Cornerstone Presbyterian Church
Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
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“The Presbyterian Church in America is a remnant – a body of believers in Jesus who have been separated by God from the world to bear a faithful and true witness to Jesus Christ.
"God creates a remnant when He enables sinners to embrace God’s word with faith and repentance; He unites them to Christ, adopts them into His family and promises them a peg, that is, a secure place with God in Christ.
"By preaching and teaching the Bible in the power of the Spirit, the remnant gathers and perfects God’s people, defends the truth and exposes and opposes error.”
To God All Praise and Glory, by Paul Settle, Presbyterian Church in America, 1998.
You
can’t tell it from the title, but this book is a history of the PCA,
covering its first 25 years, through 1998. With less than a hundred
pages, and lots of photos, it is probably the easiest-to-read book
on the subject.
Where did the PCA come from? Why are PCA churches different from most other Presbyterian churches in the community? What does our denominational name really imply?
The PCA started as a separation from the “Southern Presbyterian Church” (officially known as the “Presbyterian Church of the United States”) in 1973. Cornerstone, however, was connected with a different and considerably older small and conservative Presbyterian denomination, last known as the “Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod”. That denomination joined the PCA in 1982. Quite a number of other individual congregations, fleeing the liberal trends in the large denominations, joined the PCA during its first 10 years.
Ten years after the PCA was formed, the remainder of the “Southern Presbyterian Church”, and the “Northern Presbyterian Church” (Officially known as the “United Presbyterian Church in the USA”) merged to become the “Presbyterian Church (USA)” in 1983. Most of the Presbyterian churches you see are in that large denomination.
But not Cornerstone. It and our denomination are different. Read about how we are different, and how and why our denomination came to be.
You will need a guide to the chapter contents since the chapter titles aren’t very informative. Here is a way to describe their contents:
1. An outline of protestant and Presbyterian history from the Reformation through the American civil war.
2. Liberals and conservatives in the “Southern Presbyterian Church”, 1930s-1960’s. The specific issues.
3. Efforts of the conservatives to reform the “Southern Presbyterian Church”, 1940’s-1960’s.
4. Building up to the crisis, 1971-72.
5. Starting the new denomination, 1973.
6. Developments and issues, some remaining today, and how they were handled. 1973-1998.
7. Relationships between the PCA and other denominations. This includes the joining of Cornerstone’s former denomination into the PCA in 1982, and various efforts, missionary and otherwise, of the denomination.
If pressed for time, you might find the last two chapters the most interesting.
-- Dean Brown
“This is the story, told by two who were there, of the founding and first 25 years of the Presbyterian Church in America.
"Here are briefly chronicled the historical roots of true Presbyterianism, the exciting growth and tragic decline of Biblical Presbyterianism in America and the doctrinal and moral issues which became centers of controversy in the United States …
"The account describes the sometimes heroic efforts of many of the believing men and women to save their beloved ark – the 'Southern Presbyterian Church' – from being overturned and swept away by rolling tides of unbelief. And here are inside glimpses of what happened when the rescue efforts failed … and the faithful sadly and unitedly exercised 'discipline in reverse' by withdrawing from the PCUS and building a sturdy new denominational vessel.”
471 Mathews Rd, Boardman, OH 44512 Phone/Fax 330-758-5628
email: info@cornerstonepch.org