This paper was first presented at the 2025 PCA Next Generation Forum held last week in Chattanooga.
I hope you will indulge me as I share a brief autobiography. I share this not out of vanity but understanding. I truly think it will help us understand one another this evening and that is one of my earnest prayers - that we would understand each other better by the end of the evening.
Tonight, I speak as one representative of what some call the “doctrinalist” or “confessional” wing of the PCA. I would understand if this immediately created certain assumptions. You might think I went to RTS Jackson: wrong. You might think I went to Greenville Seminary: wrong again. Maybe Westminster (East or West)? Still no. I graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary the official seminary of our denomination. In fact that is how I ended up at Covenant. I googled PCA seminary and Covenant popped up.
In the time I have been in the PCA, two men I have called pastor have left for Egalitarian denominations. My worship director in seminary is now a Pastrix in the United Church of Christ. I knew many of the original Revoice advisory council members. I had as thesis advisor a man who many find controversial, but I often defend as a brilliant teacher, thinker, and biblical scholar. What I learned from him inside and outside his formal lectures continues to impact my life and ministry. I served on the staff of a multi-cultural, multi-racial non-PCA church plant of Perimeter PCA in Atlanta (it closed in 2022). I even left the PCA for a year and pursued ordination in the Episcopal Church before returning to the PCA.
My credentials scream progressive wing of the PCA. My moving closer towards the doctrinal wing came about through a series of events that I will not be able to go into this evening. I have drawn suspicions from both wings of the PCA as former seminary classmates ask, “What happened to you?” And friends on the other side ask, “How do we know you aren’t a plant?” I think this has given me a unique perspective from both sides of the PCA. It certainly has shaped how I view our denomination now and my hopes for her future.
Our question this evening is, “What is our vision for the PCA over the next 10 years?” A big question and one that I have wrestled with for the past month in preparing for this evening. Geoff and I can only speak for ourselves and while we might be representatives of two seemingly opposite ends of the PCA spectrum, it would be a mistake to think we speak for everyone within those camps.
Since this is a big question, I wanted to ground my vision in Scripture. I’ve taken my answer to this question from Ephesians 4:11-16
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every join with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
I want to draw out three points which in broad strokes are my vision for our future as ministers in the PCA: 1. Doctrine must unite us. 2. Honesty must unite us. 3. Collaboration must unite us.
It is our job description as shepherd-teachers, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.” A healthy diet of sound biblical preaching and discipleship will equip the saints we have been entrusted to serve to defend their faith, evangelize the lost, and seek to be good citizens of their earthly and heavenly kingdoms. The whole counsel of God that we preach must stretch from doctrine to ethics and encompass not just head knowledge but a love for God reflected in good works he has prepared for us to walk in.
Doctrine aids spiritual growth, “building up the body of Christ” as they “mature” and grow more Christ like. When we are in the pulpit Sunday mornings, we must have this charge in our minds, “to preach Christ and him crucified.” Our people do not need another Fox News or NPR segment. They do not need a cultural analysis of the day. They do not need therapy. They need to hear the gospel: You were once sons of disobedience and children of wrath, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Eph. 2:4-5). Spiritual growth should happen as we are discipled by the Word.
It can and should also happen as we use our confessional documents. I must object to the popular notion that Heidelberg is more warm and pastoral than Westminster. I have constantly referred congregants to chapter 18 of the Confession on assurance of salvation or chapter 13 on Sanctification. I recently used Westminster Shorter Catechism 37 to comfort a family grieving the loss of a father, “What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? The souls of believers are, at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves until the resurrection.” We do not need to think our doctrinal documents are merely cold propositions but, so far as they are a distillation of the Word of God, they share that warmth of the Spirit that can comfort the afflicted, strengthen the weak, and give wisdom to those searching for understanding.
Doctrine protects the faith and faithful, “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” Strong doctrinal subscription and teaching will prevent our members from being “carried away.” This is where Presbyterianism has historically shined. We have been able to preserve orthodoxy, often at great cost, by strict adherence to our doctrinal standards. We take vows at our ordination where we confess our belief in the inerrancy of the Word of God and the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) and Catechisms contain the “system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures.” (BCO 21-5). It is our shared commitment to these vows and our mutual trust of one another that we will preach the same gospel, confess the same theology, and defend this shared faith we have received from the schemes of the enemy. This of course is also one of our areas of tension. We continue to work out the ramifications of Good Faith Subscription. We have a growing list of “approved” or “common” exceptions taken by men in the PCA that continue to sow discord among brothers. I say growing based on a 2001 article by Tim Keller, “How Then Shall We Live Together?” This was during the lead up to the passing of Good Faith Subscription (GFS). Keller wrote, “Nearly all presbyters in the PCA subscribe to the WCF with only the most minor exceptions (the only common one being with regard to the Sabbath).”
Today we see two other common exceptions: images of God and creation days. I’ve noticed, even in this year’s Review of Presbytery Records (RPR) Report, a rising number of stated differences, usually at first granted by presbyteries, touching on the continuation of spiritual gifts with differences taken either with WCF 1.10 or 21.3. I do not want us to abandon Good Faith Subscription. I do think we need to have a heart and motive check about how many more areas of doctrine will become “common exceptions” before we really end up jeopardizing our shared confession of faith?
