The problem lies in the fact that a significant percentage of the PCA has moved from broad expressions of worship, ministry, and mission to progressive ones. Yes, that’s the main problem. Many of our churches, presbyteries, and agencies have shifted from broad to progressive, not unlike the wider evangelical world. Ten years ago Side B Gay Christianity and social justice were not noteworthy movements with influential voices in the PCA. Today they are. Ten years ago we didn’t have a self-identified gay pastor making national headlines in USA Today, Christianity Today, and Yahoo! News.[2] Today we do.

The Book of Church Order (BCO) amendments that many hoped would guard the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) from further infiltration of Revoice/Side B Gay doctrine were officially defeated. Yes, in case you haven’t heard, the amendments are now dead in the water. They will not be voted upon in the 49th PCA General Assembly in June. The road to reform has narrowed.

Reflections After Defeat

I believe that there are several reasons why a good number of PCA elders and congregants are discouraged by the failure of Overtures 23 and 37, and do not dismiss the defeats as a small bump in the road to reform. First, the failure of the overtures reveals that a significant number of ordained elders in the PCA are either in support of, comfortable with, or indifferent to having self-identified gay celibate pastors in the denomination. Can this point really be disputed anymore? The numerous personal interactions that I’ve had with PCA elders and denominational leaders since the inauguration of Revoice only underscore this point in my own mind. There is a subtle normalization and quiet acceptance of Side B Gay Christianity taking place in the PCA right now. The line has moved.

Second, the failure of the overtures shows that many elders who opposed them for technical (language) reasons do not regard Side B Gay Christianity as an imminent threat to the biblical fidelity and confessional integrity of the PCA. If they did, they would have voted on principle for these crucial, though imperfect, amendments — amendments that would’ve provided clear constitutional guidance to our presbyteries regarding pastors and ordinands who profess a settled gay identity. To argue that Overtures 23 and 37 are unnecessary or imperfectly worded, and thus rightly defeated, is to raise doubt that any amendments on the matter of self-identified gay pastors will ever be satisfactory enough to be approved by two-thirds of our presbyteries.

Third, the failed overtures communicate the same truth as the unanimously approved PCA Study Report on Human Sexuality. If this is the case, then why did the overtures fail to reach the necessary two-thirds presbytery threshold? Could it be that a large number of presbyters are agreeable to the PCA possessing a non-binding study report, but not to the application of the report to our constitution and church courts? It’s a fair question that I’ve heard asked more than once.

Fourth, the failed amendments demonstrate that they can be passed by overwhelming margins at the General Assembly, and yet be soundly defeated in the presbyteries.^[1] For those laboring for denominational reform, this is a difficult pill to swallow.

Broad to Progressive?

Since its founding in 1973, the PCA has had a wide variety of churches. Diverse and sundry expressions of worship, piety, mission, and practice have always existed within our ranks. There have been more broad and evangelical approaches to ministry, along with more narrow and distinctively Reformed approaches. Some might refer to themselves as “Evangelical and Reformed” while others might be more comfortable describing themselves as “Reformed and Evangelical” or simply “Reformed and Confessional.” The nature of the PCA’s “broadness” — too broad for some and not broad enough for others — has, over the years, caused men on both ends of the spectrum to depart the PCA for what they believe are greener pastures. However, for the most part, men with different perspectives on ministry and mission have been able to labor together with relative peace and unity for almost five decades. Personally, I’ve deeply appreciated aspects of this broadness, and have learned from varying perspectives in ministry and mission that have differed from my own.

So what has changed? Why the dust-up? Haven’t we (the PCA) always been a big tent? Haven’t we always been broad? Why can’t we just all get along and continue to embrace our diversity of approaches? These are questions being raised by some presbyters. Perhaps you’ve wondered the same.

The problem lies in the fact that a significant percentage of the PCA has moved from broad expressions of worship, ministry, and mission to progressive ones. Yes, that’s the main problem. Many of our churches, presbyteries, and agencies have shifted from broad to progressive, not unlike the wider evangelical world. Ten years ago Side B Gay Christianity and social justice were not noteworthy movements with influential voices in the PCA. Today they are. Ten years ago we didn’t have a self-identified gay pastor making national headlines in USA Today, Christianity Today, and Yahoo! News.^[2] Today we do. Ten years ago we didn’t have Revoice.^[3] Today we do. Ten years ago we didn’t have TE’s promoting cultural expressions of social justice to their congregations. Today we do. The PCA’s broadness has turned progressive.

Those who oppose self-professed gay ministers, Revoice, and social justice in the PCA are criticized by some as working to make the PCA more narrow than it has ever been. They argue that we are trying to make the Big Tent smaller. But that’s simply not true. Our convictions on union with Christ, regeneration, definitive and progressive sanctification, sin, concupiscence, biblical justice, and sexual ethics haven’t changed. We are happy to live in a broad tent, with diverse approaches to Reformed ministry, just not a progressive one.

Still Time to Hope

My candid assessment of where things stand in the wake of the failed overtures will naturally seem gloomy. Is there still time to hope for reform and positive change in the PCA? Yes, I believe that we still have time to hope, but that hope must fuel action.

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^[1] My post 2021 General Assembly GRN article “The PCA’s Bright Future— Without a Bigger Tent” demonstrates my initial hope and expectation that things were looking brighter for the PCA. I did not believe that the overtures would be soundly defeated in the presbyteries.   https://gospelreformation.net/the-pcas-bright-future-without-a-bigger-tent/

^[2] See Greg Johnson, “I’m a Gay Celibate Pastor in a Conservative Church”, USA Today and Yahoo News, December 22, 2021 https://news.yahoo.com/im-gay-celibate-pastor-conservative-120126716.html?guccounter=1 ; Johnson, “I Used to Hide My Shame. Now I Take Shelter Under the Gospel”, Christianity Today, May 20,2019.  https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/may-web-only/greg-johnson-hide-shame-shelter-gospel-gay-teenager.html

^[3] While Revoice is not a ministry of the PCA, it has had a significant influence on many of our churches. A better choice for those struggling with disordered sexuality is Harvest USA. https://harvestusa.org/