The question before the church is not whether Scripture is unclear. Scripture speaks plainly about church office, worship, and the created order. The real question is whether we will submit to what God has said, even when it cuts against cultural instincts or contemporary sensibilities.

If you have recently been keeping up with online discussions surrounding the PCA and women’s roles in ministry, there have been many (including myself) stating that practically the PCA has a rising egalitarian problem. However, some disagree, insisting that there are no egalitarians in the PCA. Yet this has not halted discussions surrounding women’s roles in worship and ministry, nor has it quieted the formation of shadow church offices filled with “commissioned” ladies—roles that functionally mirror ordained authority without ordination. Whether or not we call these practices “egalitarianism” is not the point, though I do not know what else to call it. If you want to contend that our denomination’s constitution is robustly complementarian, I wholeheartedly agree. Nevertheless, there are some practices taking place and views being voiced that are, at least practically, egalitarian. This is true, whether we like it or not.

Furthermore, discussions surrounding egalitarianism in the PCA are often framed narrowly. We are told the debate is simply about roles, or about who may hold office, or about how best to use gifts. But that framing misses the deeper reality. The egalitarian question is not a single-issue disagreement. Egalitarianism is an interconnected theological question that touches our understanding of church officers, worship, and the created order itself.

These three categories are not accidental companions. They rise and fall together. When one is reinterpreted, pressure is inevitably placed upon the others.

Church Office: More Than Function

At the heart of the debate lies a fundamental disagreement over the nature of church office. Scripture does not present elders and deacons as interchangeable leadership positions that exist merely to meet organizational needs. Rather, church office is theological, representative, and covenantal.

Paul’s qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 2–3 and Titus 1 are not grounded in cultural convenience or temporary conditions. They are rooted explicitly in creation order: “For Adam was formed first, then Eve” (1 Tim. 2:13). The authority of the elder is not derived from competence alone, but from Christ’s design for His church.

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