As a denomination, we need to worry exclusively about the second fear outlined in the preamble to the Report and commit ourselves to being a bold witness in the Apostolic model. That means no nuance, no hand wringing, and no compromise. Our BCO needs to include a standard for our officers that is a clear testimony against today’s prevalent licentiousness and makes no provision for toleration of Side A or Side B homosexuality among our officers.
Soon, Commissioners will be heading to Memphis for the Presbyterian Church in America’s (PCA) 50th General Assembly, its Golden Jubilee. With the departure of Greg Johnson from the denomination, some may feel we need a break from disputes over the culture wars. But we have unfinished business in the PCA, and our denomination remains in crisis.
In the last 5 years, the PCA has grappled with cultural forces that are in opposition to the Gospel. Along with these cultural forces have come soft persecution and pressure to conform, causing many to shrink from a bold proclamation of the truth. Pastors, churches, and entire presbyteries have adopted social justice, gender equality, racial equality, and climate activism as appendages to and sometimes substitutions for the Gospel. Some have also flirted with or embraced the culture’s views on sexual identity and so-called orientation. Greg Johnson is the most egregious example.
Greg Johnson and the Side B Homosexual Movement have served as a lightning rod for debate. While Johnson’s departure suggests the PCA has escaped his heterodoxy, it should be noted that Johnson left the denomination on his own and without censure. Further evidence suggests that a large minority of the denominational leadership remains sympathetic to his cause.
Consider the facts. In 2019, less than 60% of the General Assembly in Dallas voted to affirm the Nashville Statement on Human Sexuality. In 2021, the General Assembly in St. Louis voted to adopt overtures that would effectively disqualify men that claimed a gay Christian or homosexual Christian identity from holding office in the denomination. Those same overtures were defeated in the Presbytery confirmation process. In 2022, at the General Assembly in Birmingham, concerned commissioners fought tooth and nail to push forward the simple but clear Overture 15. However, it only made it to the floor via minority report, was affirmed by a narrow majority, and went on to be defeated in the Presbytery confirmation process.
In the midst of this, the administrative leadership of the PCA have not been advocates for a clear and bold repudiation of the Side B movement. In fact, denominational leadership has argued that adopting the Report on Human Sexuality makes unnecessary any additions to the Book of Church Order (BCO) concerning officers and claims made about sexual identity, even though the Report is weak in tone and does not address officer qualifications. In addition, at last year’s General Assembly, the leadership of the denomination argued against Overture 15 for not being procedurally sound while making no effort to put the measure in a procedurally better position to meet their own standard.
More disappointment came in the Standing Judicial Commission’s mishandling of the case regarding Greg Johnson and Memorial Presbyterian. At a minimum, even if the members of the SJC made it clear they were only exonerating Johnson and Memorial on questions of procedure, they could have individually or collectively made statements condemning Johnson’s unbiblical views, especially after he published his heretical book Still Time to Care.
Ironically, the ongoing divide in the denomination seems reflective of two opposing fears described in the preamble of the Report on Human Sexuality: the first being that our denomination would be perceived as harsh and unfeeling in confronting sexual perversion, and the second that our denomination would compromise the truth.
My sense is that a great portion of our denomination has already surrendered to the first fear and is obsessed with appearing intellectual, winsome, intentional, pastoral, and relevant in today’s culture. For them, a weak, complex, and professorial statement like the Report on Human Sexuality is preferable to a clear, concise repudiation of the homosexual and transgender movements; and the Report’s nuance gives ample room for proponents of Side B homosexuality to remain entrenched and ordained in the PCA.
We can only be so winsome when warning people to flee from the wrath to come, and wringing our hands or worrying about public perception is not the mark of a true Christian. The truth does hurt, but it also saves, and if we are unabashedly loyal to the Word, it will divide us from the culture, as we are promised by our Lord Himself.
As a denomination, we need to worry exclusively about the second fear outlined in the preamble to the Report and commit ourselves to being a bold witness in the Apostolic model. That means no nuance, no hand wringing, and no compromise. Our BCO needs to include a standard for our officers that is a clear testimony against today’s prevalent licentiousness and makes no provision for toleration of Side A or Side B homosexuality among our officers. Anything less brings shame to the truth of Christ and destroys the fellowship of the PCA.
Brett Doster is a Ruling Elder in Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Tallahassee, FL