News Source for the PCA

May 10, 2008 at 11:24 am (Blogroll)

There is a new website up that will keep updates on a regular basis on the PCA. See here. This has long been a desideratum. It is good to see that Dominic Aquila and Don Clements are going to keep us up to date.

A New Web Magazine for PCA News and Information

 

The Aquila Report is a new and independent web magazine for news and information for, of and about the Presbyterian Church in America and other churches in the Reformed community. The editor, Dominic Aquila, is a PCA minister and president of New Geneva Theological Seminary in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was moderator of the 34th PCA General Assembly (2006), the founding editor of the former PCANews.com, and past editor of the Byfaithonline Newsletter.  Don Clements, also a PCA minister, is overseeing the business and marketing functions of The Aquila Report.

In The Aquila Report you will find current news and information about churches, people and events in the PCA and other churches. There will also be articles addressing issues of interest to the church. Watch for other features that will be introduced over time that will enhance your visits to this web magazine. There is an email address listed on the website.

25 Comments

  1. G. Gusack said,

    May 10, 2008 at 11:37 am

    Thanks for alerting us to this news site for the PCA and other Reformed bodies; surely needed. Already found something new and interesting: J.I. Packe has left the Anglican Church of Canada. I’ll definitely return to The Aquila Report regularly for updates.

  2. David Gray said,

    May 11, 2008 at 8:20 am

    >A New Web Magazine for PCA News and Information

    One hopes it will be better than By Faith. I wonder how much of By Faith reflects Aquila’s inclinations?

  3. G. Gusack said,

    May 12, 2008 at 12:10 am

    Byfaith in its present formast and focus reflects none of Aquila’s inclinations; hence, The Aquila Report.

  4. Gage Browning said,

    May 12, 2008 at 9:30 am

    Thanks Lane! Bookmarked!

    Gage Browning
    Post Tenebras Lux

  5. Tom Albrecht said,

    May 12, 2008 at 10:12 am

    Interesting. Was this site officially announced somewhere? (No offense, Lane. You do a great job.)

    What I find interesting is that someone like Aquila would go online with a half-developed, marginally informative site (”a new and independent web magazine”). Are things really that bad at the higher levels of the PCA (byFaithonline.com) that such a public commentary is the result?

  6. greenbaggins said,

    May 12, 2008 at 11:25 am

    If Dominic wants to answer those question on his website, then that is his business. I am not going to comment on his reasons. However, he did email me with a request to make this website known, and I have done so.

  7. Bill Lyle said,

    May 12, 2008 at 12:53 pm

    I cannot answer for Dominic, but this is not an official site. This site, as I understand it, was put up to fill a void in the PCA world. No where can you find out information about the PCA. IMHO, ByFaith is not worth the paper it is printed on (or the space it takes up in cyberspace), because it tells me nothing about the PCA.

    BTW Dominic, does not have anything to do with Byfaith.

  8. Scott said,

    May 12, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    Re #6.

    I am hesitant to comment on the tone of post #6. However, as an occasional reader here, I feel constrained to say the tone of post #6 is disturbing. Frankly, it seems

    disrespectful and condescending toward the blog’s sponsor, the editor of a new resource, an on-line magazine, and an entire denomination. The tenor is completely unnecessary to move conversation forward.

    We must be charitable and truthful toward one another, remembering the Ninth Commandment and the Golden Rule.

  9. Scott said,

    May 12, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    Sorry, I meant post #5…

    Post#5 has a disturbing tone. Post #5

  10. RBerman said,

    May 12, 2008 at 3:14 pm

    Be that as it may, the question is a good one. What inspired the effort required to do this? Aquila was quite the cheerleader for ByFaith during his tenure there, soliciting for millions of dollars in contributions at GA and encouraging us all to get our churches to subscribe en masse as a way to give our members an understanding that they shared affiliation with more than just their local church. I haven’t seen any issues in the last year or more though.

  11. docmarshall said,

    May 12, 2008 at 3:23 pm

    My take on it: I see ByFaith as a promotional vehicle for those who are leading the PCA, that is, those who won the battles in recent years, to make sure the PCA would not be demanding full subscription to the Westminster standards. ByFaith has articles that gently push to approve feminist issues, emergent church issues, ethnic issues, urban church issues, etc. Gentle but consistent pushes in a more broadly evangelical direction. It is not really a vehicle for giving out hard news about what’s happening in the PCA, or in other Reformed circles. So, I hope that is what we will find in the Aquila Report.

