In my opinion, the BCO is not the main issue. The issue is not simply women in the pulpit, nor the sexual mutilation of children, nor even the legitimacy of homosexuality (in some form or another).  The issue is transgenderism.  The issue is men and women giving in to sinful impulses that cross the lines... Continue Reading

Some in the PCA are not content to contextualize their presentation, liturgy, or worship — they also feel the need to contextualize polity for an egalitarian cultural mindset that has no patience for the biblical doctrines of office and ordination that are found in our BCO. Their ecclesial innovation can only harm the peace and... Continue Reading

He was converted after the war while a professional saxophone player, attended Hope College, graduated from Drake University and Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary, where he was blessed by the teaching of Dr. John Gerstner, was ordained in the United Presbytery Church of North America on June 1, 1952, and served almost 71 years as a minister... Continue Reading

If you want to kill your denomination in one easy move that move is to neglect General Assembly.   Those who helped bring in the very things that caused you to send your ruling elders to GA in the first place (Revoice/Side-B, CRT, female line- authority, etc.) are themselves going to be at General Assembly and... Continue Reading

Hopefully I am wrong on that point, but to pivot back from the hypothetical to the real, the fact remains that the PCA, like the broader church in America, is not flourishing at the moment and is beset with real problems. If we wish to receive God’s blessing, we shall have to rely on his... Continue Reading

Patience does not mean we simply tolerate deviant practices that violate our church constitution. We must continue to highlight these public actions and compare them to what we have confessed as a Church and agreed to uphold. As we do this, we should pray all our brethren will live with integrity before God and man and... Continue Reading

Moral issues of officers generally get more attention than process and polity peccadilloes. But what about when someone says, “We’re not following the rules because a lot of people don’t follow the rules, and we don’t think you’re going to stop us”? What about when the seeming law of what’s allowed begins to damage the... Continue Reading

Calvin understood the zeal of true religion can be patient, but the rage of unbelief acts hastily. Calvin’s demeanor and his patient plodding are instructive for our present moment in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). We should not expect the theological and practical deviations from our Standards to be dealt with speedily. But that... Continue Reading

As we in the PCA continue to deliberate about contentious and important matters of human sexuality – and about homosexuality in particular – we will hear the well-worn arguments, “We have the study report…We have the Bible…We have the Book of Church Order. We don’t need added clarity when we have so many resources that... Continue Reading

For numerous reasons it is my belief that now is not the time to leave the PCA, and I would encourage churches and teaching elders contemplating such action to stay and “fight the good fight.”  I would encourage more churches to become actively involved in both their presbyteries and at the General Assembly level. The... Continue Reading