Moving on to the charge of misogyny in the PCA, as I said at the beginning, I know there is misogyny in Reformed churches. However, some of the examples being given are not actually misogyny. Two main ones that have been referenced recently are using masculine pronouns or names for God and male-only ordination. While... Continue Reading

Margo Maris has compiled a list of victims’ needs from her work with them over the years (p.26). 1. To be believed by the Church 2. To hear stated that it is not the victim’s fault. For officials to believe that it is the behavior of the perpetrator that is wrong, not the fact that... Continue Reading

We are wasting too much time, energy, and money in our churches. Often we are doing more things and becoming less effective. It’s time for busy churches to become simple churches.   Most churches keep their members so busy they don’t have time to do ministry. Indeed, I spoke to a lay elder of a... Continue Reading

Rev. Joel E. Kim has served Westminster Seminary California as Assistant Professor of New Testament since 2005. As a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) he and his family attend New Life PCA in Escondido after serving for a number of years at New Life Fullerton (PCA). He and his wife, Sharon,... Continue Reading

The other day I got a phone call from one such pastor who said: “Help! Talk me off my metaphorical ledge!” That morning he’d gotten an angry text message from someone who blamed him for wrecking an upcoming family vacation because he didn’t approve of a Sunday school topic, he had an email faulting him... Continue Reading

Under the system of the authoritarian Great Leader, which functions more like a cult ideology than a presidency, the worship of another God is not condoned. There have been several arrests of Christian missionaries, including Jeffrey Fowle, who, in 2014, was detained for five months after leaving a Bible in a public bathroom, and Kenneth... Continue Reading

On March 28, 1788 Haynes left the Torrington congregation and accepted a call to pastor the west parish of Rutland, Vermont, where he served the all-white congregation for thirty years—a relationship between pastor and congregation rare in Haynes’s time and in ours both for its length and for its racial dynamic.   A Model of... Continue Reading

What do I mean by covenant solidarity? I’d define it as a principle of unity among a congregation that isn’t derived from shared personality traits, mutual hobbies, or common interests, but rather is derived from a shared interest in and love for Christ. Covenant solidarity is “the tie that binds.” This Christ-centered form of relationship... Continue Reading

No person has endured more violent abuse at the hands of “church leaders” than Jesus did, and because of that he can comfort you like no one else can. Other people may be unaware of what you’ve had to endure, but Jesus isn’t. He has wounds too (Rev. 5:6) and promises that through his suffering... Continue Reading

As of 2016, Montreat College was no longer one of them. Montreat College—with its scenic campus nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina—chose not to renew its membership in the organization effective with the 2016-2017 dues cycle. The college is a separate entity from the PC(USA)-related Montreat Conference Center.   Higher education is... Continue Reading