Pastor's Corner: "What is General Assembly?"

Dear Friends,I do hope that you had a chance to read the special letter that Jon and Leigh Wren sent to the Cornerstone family a few days ago. If you did not read the letter, please go back and check your email so that you can read about the testimony of God's grace to them, as well as some very practical ways that we can serve and support their family.I also wanted to write to you this week to ask for your prayers for the upcoming PCA General Assembly which will be be meeting June 16-20, 2014 in Houston. Ruling Elder John Bise and I will be traveling to the assembly that week to be a part of the important work of the church. You may be thinking to yourself, "What is General Assembly?"The General Assembly is the highest court of our denomination. As you know, Cornerstone is governed by a Session which is made up of Ruling Elders and the Senior Pastor. The Session is the first court in our governing structure. The next governing body that oversees local churches is called the Presbytery. Cornerstone is a part of Providence Presbytery which is made up of churches in North Alabama.The PCA website gives a great overview of GA.The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) General Assembly is the largest annual gathering of the denomination. Church leaders from across the country gather to discuss matters important to the life of the church, make decisions that affect the whole denomination and the progress of the gospel. This includes: transacting ecclesiastical (church) business, deciding significant theological issues, reviewing work of the denomination’s ministries, receiving training through seminars, connecting with resources in the Exhibit Hall, networking and fellowshipping through various food functions, and preparing for the future.If you would like to learn more about the GA, please visit www.pcaac.org/general-assembly/. Also, you may want to watch different business sessions that take place during GA. I would highly encourage you to tune into the worship service that takes place every evening at 7:00pm. To watch GA online, please visit: http://byfaithonline.com/ and look to the right for an updated link to watch the Assembly.Please be in prayer for this important work of the church. Please also visit byfaithonline.com to learn more about significant matters that are before our church, as this will inform your prayers. You may also be interested to know that our own RE John Bise serves on the Standing Judicial Commission (SJC) of our denomination. This is an important body that handles disciplinary cases that come before the General Assembly. There are 24 men who serve on this committee; 12 Teaching Elders and 12 Ruling Elders. RE John Bise is one of these men. Please pray for him and the committee as wisdom will be needed to handle certain matters that come before the SJC. To learn more about the SJC, please visit http://www.pcaac.org/resources/bco/ and refer to Chapter 15 that deals with Ecclesiastical Commissions.May the LORD bless you this week!Your friend,Wilson