Many in the EPC are raising the alarm about the preliminary report from the Ad Interim Committee (AIC) on same sex attraction (SSA) and ordination is that some parts of the report are simply inconsistent with the Scriptures and the Westminster Standards. There must be some motivation driving the convoluted preliminary report which is solidly orthodox in parts and then ditches those affirmations when it recommends that SSA candidates may be examined for ordination.

In the EPC today, we are afraid of conflict. We are reminded repeatedly of our ethos, which calls for charity in all things. Those who speak out and disagree are often perceived as troublemakers who are disturbing the peace. And yet, the EPC was founded by men and women who were not afraid to speak and disagree when they believed the biblical and confessional foundation of the church was in danger of crumbling.

Next year’s General Assembly has the potential to be a watershed moment in the 46-year history of our church. To date, the doctrine and ministry of the EPC has been a testimony to biblical and confessional faithfulness. This is not by accident, as from its inception the EPC was founded on fidelity to the Word of God and the Westminster Confession of Faith. We do well to remember this as we take up what I believe is the most contentious issue we have faced in the life of our denomination — the ordination of ministers with ongoing unnatural sexual desires. This article recalls what the founding and succeeding generations of EPC leaders did to ensure our church followed the testimony of two thousand years of biblical orthodoxy.

Founding Generation

By the early 1980s, liberal theology had run its course in the UPCUSA and the PCUS — the final authority of the Bible was questioned, the deity of Christ was challenged, universalism was acceptable, abortion was a legitimate Christian option, and an increasing number of ministers considered homosexuality compatible with professing Christ as Lord. A group of pastors and ruling elders in the northern and southern Presbyterian churches decided it was time to leave a denomination no longer affirming historic orthodox Christianity. The churches, whose consciences convicted them it was time to depart, looked around for a suitable denominational home. Alignment with existing Reformed bodies did not seem an option since these congregations were charismatic or had women elders. However, the EPC’s founders were persuaded these two issues could be areas where believers might have liberty of practice within a confessional church since there were biblical reasons for holding these positions.

The founding generation of EPC leaders were convinced that one of the culprits of mainline demise was the Book of (multiple) Confessions and feeble ordination vows that had not held officers accountable to Reformed doctrinal commitments. They decided to return to historic Presbyterian practice and adopt the Westminster Confession and Catechisms as doctrinal standards, and resurrected traditional ordination vows that affirmed clear constitutional accountability. These decisions would give the new denomination a strong foundation for the future. It was understood that ordination vows would be binding among honorable men and women. A brief statement of essential evangelical faith was written to show solidarity with other orthodox churches.

Logo and Motto

The ethos of the EPC at its founding was captured in the logo and motto of the new denomination. The first official EPC logo had a cross, Bible, and dove (representing the Holy Spirit) in the center, encircled by the EPC motto: “In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty; In All Things Charity. Truth in Love.” The final three words of the motto, “Truth in Love,” are a succinct summary of what was central to the founding generation of the EPC. I have written about this early EPC history in Liberty in Non-Essentials: The Story of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. When the EPC published its history in 2016, Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah wrote a foreword in which he stated:

An important development that sparked the creation of the EPC was the arbitrary way the mainline determined what was ‘essential’ and what was ‘non-essential.’ Commitment to biblical truth and confessional orthodoxy was deemed a non-essential while endorsement of women’s ordination was deemed essential.¹ (emphasis mine)

As Jeremiah pointed out, indispensable submission to biblical truth and confessional orthodoxy was the foundation upon which the EPC was built. This was their solemn resolve in reaction to the crumbling foundation of mainline Presbyterianism where Scripture and the doctrinal standards of the church had become “non-essential.” The final authority of the Scriptures in everything it teaches is the solid rock of Christ’s Church, otherwise the influence of every new wind of doctrine will begin to rebuild that foundation with sand. The founders offered this opening statement of historic evangelicalism in their “Essentials of Our Faith” document:

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