  12. greenbaggins said,

    May 12, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    By Faith magazine is NOT the same as By Faith Online. See comment 7.

  13. docmarshall said,

    May 12, 2008 at 3:57 pm

    This also may be of interest…

    V. News Office, PCA News.com, PCA byFaith News Magazine

    The General Assembly approved the following recommendation, recorded in the Minutes of the 30th General Assembly, 30-62, III, 8, p. 296:

    That the AC be authorized to proceed to develop “PCANews” [a print magazine] in cooperation with the other PCA Committees and Agencies while maintaining the existing web magazine and developing a hard copy for the PCA at large in the year 2003. The AC would be the publisher and would obtain a highly qualified editor. [Note: No expansion funds will be expended until funds are pledged through a development effort conducted by the AC Staff in cooperation with others who will help.] Adopted

    In accordance with that authorization, the AC has moved ahead on plans for the magazine.

    * Subcommittee to Oversee a PCA News Magazine, byFaith

    The Administrative Committee, in 2003, appointed a Subcommittee on PCANews, operating under and reporting to the Administrative Committee of the PCA. The Subcommittee on PCANews produced the Mission Statement for the PCANews magazine, established editorial policy, is securing the necessary financial funding, has employed an editor, and will direct the ongoing publication of the newsmagazine. The Subcommittee reports regularly to the AC through the Stated Clerk on the status of the magazine. Major actions of the Subcommittee are subject to the approval of the AC, but this Subcommittee on PCA News has been given appropriate independence so that truth is protected and editorial opinion buffered from the waves of self-interest and politics which flow in every group of people.

    * Terms and Numbers of Subcommittee Members

    The AC approved that the number of members of the Subcommittee on PCA News be nine (9), including two ex officio members, the Stated Clerk of the PCA and the Business Administrator of the AC; and that members serve four-year terms by appointment of the Administrative Committee from nominations arising from the Subcommittee. Individuals will not serve more than two consecutive terms, but can be reappointed after a year’s rotation off of the Subcommittee. The ex officio members will be exempt from these rotation requirements. The Business Administrator will vote only in the absence of the Stated Clerk and will function as the Chief Financial Officer for the newsmagazine.

    * Members of the Subcommittee on PCA News Magazine, byFaith

    The AC approved that Dr. Bryan Chapell (TE), St. Louis, MO; Mr. Frank Brock (RE), Lookout Mountain TN; Mr. Joel Belz (RE), Asheville NC; Mr. Victor H. Hanson II (RE), Birmingham AL; Mr. Ed Harris (RE), St. Louis MO; Dr. Paul Kooistra (TE), Atlanta GA; Mr. John Prentis (RE), St. Louis, MO; Dr. L. Roy Taylor (TE), Atlanta GA; and Mr. John Robertson (TE), Atlanta GA, be appointed to the Subcommittee on PCANews. (Note: RE Ed Harris found it necessary to resign from the subcommittee).

    * The Publisher

    The Administrative Committee of the PCA is the Publisher of the newsmagazine being established and the magazine operates under the Presbyterian Church in America (A Corporation) for all needs of legal entity and business operations.

    * The Editor

    A position of editor has been established and is overseen in the following manner. The editor serves at the pleasure of the Subcommittee on PCA News. The editor, operating under Sub-committee-approved policy, is solely responsible for the content and daily operations of the magazine. The editor will submit policy proposals to the Sub-committee for approval. The editor has the ordinary personnel and financial responsibility to manage the newsmagazine, and the authority to oversee and manage both is delegated to him. RE Dick Doster has been retained as editor and RE Nat Belz as associate editor.
    § Relationship of byFaith Magazine to PCANews.com

    PCANews.com and all related aspects of its operations function under the editor of the byFaith newsmagazine when established. These two instruments of communication are envisioned to complement each other and function together to inform the PCA and other interested constituencies of news and developments regarding the PCA and other relevant matters. The PCANews.com web magazine is being revamped to give it the look, philosophy, and substance of byFaith.

