The report is really long, but the heart of it is comprised of twelve affirmations that set forth the consensus of the committee and hopefully of the entire denomination. So even if you are not able to read the entire document, you at least need to read the twelve statements. They address every major point of contention in the intramural debate among evangelicals about gender and sexuality.

The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has been facing a great deal of internal controversy over the last couple years because of the Revoice Conference which was hosted by a PCA church in St. Louis. Last summer, the PCA General Assembly addressed the controversy with two crucial decisions. First, the General Assembly voted to affirm the Nashville Statement and to use the Nashville Statement in discipleship materials produced by the denomination. Second (and I believe more consequentially), the General Assembly voted to appoint a committee to draft a statement of belief on gender and sexuality. Kevin DeYoung and Tim Keller are among those who were tasked with drafting the report.

The committee has completed its work and has issued its report today. Their work now awaits consideration at the 2021 meeting of the General Assembly where hopefully it will be approved by the denomination. The report aligns with the teaching of the Nashville Statement but roots its affirmations much more explicitly within the Reformed tradition.

The report is really long, but the heart of it is comprised of twelve affirmations that set forth the consensus of the committee and hopefully of the entire denomination. So even if you are not able to read the entire document, you at least need to read the twelve statements. They address every major point of contention in the intramural debate among evangelicals about gender and sexuality.

Here are some of the most significant items that I noted in my reading of the twelve affirmations:

1. The Moral Status of Same-Sex Attraction

“The experience of same-sex attraction is not morally neutral; the attraction is an expression of original or indwelling sin that must be repented of and put to death.” –Statement 4

This has been a major point of contention over the last several years among evangelicals. While all sides recognize that same-sex behavior is sinful, there has been disagreement about same-sex attraction. The Revoice/Spiritual Friendship side of the conversation typically treats same-sex attraction as a morally benign reality or as something to be sanctified. Heath Lambert and I wrote an entire book refuting that perspective. Many others have weighed-in as well. With this statement, the PCA would be putting this issue to rest once and for all—at least in the PCA.

2. Defining Concupiscience

This may seem like an esoteric point, but I assure you that it only seems that way. One of the major reasons for controversy is due to the fact that Roman Catholic notions of concupiscence have influenced the Revoice/Spiritual Friendship side of this conversation in significant ways. Rosaria Butterfield and I wrote an essay two summers ago trying to explain this, and that led to rejoinders from the other side, some of whom were Roman Catholic. Thankfully, the PCA committee report comes down firmly on the side of the Reformed tradition:

“We affirm that impure thoughts and desires arising in us prior to and apart from a conscious act of the will are still sin. We reject the Roman Catholic understanding of concupiscence whereby disordered desires that afflict us due to the Fall do not become sin without a consenting act of the will. These desires within us are not mere weaknesses or inclinations to sin but are themselves idolatrous and sinful.” –Statement 5

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