- Presbyterian Church in America, an influential evangelical Christian denomination, gathered for a general assembly in Richmond from June 10-13.
- A factional divide largely over women's authority in the church materialized at the PCA General Assembly with an overture to give constitutional status to a section banning women from preaching.
- Meanwhile, the PCA General Assembly approved an overture asking questions to denomination agencies about the influence of "Jesus Calling" by the late Nashville author Sarah Young.
An attempt at tightening constitutional limits on women’s authority in churches affiliated with an influential Presbyterian denomination narrowly failed over concerns about the effect on governance standards.
But that same denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), also approved an inquiry into the late Nashville author Sarah Young’s influence on certain PCA agencies.
Both actions at the recent PCA General Assembly in Richmond, Virginia, reflect a growing anxiety among a more conservative faction within the prominent evangelical Christian group over women’s roles in ministry settings. It also coincides with a broader debate across evangelical Christianity as evidenced by a simultaneous legislative dispute at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis.
A measure to enshrine a ban on women pastors in the Nashville-based SBC narrowly failed in a June 12 vote. The day before, the convention overwhelmingly voted to disfellowship First Baptist Church Alexandria in Virginia for its egalitarian stance on women in ministry. FBC Alexandria became the seventh church ousted from the SBC for having a woman pastor or for not holding to complementarianism, referring to a belief that men and women have certain assigned roles.
The debate last week within the PCA — which is similarly complementarian but is structured around a different system of church hierarchy — mirrored that of the SBC as some PCA delegates, called commissioners, warned a proposed restriction on women preaching could set a dangerous precedent.
“Is this necessary? Does it help? Are there unintended consequences? I think it fails every one of those tests,” said Nashville-based commissioner Kevin Twitt during a June 13 floor debate at the PCA General Assembly in Richmond. “The lack of clarity to this makes it not only not necessary but also potentially divisive.”
The debate surrounded a proposal, called an overture, to amend and give constitutional status to a section of the PCA Book of Church Order known as the “directory of worship,” which gives guidance on preaching and administering sacraments. By adding the language “only qualified men may be invited to preach in any of the churches under our care,” the overture would have allowed church courts to discipline churches that allow women to preach.
“If we don’t want women to preach and think it’s unbiblical for women to preach in our churches, we need to say so clearly,” said South Carolina commissioner Richard Phillips during the floor debate, speaking for the overture.
The measure ultimately lost by a margin of just 26 votes after 51% of commissioners voted against it.
More on SBC vote on women pastors ban:Southern Baptist ban on women pastors fails in historic vote
Factional divides centered on women’s authority
The proposed ban on women preaching is part of a factional divide in the PCA that has largely revolved around women’s authority in the church.
A more conservative faction within the PCA, of which many supporters are associated with an advocacy group called the Gospel Reformation Network and who have sought to pull the denomination further to the right, have criticized others in the denomination who have elevated women’s roles in the church through appointing deaconesses.
The late Rev. Tim Keller, founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and one of the most influential contemporary evangelical figures in the U.S., was a champion of appointing deaconesses and pupils followed suit.
Among those was Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville and its former pastor, the Rev. Scott Sauls, who recently left the PCA and cited his shifting views on women in ministry. Prior to Sauls’ departure, another Nashville congregation, Koinonia, left the PCA for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church over its stance on women’s authority in the church.
The PCA General Assembly this year ratified an overture it approved at last year’s gathering in Memphis prohibiting women from holding the title of deacon — though it technically doesn’t ban those from holding the title of deaconess. The proposed constitutional ban on women preaching this year was an extension of that push.
“This amendment is unifying,” said Georgia commissioner Ryan Biese, a Gospel Reformation Network ally, during the June 13 floor debate speaking for the overture. “It is silent on issues of debate or contention in the denomination but only adds language to our directory of worship that reflects what is already widely agreed upon in the PCA.”
Opponents of the proposed measure pointed out during the June 13 floor debate that other sections of the PCA Book of Church Order restrict ordination to men only and allow churches to limit who is allowed to preach. Those critics also pointed out that proponents of the overture saw it as a first step to strengthening restrictions on women reading scripture during church services.
PCA General Assembly last year:Presbyterian Church in America backs limits amid sexuality and women deacon debates
Inquiry into Sarah Young’s 'Jesus Calling'
In what some considered to be a counter to the vote against the proposed constitutional restriction on women preaching, the PCA General Assembly narrowly approved an overture seeking more information on the relationship between two PCA agencies and the book “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young.
Based on what Young described as an experience of divine inspiration and written from Jesus’ perspective, the devotional both exploded in popularity and fueled pushback for alleged “blasphemy.” Young, who died in September, was long involved with the PCA by attending its flagship seminary and serving with its missionary agency. Her husband, Steve Young, pastors a PCA church in Brentwood.
Those connections were the basis of a proposed overture to the PCA General Assembly this year for a sweeping investigation into the influence of “Jesus Calling” on the PCA as a whole and “recommendations for any warranted actions of repentance by the PCA.”
A general assembly subcommittee rejected that original proposal and instead put forward a narrower request. That request asked the Committee on Discipleship Ministries to “assess the book’s appropriateness for Christians in general and PCA members and congregations in particular with special regard for its doctrine and method.” Mission to the World, or the PCA’s missionary agency that Young and her husband served with, received a similar request.
Florida commissioner Steve Tipton, who chaired the subcommittee on overtures, said the inquiry into “Jesus Calling” is not a condemnation of “any person, any book.”
But Steve Young himself didn’t see it that way and before 53% of commissioners voted for the overture on “Jesus Calling,” sought to elevate the memory of his late wife and the impact of her writing.
“A majority of the PCA family and friends have been positively impacted by Sarah’s books,” said Steve Young during the June 13 floor debate. “I humbly ask you join me in voting down these potentially divisive amendments and thank God for the good fruit that continues to be born through Sarah Young’s books.”
Sarah Young obit:Sarah Young, Nashville author of popular 'Jesus Calling' devotional, dies at 77
Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams.
