While our biblical concept of complementarianism is vastly counter-cultural today—as are many aspects of biblical Christianity—this is the most faithful and missional way to pursue authoritative leadership in the local church. For God’s ways are always the most faithful and missional.

One of the current issues in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the presence of commissioning women to serve as pseudo-elders or deacons. One argument made for this position is that women are not ordained to the office but only commissioned to serve. According to the PCA Book of Church Order, this is a blatant contradiction to our doctrinal standards.

Words have meaning and contexts. The word “tired” has the meaning of fatigue but can be used for physical fatigue or emotional fatigue based on the context. For the topic at hand, the word “commission” means “a formal written warrant granting the power to perform various acts or duties”.¹ Notice the concept of authority in this definition.

The word “commission” also has a context for the PCA. In the Book of Church Order, we use the word “commission” as opposed to a “committee.”

15-1. A commission differs from an ordinary committee in that while a committee is appointed to examine, consider and report, a commission is authorized to deliberate upon and conclude the business referred to it, except in the case of judicial commissions of a Presbytery appointed under BCO 15-3. A commission shall keep a full record of its proceedings, which shall be submitted to the court appointing it. Upon such submission this record shall be entered on the minutes of the court appointing, except in the case of a presbytery commission serving as a session or a judicial commission as set forth in BCO 15-3. When a commission is appointed to serve as an interim Session, its actions are the actions of a Session, not a Presbytery. Every commission of a Presbytery or Session must submit complete minutes and a report of its activities at least once annually to the court which commissioned it.

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