  14. Bill Lyle said,

    May 12, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    Dominic, does not have anything to do with:
    1. ByFaith hardcopy
    2. ByFaith online
    3. ByFaith newsletter

    In fact he has had nothing to do with ByFaith for many months.

  15. David Gray said,

    May 12, 2008 at 7:00 pm

    >In fact he has had nothing to do with ByFaith for many months.

    But By Faith from the very first issue was dreck.

  16. G. Gusach said,

    May 12, 2008 at 8:58 pm

    # 15

    Are you referring to the hard copy magazine? Dr. Aquila never had any responsibility or editorial oversight of Byfaith magazine. He only edited the Byfaithonline newsletter.

  17. Bill Lyle said,

    May 12, 2008 at 9:03 pm

    Yes David, but that was the choice of others and not Dominic, but if you want to hear it from him you can contact him through the new web site.

  18. David Gray said,

    May 13, 2008 at 7:35 am

    >Are you referring to the hard copy magazine?

    Yes.

    >Yes David, but that was the choice of others and not Dominic, but if you want to hear it from him you can contact him through the new web site.

    Glad to hear it. By Faith Inc. must have a very byzantine structure…

  19. Tom Albrecht said,

    May 13, 2008 at 8:30 am

    RE: #8/9

    Scott,

    I apologize if my words sounded disrespectful and condescending. That was not my intent. I was merely pointing out that the new web site seems a tad bit underdone at the moment. Most of the links have no content.

    I just found it curious that someone of Mr. Aquila’s reputation and background with byFaithonline.com would announce his site while it is in this condition.

    Anyway, I’m sure it will evolve to be all that the author intended.

  20. Ben D. said,

    May 13, 2008 at 8:42 am

    Man, these comments are getting confusing.

  21. Don Clements said,

    May 13, 2008 at 11:32 am

    Tom is right, guys. The site is a tad bit underdone. But blame me as Director of Marketing. I talked Dominic to let us put our BETA version out for the world to see!!. And what you are seeing is the slow, steady grown and development of what Dominic and I envision to be an extensive Magazine with LOTS of different news.

    I ask permission to go live with the BETA so I could discuss with potential advertisers how things would work. Just this morning I spend a half-hour on the phone with an executive at a seminary and at the end he agreed to a decent size contract. If he had not been able to see how the site looked, he would have waited until it was ‘polished’.

    But we are doing this thing on our own bootstraps and trying to get a little advertising income to help pay our poor, suffering webmaster who has a full time job, a family of four and is an active Deacon in a PCA church

    So - sorry for not being polished yet - but, I can honestly say in the words of Bachman-Turner Overdrive (oh my, does that date me?), “You Aiin’t Seen Nothing Yet.”

  22. Don Clements said,

    May 13, 2008 at 11:34 am

    Wow - rereading my post leaves no doubt - with that grammer I need to keep my mouth shut and just sell ads!

  23. Bill Lyle said,

    June 11, 2008 at 11:42 am

    Father and Brothers,
    I stated in post #7 the following:
    “Bill Lyle said,
    May 12, 2008 at 12:53 pm
    I cannot answer for Dominic, but this is not an official site. This site, as I understand it, was put up to fill a void in the PCA world. No where can you find out information about the PCA. IMHO, ByFaith is not worth the paper it is printed on (or the space it takes up in cyberspace), because it tells me nothing about the PCA.
    BTW Dominic, does not have anything to do with Byfaith.”
    —–
    The Editor of ByFaith took personal offence to this post and this morning he in brotherly love stated this fact.
    I want to state in this form that was not my intention and I humbly apologies to Dick for the misunderstanding.
    He and I recognize we have a major philosophical difference on the purpose of ByFaith and that is what I was trying to address and nothing personal.
    Bill Lyle

  24. David Gilleran said,

    June 11, 2008 at 11:45 am

    Bill, what Dick say the purpose of ByFaith is? I haven’t been able to figure it out.

  25. Bill Lyle said,

    June 11, 2008 at 11:57 am

    David,

    We did not get into that, but I would suggest you email him and the Stated Clerk and ask.

    Bill

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