In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year that were read on The Aquila Report site based on the number of hits. We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run on five lists on consecutive days. Here are numbers 31-40.

In 2019 The Aquila Report (TAR) posted over 3,000 stories. At the end of each year we feature the top 50 stories that were read. The top story this year received 15,790 hits.

TAR posts 8 new stories each day, on a variety of subjects – all of which we trust are of interest to our readers. As a web magazine TAR is an aggregator of news and information that we believe will provide articles that will inform the church of current trends and movements within the church and culture.

In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year that were read on The Aquila Report site based on the number of hits. We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run on five lists on consecutive days. Here are numbers 31-40.

40. Cultural Marxism – the Seedbed of the New Homosexual Christian

Two PCA Presbyteries have taken the issue into their own hands, and as church courts communicated their grievance to Missouri Presbytery about this innovative Side B sexual identity.  One of those is my own Presbytery – Westminster.  These two presbyteries are asking for an investigation, but again, I don’t see Missouri Presbytery turning against one of her own.  Whether the matter can be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCA remains to be seen.

39. Celibate but Compromised “Gay Christianity” Pushes into Conservative Churches

That the “gay but celibate” movement has made so many inroads with such a morally compromised agenda reflects the degree to which far too many conservative Christians have been emotionally manipulated to see LGBT people as victims who must be treated with special sensitivity, even if that means giving celibate “gay Christians” exemptions to biblical teachings about personal holiness. Well-meaning Christian leaders have wanted to assume that activists have good intentions when they should have been more concerned about protecting their flocks from wolves.

38. And They’re Back! MacDonald and Tchividjian Restore Themselves To Ministry

“We have prayed to practice our biblical teaching on love and God has surely allowed us to be stretched. There is much we could say, as so much is not at all what has been portrayed. But we look to the Lord for forgiveness where I did fail as a leader and for vindication of false statements that will not cover forever what others have done.”

37. The Fight for the Culture is Taking Place in the Church

Three years ago, much of the debate at GA focused on racial reconciliation. Last year, it was the role of women in the church. This year, it will likely be homosexuality and the Revoice movement, which is being hotly debated in the PCA and Southern Baptist Convention. Although sexual abuse and the “Me Too” movement is also in the mix and the role of women in the church is back for more debate. Plus, the debate over “social justice” is always lurking in the background.

36. Westminster Presbytery Overtures 47th PCA GA to Approve “Affirmations and Denials Regarding Homosexuality”

Westminster Presbytery approved an overture at its March 9, 2019 Stated Meeting, asking the 47th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America to approve “Affirmations and Denials regarding Homosexuality.” The overture is asking the General Assembly to approve 12 articles that clarify and affirm the Bible’s teaching about homosexuality and gender.

35. Where Does the PCA Stand on Revoice? A Look at the Numbers

Let me make it clear, though, that Johnson and those who support him are on the wrong side of the battle line–there is nothing to appreciate about putting souls in eternal peril. For those who are taking a “wait and see” approach to Revoice, looking for clarity about what it is really about as the movement matures, I’d remind them that there is no neutrality in the battle for the Kingdom of God.

34. Five Reasons Pastors Should Not Allow the Psalms to Be Sung in Church

You have worked hard at truncating Christianity into an individual, pietistic, “feel-good” religion. If you allow the Psalms to be sung, you are going to have to recalibrate your theology.

33. An Open Letter to the PCA Missouri Presbytery

Thank you for your concern over my spiritual well-being. I say this because I was one of the signatories of a letter addressed to the Memorial PCA Session, along with 32 other PCA Ruling and Teaching Elders, from a number of presbyteries, that expressed their concerns about the significant role the Memorial Session played in Revoice, and urged on them to repent of their actions.

32 Protesting the Protest at the PCA General Assembly

Therefore, this action of the General Assembly in allowing for such a protest to have been found in order must itself be protested. It is my humble request that the 2020 PCA General Assembly would publicly apologize to the speaker of the minority report for having in effect declared him guilty of sinful speech, and to acknowledge that he was not afforded the right to explain or to defend himself. 

31. 3 Things to Say to a Grieving Non-Christian

Death for the Christian and the non-Christian alike is the terrible fall-out from the Fall. While Christians should grieve with hope (1Thess. 4:13), even we still grieve. When your non-Christian neighbor experiences a death, you can sympathize with the real horror of a life ended and a relationship severed. What’s more, in a culture where death is either downplayed and ignored or set in the realm of dignified personal choices, you may be the only one willing to acknowledge its awful and inevitable impact.