2023 PCA Forward
By Jason Cornwell, February 17, 2023.
As the PCA is celebrating its 50th year, it seems as if we, reflecting the culture around us, are in a season of increased polarization. At the very least, the volume dial has been turned up a few notches. With the defeat of Overture 15 this year, it seems as if the human sexuality discussion is winding down and being resolved. With that in mind, I think we need to take a step back and view the big picture in order to ascertain what our success and health in the future might look like. How do we do that? I’d like to explore several fronts which I believe will foster growth and camaraderie. Some of these steps would apply to the Christian Church in general as we enter an increasingly post-Christian context and others apply specifically to the PCA
1. The PCA collectively needs to realize who she is. She is a Big Tent, hodge-podge (if you will) of officers committed to and centered around the Reformed Faith as expressed in the Westminster Standards all the while representing a wide range of animating values. This realization should be expressed in several ways:
A. We should all admit and gather around the fact that the PCA is overwhelmingly on the same page in regards to human sexuality. The AIC Study Committee Report is a resource well-worth study and application. The defeats of Overtures 23, 37, and 15 as well as the almost unanimous adoption of Overtures 29 and 31 reveal that there is no slippery slope or going soft on sexual ethics in the PCA. Any rhetoric resembling such is unfortunately a violation of the 9th commandment and our doctrinal standards in that regard. Our little corner of Christ’s Kingdom has decided on multiple occasions with reference to how we will both handle and speak about this matter. We’ve spent much time, resources, and energy on this subject over the past 5 years. It would be unhelpful to enter the “overture/debate/vote/fail” cycle again. I trust we will use our limited resources on other subjects moving forward.
B. We must do the hard work of self-examination and find out if we may be more affected by the American political scene of the last 50 years than we realize. One of the many cultural forces that has shaped us over the past half-century has been the increasingly more binary and more biting content and rhetoric of talk radio and the 24-hour news cycle. Hopefully, we have enough self-awareness to understand how that has affected the occupants of both pew and pulpit. "Answering some questions may be a helpful exercise promoting self-awareness:
Over the last 7-10 years, have the sources that speak to the issues in our denomination been marked by a tone of negativity or positivity?
Have outlets represented the issues with clarity, charity, and accuracy or have they been marked by mis-representation?
Have the voices represented the issues well while fostering an atmosphere that’s conducive to trust and truth or have they fostered suspicion?
These outlets aren’t courts of the church and so perhaps we need to tune out the platforms which give rise to the most angst.The problem is not that there are differing philosophies of ministry in the PCA. That’s in our DNA. Rather, problems arise when philosophies of ministry become litmus tests of orthodoxy Perhaps (these outlets needs examine themselves to see what sort of atmosphere they’ve fostered)..
C. We must all admit and gather around the fact that we are a Big Tent, Good Faith subscription denomination. Unity can be had and should be pursued. With that in mind unity and uniformity aren’t the same thing. Holding a posture of intellectual curiosity while “majoring on the majors” will provide a healthy denominational atmosphere, rather than simply pursuing uniformity. I didn’t grow up in Presbyterian circles; rather, I hail from an Independent Fundamental Baptist church. When comparing Baptist and Presbyterian history in America one could rightly parrot the joke:
“When Baptists get angry with one another, they start a new church. When Presbyterians get angry with one another, they start a new denomination.”
American Presbyterianism is an exercise in acronyms, among other items, and, at times, it seems like borrowing a line from the game show Wheel of Fortune: “I’d like to buy a vowel.” With that in mind, the PCA is unique in its mission, its growing diversity, and its ability to thrive in urban, rural, and suburban contexts. That might make some uncomfortable. That discomfort might translate into an effort to standardize every practice and every church into uniformity, raising every issue to a primary issue. That effort would not have a positive outcome since, as a friend of mine has put it, that view cannot be sustained in the long-term. We would never think twice about a church in urban China and a church in rural Kenya looking different; why would we think it strange that there are differences in PCA churches located in a metro northeastern city and one located in the rural Deep South? There are American Presbyterian denominations who are largely uniform in look and practice and this uniformity might express itself in several ways (worship, representation, etc). If uniformity is an overarching priority, then there are Presbyterian and Reformed denominations that would fit that bill. Again, the PCA is not one of them and a pursuit to that end seems divisive in the least.
2. The PCA must focus on the issue of abuse. - We’re far behind the curve of victim advocacy, systems of prevention, and, where necessary, processes of restoration and reconciliation. The DASA AIC Report last year is an invaluable and necessary starting point and resource. The lion’s share of overtures moving forward should be focusing on abuse prevention and victim advocacy, rather than human sexuality. How can we set up our Book of Church Order so that abusers are disciplined properly and not merely those who step outside of our doctrinal boundaries? The Church in America has been the focal point of much bad press recently and unfortunately, it’s been well-deserved. We’ve even been guilty of that in our own circles. It’s time to make certain that the Church is a safe haven and a leader in victim advocacy.
3. The PCA must tend to both the physical, mental, and social, and spiritual health of pastors. Recent data on pastoral health paints a rather ugly picture for the state or our profession. For a number of reasons loneliness and continued societal pressures weigh on our minds and hearts. One need only to scan the crowd at the General Assembly to see we are adversely affected by obesity. These trends are becoming increasingly noticed. Denominations like ECO are having better success that we are in this area and it’s time we start realizing and rectifying this with better structures, processes, and teamwork. Emotionally Healthy Discipleship is a good place to start. We must fight against the sin of gluttony. We must address the loneliness epidemic in ministers. We must take care of our physical bodies. We must provide resources and connections for the overall well-being of pastors. With a little calorie-counting, extra steps, pastoral cohorts, and counseling, we could reverse many of these detrimental trends. Our public witness and livelihood depend on it.
4. The PCA must think long and hard about what local ministry looks like. Each of us ministers in a different context with different proximate priorities. Each church has different stresses, advantages, and needs. We must work to listen to our community’s stories, needs, worries, and questions. Recently, The Gospel Coalition announced The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics and I’m delighted to see this happen. That being said, that particular agency can serve as a macro-resource for most of the leaders in our denomination. We need more micro-resources that are even more local, such as Christ for Kentucky. Jake Meador provides a dynamic vision of what could happen when the local church ministers well while connecting with and building up various local resources. It’s been said that many of us have answers to questions no one is asking. We should know the good, the bad, and the ugly of our towns. This knowledge should lead us to focus as local chaplains, providing care and faithful presence to those in third places outside our church walls. This also necessarily means that we know the idols, hopes, and dreams of our own congregations. It’s easy to make an application “out there” rather than “in here.” Folks should know us in the places we frequent, whether it is the local gym, kid’s rec league, school board meeting, or chamber of commerce, for example. This will keep us plenty busy and significantly cut down on the time we have to police others’ work.
Turning the page on the recent debates and reframing our focus around the aforementioned issues should be our priority going forward both for our own personal health and the health of the PCA. We have much to celebrate regarding work God has done in the last 50 years within the PCA. Giving ourselves to examine the aforementioned priorities should ensure a healthy start to another 50 years and beyond for our denomination that is “faithful to the Scriptures, true to the reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission.”
Jason Cornwell, a Pittsburgh native, is the planting pastor at North Augusta Fellowship in North Augusta, SC.
