Athanasius Press Not Approved for Exhibition at PCA GA
 
Perhaps someone will say that this post is unwise. But we have no independent journalistic reporting on the PCA General Assembly and I think this information needs to be known. If I am wrong about any facts in this report, I will be happy to retract them. But everything I have written is based on reports from very reliable sources, if not the people directly involved. Athanasius Press was denied the use of a booth in the exhibition hall at the PCA General Assembly this year. The final word came tonight (Tuesday, June 20). They submitted their application according to the guidelines and schedule put out by the Administrative Committee. The Administrative Committee of the General Assembly must approve any organization or ministry before they may exhibit at General Assembly. Athanasius Press is part of the ministry of a PCA church. The pastor of the church is a Teaching Elder in good standing. Even so, they were denied the right to set up a booth to sell books and make literature available to the PCA commissioners. When representatives of Athanasius Press inquired about the decision to not allow them a table in the hall they were first given administrative excuses. They didn’t get their application in on time. Not true. They sent it in in April, while some vendors didn’t apply but a week or a few days before the assembly and were approved. There wasn’t enough room. Not true. Vendors and organizations were applying and being approved for space as late as Tuesday and space was not an issue with them. There was plenty of room in the hall. As it turns out, when pressed, the bottom line was that there was “resistance” to permitting Athanasius Press to have a place in the exhibition hall. There are some who believe that their publications are “tangential” and not “edifying” for the church. The ten-man subcommittee of the Administrative Committee charged with approving vendors for the exhibition hall didn’t like “the direction” of Athanasius press, thought they didn’t “emphasize justification by faith enough,” and more. There are all sorts of organizations allowed space in the exhibition hall, many that have no official connection with the PCA and even those that have doctrinal commitments that do not conform to PCA standards. But a ministry of a PCA church cannot have a booth because an unelected administrative sub committee doesn’t like the direction of Athanasius Press. Oh, but did I forget to mention that Athanasius Press is a ministry of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church? And we all just know that this church and her ministers are heterodox. This verdict has been reached as a result of a fair heresy trial and has been publicly announced. Right? The PCA was simply doing its duty to keep seductive, unedifying books and pamphlets from receiving any sort of legitimization in the PCA assembly. Right?
 Well, no. There has been no trial. Not even a fair hearing. No attempt was made to contact representatives from the church and inquire about the truth of rumors. The men of AP and AAPC had to seek out those responsible for the decision after the judgment was rendered. The truth is that they wouldn’t want PCA commissioners to actually read and consider Auburn Avenue’s position before judgments about their theological heterodoxy are promulgated from people everybody should trust. That would really muck things up. I don’t care what side of this issue you are on. This is outrageous. A further thought: aside from the general question about the justice of such an action from a PCA committee, I have a personal interest in this. Beyond my friendship with many of the men involved, Athanasius press has just published a new book in which I have a chapter. The book is The Case For Covenant Communion. In addition to my contribution, the book has essays by Robert S. Rayburn and others. Athanasius Press just received the first shipment from the printer and planned on making this book available to PCA GA commissioners in their booth. This book addresses the question of paedocommuion, a timely topic that interests many men who have no interest in or connection with the “Federal Vision.” Now, of course, there is no outlet for selling the book at GA. Still another note: One of the pamphlets that AP planned to make available at their booth is a nice summary of the issues by Joseph Minich, Within the Bounds of Orthodoxy?: An Examination of the Federal Vision Controversy. That pamphlet is now available at Federal-Vision.com. This is a thoroughly edited version of an earlier draft of this essay and is well worth reading. Update (Wed, June 21, 4 PM): Finally, after numerous attempts to get the administrative commitee to allow them to have a table, they finally agreed to something far short of their original request. AP has been given permission to use one of the tables by the escalators outside of the main hall in the assembly. Unfortunately however, AP cannot sell books or literature. They can only offer free material. And the spot turns out to be a little table where everyone throws their literature. Of course, there’s only one day left for the assembly.http://www.athanasiuspress.org/http://www.pcaac.org/2006%20General%20Assembly/06index.htmhttp://www.pcaac.org/2006%20General%20Assembly/06exhibitors.htmhttp://www.auburnavenue.org/http://www.athanasiuspress.org/inventory.html?invid=34http://www.federal-vision.com/shapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3shapeimage_1_link_4shapeimage_1_link_5
What’s up with this?
Tuesday, June 20, 2006