PCA Presbytery Declines Accountability Over Joel Littlepage Catholic Defection

Earlier this month, Joel Littlepage announced his defection from the PCA to the Roman Catholic Church during a Sunday morning service in which he also oversaw communion and was prayed over by the other pastoral staff. The church in question was GraceDC Mosaic, which is a notoriously liberal multicampus church in the nation’s capital. The church is home to Irwyn Ince, the anti-white PCA pastor who departed the PCA’s Missions to North America explicitly over the Littlepage scandal, though Michael Foster alleges that the move was going to happen regardless.

While the pastors at GraceDC Mosaic have claimed that they knew nothing about Littlepage’s popish affections, circumstantial evidence like the April letter announcing Littlepage’s departure, along with his Facebook announcement for a position at a Catholic school, presents evidence that they should have known prior to his announcement from the pulpit on a Sunday. This evidence, which was available at the time, should have compelled them to report to the local presbytery, but they instead are claiming ignorance.

Recently, the Potomac Presbytery, which oversees the PCA churches in the DC, MD, VA, and parts of the WV area held a local session wherein the subject of Littlepage was redressed.

There were three Recommendations pertaining to Irwyn Ince and the GraceDC network over the Littlepage defection. Recommendation 2 was adopted for the erasure of Littlepage from the roles of the Potomac Presbytery.

Recommendation 3 was a request to direct the CMMW to cite GraceDC under Chapter 40-5 of the Book of Church Order (BCO):

40-5. When any court having appellate jurisdiction shall receive a credible report with respect to the court next below of any important delinquency or grossly unconstitutional proceedings of such court, the first step shall be to cite the court alleged to have offended to appear before the court having appellate jurisdiction, or its commission, by representative or in writing, at a specified time and place, and to show what the lower court has done or failed to do in the case in question.

The Recommendation sought for the church to appear before the presbytery to answer for Littlepage’s actions. The Session declined to take action, citing the letter written by GraceDC on September 9^th claiming ignorance. Basically, they took the church at their word despite countervailing evidence.

Recommendation 4 sought to direct the CMMW to cite Irwyn Ince to appear under BCO 31-2:

31-2. It is the duty of all church Sessions and Presbyteries to exercise care over those subject to their authority. They shall with due diligence and great discretion demand from such persons satisfactory explanations concerning reports affecting their Christian character. This duty is more imperative when those who deem themselves aggrieved by injurious reports shall ask an investigation.

Now, the character of Irwyn Ince is already deficient as he is on tape claiming to be fatigued from having to deal with a “white context,” but the Potomac Presbytery rejects the recommendation, claiming that his letter “fully vindicated his character with respect to the matter of Joel Littlepage.”

Analysis

It is unsurprising that the Potomac Presbytery of the PCA decided against accountability on behalf of GraceDC and Irwyn Ince. Rather than enforce their Book of Church Order, wherein there is ample evidence to suggest that they either did know or should have known, they decide against holding them to account for their, at the very least, gross negligence.

Behind the move to stop accountability was David Coffin, former Teaching Elder at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Va. Back in June, Coffin wrote a letter in defense of Byran Chapell, the disgraced Stated Clerk of the PCA who resigned because he brandished a legible list of names whom he accused of being “scandalizers” in the church. Coffin argued that the reaction and resignation of Chapell was a trial by social media. Coffin argued that though Chapell committed a “tolerable weakness of the flesh,” he did not, in fact, lie, despite several of the names being verifiably vindicated of any wrongdoing. In fact, several had been dead for decades, and one was slandered because of a true-crime podcast. Others were critical of the National Association of Evangelicals or Tim Keller.

Conclusion

With men like David Coffin running the presbyteries, the institutions will protect themselves and will be reticent to hold their own accountable, especially against a liberal figure in the PCA like Irwyn Ince, who has had multiple controversies this year. Of course, the PCA was not going to hold GraceDC accountable for allowing a pastor to conduct his duties while harboring Romanist convictions. Of course, the PCA will not enforce the BCO against Kellerite churches that flaunt their very tradition with female deacons and shepherdesses.

What good is a great tradition and robust theology if managerialism prevents the proper maintenance thereof? This is the ultimate battle of the PCA.

H/T Michael Foster