Dear HLPC family,
Yesterday morning, the three of us attended the meeting of Central Georgia Presbytery in Macon. The Presbytery is made up of the Pastors and churches in a certain geographical area- in our case central Georgia as the name indicates. This runs from Forsyth south to the state line with Florida, west until the Alabama state line, and east as far as Milledgeville. Perhaps the most important job Presbyteries have is ordaining and approving pastors to serve in the churches of our Presbytery. Yesterday we saw ordained two men for the gospel ministry. They were examined by a committee and then by the whole Presbytery in the areas of Bible knowledge, theology, church history, church government, and the sacraments. Both men had to preach before the Presbytery and had to submit theological and exegetical papers. Zach has all this to look forward to this fall!
Last night, the officers met here at the church- the second Presbyterian meeting. We had our joint meeting of Deacons and Elders at which time we heard a financial report. The Lord continues to provide for our church and we are grateful for the fact that our needs are well met. Then, the two groups divided. The Elders met to discuss the various ministries of the church and to pray for needs of HLPC. It was a good meeting and for that I praise God for the godly men He has gifted to serve as both Elders and Deacons.
I’m thankful to be Presbyterian with its Biblical form of leadership rooted in a plurality of Elders and Deacons. We live in a fallen world so it’s not a perfect system, but it serves us well. May God grant grace to the leaders of all three levels of our church oversight.
Your Pastor,
Paul