Presbyterian Church (USA) AMA

Introduction

Welcome to the PC(USA) AMA! Hosting today will be u/BackslidingAlt , u/GoMustard, and u/B0BtheDestroyer (that's a zero, not an o). We are each either currently serving as a minister or somewhere in the process of being ordained in the PC(USA) and going into ministry. I may add some things to the main text if I become aware of gaps or FAQs, but please feel free to ask any of us any questions about our denomination or our experience of it. I know that at least a few of us are working today, so we will do the best we can to respond in a timely manner. If you are PC(USA) or interested in Presbyterian conversations on reddit, we do have r/PCUSA. It's not terribly active, but it's not a ghost town (usually a few people will chime in if you speak up).

Roots

The PC(USA) is rooted in the Reformed tradition. We are a national rather than global denomination, and our roots go back before our country's founding. We were largely formed by Scots-Irish immigrants who were influenced by John Calvin through John Knox. The early Presbyterian leadership by council had a strong influence in the American Revolution and the formation of the U.S. government.

While our roots go deep (for U.S. Protestants), the PC(USA) was formed in 1983 by the reunion of two Presbyterian denominations that had separated as a result of the Civil War. The makeup of our denomination has gradually changed, but we still hold on to some Scottish cultural influence (kilts, bagpipes, and tartans on occasion). It's also worth noting that we have a sizable population of Korean Presbyterians in our denomination with many churches that were founded in our denomination because of strong missionary relationships.

Theology

Unlike some traditions that may claim the title "Reformed," we do not hold strictly to a single creed (like the Westminster Confession) but we collect creeds that represent our theological consensus. We don't remove older creeds because they are part of our story and they still influence us to this day. Our Book of Confessions is "part 1" of our constitution and can be found here. Anyone who is ordained in our denomination promises to receive and adopt these confessions "as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do" and to be instructed by these confessions. This does not mean that we agree with every line, but we take them seriously and strive to honor the legacy of faith we are a part of.

We are strongly but not strictly influenced by Calvin. I expect most PC(USA) churches place high value on the sovereignty of God, salvation through God alone, the priesthood of all believers, and Christian formation through covenant. However, from what I have seen, our more modern theological consensus is more influenced by Karl Barth than Calvin (but I did go to Princeton Theological Seminary, which is a Barth hub). You can see a good representation of that consensus in the Confession of '67, but most PC(USA) Presbyterians would now avoid the gender exclusive language it uses.

Polity

The second part of our constitution is the Book of Order, which can be found here. It gets pretty technical and logistical so you might not be interested in checking it out, but if you do, check out the "Foundations" section because it shows the faithful intentions behind the exhausting rules. In general terms, our polity could be described as a balance between congregationalism (bottom up) and episcopacy (top down). Our churches are ruled by councils, and we have a higher councils run through a representative system. Our highest council is called the General Assemby and it meets every two years.

In my opinion, it is our denomination's dedication to our polity that makes it distinct. There are other Reformed denominations and there are other "mainline" denominations, but no one does committees like we do (for better or worse). This country could use some more grassroots power, and I think Presbyterian polity can be a powerful tool to empower Christians to leadership in their communities.

Also related to our polity and theology, we don't believe in a formal separation between "clergy" and "laity." We have ministers, but our ruling elders (who form the councils) and our deacons are ordained and take vows before God and the church like our ministers. Sometimes our Ministers of Word and Sacrament are called Teaching Elders to emphasize our subversion of hierarchical classes in the church.

Big Tent

Our denomination strives to be a "big tent" that has room for both liberals and conservatives. We might not always be good at it, but we find value in trying to support each other even through differences. This doesn't mean the denomination does not pick sides, but that the sides we pick will emphasize who we are seeking to include rather than who we are seeking to exclude.

There is a variety within our denomination, not only politically, but also with style of worship and community culture. Sometimes people will walk around with one idea of what a PC(USA) church looks like, and then they will move to another part of the country and find out that many PC(USA) churches look quite different.