Related to all this is how we perceive one another in this tension. Doctrinalists would do well not to show undo suspicions to those who state a difference to the Standards. We can be thankful for their transparency and honesty in their convictions and that they are following our Book of Church Order (BCO) by informing us in writing of those areas of disagreement with the Confession of Faith. Likewise, those on the Progressive wing would do well to remember that stating a difference does not mean a Presbytery automatically has to agree with you on your difference. Having honest discussions around this will make us a healthier and more fruitful denomination.
Verse 15 says reminds us that we must speak the truth in love. Do we love one another enough to engage in honest and direct conversations? Brothers can we have an honest direct conversation now? Sean Lucas recently wrote for the Alliance for Mission and Renewal on theological triage. There is much to commend in it and the idea of theological triage in general.
Near the end though, Lucas bundles together overtures addressing methodology “whether it is who distributes communion or how we implement the confessional elements of worship through a standardized Directory for Worship, or whether sessions need to report worship times, or who is on their sessions and diaconates.” One of these is not like the other. I agree that the overture about reporting worship times is odd. I honestly do not see the advantage. Why make the Administrative Committee do what Google has already done for us. However, if triage is the assessment of casualties in order to determine the most urgent cases, then the others are certainly more urgent to our denomination.
At last year’s forum the discussion around what Stephen Spinnenweber called “pseudo-ordinations,” “unordained diaconates,” and titles that sound like officers but aren’t will erode trust within our denomination. We ratified an overture amending the language of BCO 7-3, “No one who holds office in the Church ought to usurp authority therein, or receive any official titles of spiritual preeminence, except such as are employed in the Scriptures. Furthermore, as unordained people shall not be referred to as, or given the titles of, the ordained offices of pastor/elder, or deacon.”
Yet, churches continue to find work arounds through creative readings of BCO 5-9e, the Women in Ministry (WIM) study report, or tradition (the local church has done this since we were planted). This is all the more striking since the WIM, sometimes cited as a defense for these practices, states, “Some churches have chosen not to have a formal diaconal work in their churches. Though this practice is not specifically prohibited by the BCO, it seems poorly aligned with the spirit of the two offices of the church outlined in the BCO.” Brothers we took vows to be subject to one another and uphold our government, engaging in such practices threatens the peace of the church.
I want us to have these conversations with love for one another. Let us have the hard conversations and follow the Apostle Paul’s advice from the end of Ephesians 4, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” We must model to the church that her elders can have legitimate disagreements without biting and devouring one another (Gal. 5:15). I feel like I have to say this to all sides: disagreement is not devouring. Devouring is devouring. Mocking on X, passive aggressive posts, threatening to file a 31-2, all these things are how we will devour one another. Honesty and love for one another will help us stay united. Suspicion, secrecy, and slander will destroy us. Our first Moderator warned against this position, “We must put away our former mentality of being suspicious of our fellow churchmen and we must trust and believe our brothers until and unless they prove otherwise.” Some men have proven otherwise, but not all, not yet.
It is when each part of the body is working properly that we grow. My seven-year old is growing quite fast and sometimes gets growing pains. I’ve jokingly asked if she wants me to cut off her legs to alleviate the pain. She jokingly and dramatically responds, “Don’t do that! I need them.” Brothers, growing pains do not require amputations. I do not think our disagreements at this juncture require separation. They require cooperation and a willingness to work together.
How can we do this? Let’s talk in forums like this one. Find a brother who votes differently than you in the presbytery and get coffee or lunch together. Where there is significant disagreement find ways to consider your brother as more significant than yourself. I want to share a brief anecdote from a recent meeting of my presbytery, Savannah River. We are pretty evenly split regarding the 2nd commandments prohibition of images. We frequently meet at First Presbyterian in Augusta, a historic church in American Presbyterianism. In the sanctuary is a giant stain glass window with what some suggest is our Lord Jesus Christ.
As we prepared to meet there this past January, a brother wrote to First Pres. Augusta and shared that he finds it distracting to worship and conduct the affairs of the church in the same place as this image of Jesus. He humbly requested to meet in another part of the church. First Pres was unable to grant that request due to another event happening on the same day. They did come up with another solution that earned the admiration and thankfulness of their brothers. The stain glass window used to be illuminated by natural light. As the church grew, it no longer is exposed to natural light and is lit with light bulbs. The leadership of First Pres simply turned off the lights until no image could be seen. The room may have been a little darker but brotherly affection and unity shined all the brighter for a willingness to work together.
Finally, we must find ways to work together as we prepare to receive the mantle of leadership from the previous generation. Just in the past few months we have seen RTS-Jackson and Charlotte welcome new Presidents who are Gen X to Late Millennials. Briarwood Presbyterian’s new pastor is in his early to mid-50s. As we take over the leadership of the denomination and institutions, we need to remember the author of Hebrews's wise words, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” (Heb 13:7) We do not get to say, “Okay, boomer” and think we’ve led. Fighting is easy. Leading is harder. Brothers, it is time for us to work harder as we we lead together.