The PCA does not need to create a third way. There is no perfect denomination. You might have grown up PCA, love the PCA, and been ordained in the PCA for a long time. If you love something, sometimes you need to know your views have changed and that a new home has been found. I give this counsel to those who are having difficulty with church membership: often, the members’ views have changed, not the church’s. 

Ordinarily, I seek to write about objective facts of history or rational arguments. This article is different. These are more personal thoughts, which by nature are more subjective. However, after reading about the slippery slope of the Northern and Southern churches, I thought it would be helpful to write down my thoughts. Although my thoughts are subjective, I still seek to be charitable and respectable.

I. Changes Appear to Be Marked by Culture Rather Than Scripture

It is fascinating to see how the wide variety of denominations, with diverse backgrounds, all sought to change their Book of Church Order or equivalent around the same period in history. How quickly the interpretations of clear passages of Scripture (1 Cor 14:34 and 1 Tim 2:11–12) became opaque or were written for a particular time. Almost all mainline denominations went down this slippery slope at about the same time. What is interesting about this is that changing the interpretation based on cultural movements is doing what they claim others had done (Paul). These, of course, were surface changes influenced by the hermeneutics employed — liberalism, post-modernism, and neo-orthodoxy. The PCA and other denominations should learn from these dangerous hermeneutical methods, not that we might fall into the exact cracks. Still, when we begin to use man-centered approaches, such as psychology or sociology, to be the center of our interpretation, we too will descend the slope. The PCA was very clear about these interpretations, which shaped the writing of the BCO, clearly stating that according to Scripture, the ordained office is open only to men (BCO 7–2). The BCO even holds a complementarian view regarding who may be appointed a moderator in a congregational meeting (BCO 25–4).

In Australia, swimming in the ocean is deadly, not because of the animals (that is a risk anywhere in Australia). But one of the greatest dangers is rip tides, the undercurrents of the tidal pull that pulls the water back out. A trained eye can see these rip tides, but most people are unaware. Lifesaving crews will place flags, and people are instructed to swim between the flags. In church history, we see there is a constant pull towards culture, error, and subtle falsehoods. Total depravity is ever-present, as gravity pulls us down to the earth, sin pulls us away from the Word to the World. The pull of the rip tide is strong and often unseen until it is too late. Denominations found themselves changing their polity in the 1950s and following, but the change began with a pull years earlier. Now, some might argue we should always seek to reform the church according to Scripture, which is true. I am not arguing for no changes to the polity. However, before embarking on this change, we need to ask some very heart-provoking questions.

II. Let’s Be Honest About Our Convictions

Those advocating change should be clear about their goals and their motives. Suppose you believe that women should be ordained to the office of deacon or elder. In that case, this should be clearly articulated to your Presbytery, and even in overtures presented to the General Assembly. Those with these Scriptural convictions of women ordained to offices should not try to make their view work in the PCA. The PCA is very clear: the ordained office is open only to men (BCO 7–2).

Unlike the mainline denominations in the early 1900’s there are many denominations that allow for women’s ordination that share similar legacies and heritages similar to the PCA. There can be an issue with ‘I hold this position but will not practice it’ that often requires adjustments in what is clear in the BCO to make my view work in the PCA. It creates division in church practice, with some churches not ordaining deacons or having women serve in a deacon’s functional role.

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