, theology, and education. The GA voted to terminate our fraternal partnership with The Church of Jesus Christ of Madagascar with the rationale that no real partnership exists and attempts to rekindle them had been unsuccessful. The EPC entered into a fraternal partnership with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which is a wonderful development. We also updated our connection to St Andrew’s Presbytery of Argentina, a longstanding fraternal partner of the EPC. The Evangelical Church of Egypt (Synod of the Nile) sent its leadership as delegates to our GA and it looks like a fraternal partnership with them will be formalized in the near future.

The big item of business this year was a series of a recommendations from our Ad-Interim Committee on Ordination Standards. This AIC was formed two years ago to provide recommendations on clarifying and assessing the EPC’s standards and processes for ordaining ministers. They brought 16 (!) recommendations to us this year, all of which needed to be voted on separately. All of the recommendations passed. Some are proposed amendments to the EPC’s constitution and are now on their way to the presbyteries for ratification, and some were revisions to GA policy and standards. All of the recommendations essentially cleaned up and standardized language and process. The AIC was originally given two years to complete its work, but requested and was granted a third year to continue working on standards.

The GA also amended its Rules of Assembly, the policies for how the GA conducts its work. These revisions clarified how business is to be received by the GA (normally as a presbytery-sent overture, i.e. a request for action) and provided a pathway under narrow circumstances for overtures defeated at a presbytery-level to still get to the GA.

The EPC produces position papers from time to time that enables the church to make a definitive statement to itself, the Christian community and the world about particular issues. This GA instructed our Permanent Committee on Theology to review the EPC’s Position Paper on Divorce and Remarriage in light of larger cultural developments and pastoral concerns flowing from them, and then to make any recommendations for revision it deems necessary to the 46th GA next year.

Finally, Bob Stauffer, the EPC’s National Director of Church Health, retired. Bob is a longtime EPC minister and EPC staffer and was ordained on the floor of the very first EPC GA back in 1981.