On April 22, 2025, the Missouri Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) approved the ordination of a same sex attracted (SSA) man. A Ruling Elder present at the meeting filed a complaint arguing that the presbytery action violated the PCA’s . . . Continue reading →
PCA
The Quest for Unattainable Ecclesial Purity and Why It’s a Pill of the Wrong Color for the PCA Today
My friend Dr. R. Scott Clark employed the quest motif in his important defense of Reformed confessionalism. He identified two tendencies that are counter to Reformed theology, piety, and practice: the quest for illegitimate religious certainty (QIRC1) and the quest for illegitimate religious experience (QIRE2). In today’s Presbyterian . . . Continue reading →
Against PCA Overture 56: The Accused Deserve Assistance and Representation
Because I have been busy with selling a business (successful, transition nearly complete) and finding a house to move to another state (thus far unsuccessful), I have not been writing or podcasting much at all. I have not missed a PCA General . . . Continue reading →
The PCA Study Committee Rebuffs Establishmentarians And Ethnonationalists
This section of the report has sought to provide a thorough, fair, and constitutionally grounded analysis of the relationship between the PCA’s Constitution and the various positions held under the heading of “Christian Nationalism.” Based on this analysis, the Committee offers the . . . Continue reading →
Bad Company Corrupts Good Morals
To begin, we need to cover two key topics: the words, behavior, and associations of Zachary Garris and the teaching record of the Presbyterian Church in America on issues of racial sin. After that, I want to move toward a broader point . . . Continue reading →
2026 PCA Overtures: A Simplified Preview
As the fifty-third General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America prepares to gather in June for the third time in Louisville, Kentucky, a record number of overtures have been tendered. Of the ninety (adding one holdover from last year), many of . . . Continue reading →
Revisionist Confessional History
There is an idea floating around that all the teachings of the original version of the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646/1647) are basically included in or assumed by the revised American version of 1788/1789 and that agreeing with/preferring the original is more or . . . Continue reading →
PCA Pastor Sentenced To 30 Years For Rape And Incest: Ecclesiastical Trial Pending
A former pastor of a Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) church in Mississippi was sentenced on March 16 to 30 years in prison, with five years suspended. Christopher Willett, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, was charged in . . . Continue reading →
Fun And Games With Theocracy
Many in Prague were deeply uncomfortable with courting the Ottomans, yet the leadership was seduced by the fantastical scheme of a grand alliance smashing both Poland and the Habsburgs. Scultetus (court preacher to the Elector of the Palatinate Frederick V) did a . . . Continue reading →
Disorder Is Not The Answer For The PCA
The issue is actually not about sex; it is about polity and ordination. Yet the bearers of non-standard titles seem to usually be women, not men. Women cannot be (and are not being) ordained in the PCA, though there seems to be . . . Continue reading →
The Feminization Thesis And Office In The PCA
I write not as a theologian, minister, or church officer, but as a woman and an ordinary PCA churchgoer who has a real stake in the continuing faithfulness of the church. Decisions made at the General Assembly and in presbyteries are not . . . Continue reading →
An Impressive Response To The Case For Female Deacons In The PCA
When it comes to any matter related to the Christian life—which is, in fact, every matter—our first priority is to ask what God desires for his people. This is true not only in our personal lives but also in matters of God’s . . . Continue reading →
Can Fudging And Provoking Produce Unity?
At the end of the first paragraph of Christianity and Liberalism, the quotable Machen spun out a sentence for the ages, a statement striking rightness: In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt . . . Continue reading →
Semper Reformanda: Apply Liberally
The Latin expression semper reformanda is frequently invoked but rarely understood. Baptists and Pentecostals invoke it to say that Reformed Christians should continue their journey to their traditions. That application reflects a misunderstanding of the original and true sense of semper reformanda. . . . Continue reading →
PCA Christian Nationalism Study Committee Announced
Kevin DeYoung, moderator of the 52nd General Assembly, has selected the elders to serve on the Ad Interim Study Committee on Christian Nationalism. The committee will consist of three teaching elders, four ruling elders, and two advisory members. The committee members are . . . Continue reading →
What Is American Reformer?
The mission of American Reformer (a project that fancies itself the brains of a movement that seems to major in morphing and losing its mind) sounds tame and broad enough: American Reformer’s mission is to promote a vigorous Christian approach to the . . . Continue reading →
Brad Was Wrong Until He Was Right
Mr. Moderator, Brad Isbell, ruling elder, Tennessee Valley Presbytery. At the risk of sounding like a politician—or Mel Duncan, for that matter—I was against the study committee before I was for the study committee, but this is a speech in favor. Last . . . Continue reading →
Lift Up Your Eyes: The PCA General Assembly 2025
The 52nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) met this year in Chattanooga, TN. Hosted by the Tennessee Valley Presbytery, a near-record number of commissioners (over 2300) descended upon the Scenic City from June 23–27. The PCA gathers annually . . . Continue reading →
The Shepherd’s Church: A New Plant In Riverside, California
Riverside, California, is a bustling city with a population of around 330,000, making it the twelfth most populous city in the state. Here is the catch, however: it has no confessional Reformed or Presbyterian churches. And guess what? San Bernardino County, right . . . Continue reading →
PCA GA 2025: Quiet Interrupted By Power Struggles
As the GA adjourned, similar to other denominations, the power struggle between high-level leaders and many other presbyters would continue. Both of those stake-holders felt significant ownership, and the clashes were not always pretty, much less resolved well. However, some leadership changes . . . Continue reading →