The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America meet in
Atlanta, GA, June 20-23, 2006.  The actions of the assembly seem
to summarized well by the Stated Clerk’s (monthly?) letter
for July on the PCA web site.  I will leave that as the source of
news and make some comments about what is reported there.

One thing that struck me was the formalization of the moderator
selection process where they alternate annually between teaching elders
(ministers) and ruling elders.  This is a middle method between
the open process of the PC(USA) and the one nominee process that, like
the Church of Scotland, tend to favor the clergy.  This was a
teaching elder year for the PCA.

The second thing that struck me was the number of commissioners and
their distribution.  There were 1417 commissioners, about 1000
teaching elders and about 400 ruling elders.  No requirement for
parity but every congregation has to opportunity to send a voting
delegate.  The assembly did create (or adjust) a committee on
Overtures to meet just before future GA’s to help prepare the
business.  This would have parity of one teaching and one ruling
elder from each presbytery.

The assembly also approved a procedure for recording in presbytery
minutes a minister’s or candidate’s disagreements with doctrine. 
A presbytery could decide that an individual’s differences were merely
semantic, were not out of line with doctrine, or were out of
line.  If in the latter category they would not be eligible to
serve.  Sounds a bit like what the PC(USA) is arguing about at the
moment:  What constitutes essential tenets of the reformed faith.

There will be a proposed Book of Church Order amendment that
individuals pass an exam on the English Bible before becoming ruling
elders and deacons.

It is also interesting to note that the reported statistics (49% of
churches) show in increase in the number of churches and the total
membership of the denomination.  New presbyteries were formed in
the Atlanta area by splitting off parts of the North Georgia presbytery.