Memorial Presbyterian Church, a PCA church in St. Louis, made news in 2018 when it hosted the controversial Revoice conference. The church’s pastor, Greg Johnson, spoke at Revoice in 2019 and is slated to speak again in 2020. According to the event announcement accessed on Thursday, the Q Collective, which is an LGBT group “exploring the spectrum of gender, sexuality, and romantic orientation,” hosted its 2nd annual Transluminate Arts Festival at The Chapel of Memorial Presbyterian Church on consecutive nights, February 27 – March 1.

Below are statements from Memorial PCA in St. Louis, and our responses, regarding a theatre production on church property by a transgender playwright which included “themes of gay marriage, transgenderism, and even trans-speciesism.” The PCA has no other choice but to act quickly to counter this breach of purity in Christ’s Church, and to protect all children from the immorality and decadence of our age, especially when it takes place on church property.

Memorial PCA (From the Memorial PCA Statement):There have been questions today about a theatre event at the secular arts venue attached to Memorial Presbyterian Church, a venue we host.

Charlie & Paula: Like this event, other events at Memorial have also raised questions. Still it is risky for a church to sponsor a secular venue, because any event held there can be considered to be endorsed by the church. And consequently, events seen to be endorsed by that particular church can be seen to be endorsed by the denomination to which that church has ties.

Memorial PCA: We are sorry for the confusion this has caused.

Charlie & Paula: The apology should be to the PCA for allowing such an event to occur under the auspices of Memorial Church. The possible confusion this has caused is not with the members of the PCA. We are aware of the agenda of the event in question, which included “themes of gay marriage, transgenderism, and even trans-speciesism.” (see CBMW article). Most members of the PCA recognize that these themes are contrary to the teaching of Scripture and therefore, of the denomination. However, there could be confusion among those outside the PCA, who might think the denomination endorses these themes.

Memorial PCA: We realize we at Memorial are now under a scrutiny we were not under 13 years ago when we began this ministry.

Charlie & Paula: It is possible that Memorial has been able to “fly under the radar” for a while, but these types of events have now come to light. The standards of Scripture have not changed, but perhaps Memorial Church has changed. We assume that members and officers at Memorial take the same membership vows as everyone else in the PCA, one of which is to preserve the purity and peace of the church. In our opinion, allowing (and appearing to endorse) themes of homosexuality and transgenderism does not contribute to preservation of the purity of the church, but rather flies in the face of what is holy.

Memorial PCA: Our agenda is to love people in the arts.

Charlie and Paula: While we appreciate your desire to love people in the arts, it is possible to do this without allowing or endorsing godless themes in your events. Paula has been an instructor and supervisor in the theatre arts for over 30 years, and has nurtured, encouraged, and cast homosexual and transgender students in various productions. However, those productions never dealt with those themes. Loving a person does not mean that one must endorse their sinful lifestyle.

Francis & Edith Schaeffer, both PCA members, ministered with the same concern at Covenant Church in St. Louis and at L’Abri. Why would Memorial’s way of showing love to people in the arts cause so much disagreement and unrest within our denomination and the Schaeffer’s did not? The answer is that the Schaeffers never endorsed or promoted messages that were contrary to the Word of God, and taught that “true spirituality means the lordship of Christ over the total man” (from Art and the Bible).

Charlie Rodriguez is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and a publisher. Paula Rodriguez is a teacher, and was Chair of Communications, Dance, and Theater at Hinds Community College. They live in Dallas, Texas where they attend Providence PCA.