Three works by Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (The Christian Pastor; Presbyterian Government, Not a Hierarcy, but a Commonwealth; and Presbyterian Ordination, Not a Charm, but an Act of Government) have been forgotten by modern Presbyterians. And yet, thanks to the reviewing work of James Henley Thornwell in the Southern Presbyterian Review, and the power of Breckinridge's ideas, much (though certainly not all) of what he believed has found its way into the Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America, and perhaps other American Presbyterian denominations. For instance, the right of rulings elders to lay hands on teaching elders being ordained is powerfully argued for by Breckinridge, as is the need for ruling elders to make up a quorum of a church court. If you've never read these short treatises, you can find them here.