The biggest issue facing all the conservative denominations in America is the issue of women’s ordination, whether Anglican, Baptist, or Presbyterian. In the ACNA, a priest ordained his wife on video, which is permissible in the “conservative” Anglican communion. The Southern Baptist Convention failed to ratify the Mike Law amendment and its Credentials Committee intentionally overlooks female pastors when determining “friendly cooperation” in accordance with the SBC constitution and the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
But the Presbyterian Church in America is also facing its own issue of female officers, who, while not “officially ordained,” do hold positions of leadership in the churches and have administered the elements of communion. Earlier this year, one laic found that “5.25% of churches are in violation of the BCO on female deacons.” This did not include the use of other titles, like Shepherdess, but strictly female deacons as listed from the individual church websites. These include notorious churches like Redeemer Presbyterian in New York, the former home to Tim Keller, and Grace DC, home to Irwyn Ince, whose wife is a shepherdess.
Pastor Michael Foster, of East River Church, launched Save The PCA as a means to bring awareness and redress for the violations of the Book of Church Order that have gone unaddressed by the PCA. Foster was previously part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).
Foster’s efforts have uncovered that 7.3% of churches surveyed have either a shepherdess or female deacon on their website. Foster surveyed 1528 church websites out of the 1964 churches in the PCA directory. The data does not delve into the Korean presbyteries and only 78% of these churches had websites. Moreover, “16% of functional English websites had a combination of no elders, no deacons, and/or no other relevant roles listed” making their data incomplete.
Foster’s research heightens the problem of female deacons is evident in 6% of churches and shepherdesses are evident in 2.2% of churches surveyed, which combines to 7.3%. This did not include all titles that were being given to women.
Foster’s research also concluded that women are assigned other titles, some more benign than others, but the primary number of 7.3% is only the shepherdess and deacon. It is evident that even though there were churches that did not cross this barrier, there are titles given that push close to the line of what is a church officer. If St. Paul writes, “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man” then the line would extend beyond church officers but to other functions which could assert broader authority over the local church. As such, titles like elder advisor, women’s board, or women’s councilmember, at worst are a means to work around the Scripture, but at best organize women as an “interest group” within the church. A women’s ministry might exist, but does it need a board, director, or formal leadership to where it is listed on the website?
One of the pernicious subversions that are advocated by The Gospel Coalition types like Jen Wilkin’s is the notion of a women’s advocate, that while she might claim she opposes women’s ordination, she instead argues that women need an “advocate” in the local church. Inherently, such an advocate would side with the women if ever there was a conflict of the sexes, but the very demand for such a role is a means to factionalize women within the church. Even Wilkins infuses psychological language like “trauma-informed response” and other modern notions which naturally would arise from such a role, which is subverting the leadership of the church through modern psychology.
Foster’s research laid out the worst offending presbyteries when it comes to female officers.
The largest offender is that of Metropolitan New York, which is more an indictment of the legacy of Tim Keller, whose church is a chief offender on the list. There is a broader trend that the problem persists in more metropolitan areas.
Conclusion
The PCA will strain the speck of Christian Nationalism and pass the anti-white ARP statement, but ultimately ignore the plank that is female officers in 7% of their churches. This is not a fringe problem but persists in roughly 1 in 13 churches, and this is without including the Koreans or churches that do not disclose this information. The PCA as an institution is captured even though the majority of the churches are faithful adherents to the BCO and WCF. What good is robust theology if institutions will protect blatant violations?
2 Responses
ACNA is not the conservative branch of Anglicanism, they are the moderates. The Continuum is the conservative branch.
I have some real problems with some of the ways this is being done, and how deceptive it can be. If there needs to be a discussion about female deacons and the difference in the Biblical roles of deacon and elder, then there should be one, and it should take into account both the BOCO and the Scriptural arguments on both sides. But it should not simply be acted on when a church has placed itself under the authority of the PCA.