I’ve been SBC & PCA. I don’t think women’s ordination is biblical. I strongly affirm the historic sexual ethic.

But…

It isn’t hard to see why ppl question our integrity & priorities when both seem to take WO & homosexuality way more seriously than abuse.

1/4 The SBC seems to have no problem acting quickly to make a list of churches w/ female pastors, to disfellowship churches approving of homosexual behavior or WO, but they struggle to urgently address abuse & track abusers.

2/4

On PCA subscription:
Following Hodge, Warfield, Machen, & Murray, the Old School took a system subscription position that allowed more than semantic exceptions differing w/ whole propositions within the standards & allowed these exceptions to be taught.
etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDF…
1/ Those in the PCA claiming that exceptions are doctrinal errors & invalid interpretations of Scripture that cannot be taught or practiced are violating the historic Presbyterian approach to subscription generally & the PCA's historical practice in particular.

2/

This essay on baptism & catholicity by @PLeithart is the best & most concise argument I’ve read demonstrating that Baptists are insufficiently catholic b/c of credobaptism.

Highlights in the 🧵 of 19.

jbtsonline.org/wp-content/upl… “Baptismal theology and practice decide the boundaries of the church.”

“Paedobaptism best expresses the multidimensional catholicity
of the church. Negatively, I argue that credo- or believer's baptism is necessarily subcatholic…”

Now that #pcaga is over, I want to offer some reflections. (Mega 🧵 ahead)

Overall, I am pleased with the assembly even though a few matters did not got the way I had hoped.

1 of abt 45 But before I talk abt the business, let me offer a few reflections on non-business related joys.

First of all, like last year, I was most encouraged by the fellowship gathering on Wednesday night at Oak Mt. Presbyterian, aka, “Mike’s Dinner.”

2/

We’re now at the order of the day: nominating committee.

We vote in appointments to various permanent committees.

#pcaga Several very close votes with a difference of 4 and 10 votes.
Most split 55/45.
#pcaga

A 🧵with insights from Carl Trueman in his excellent book, "The Creedal Imperative," written particularly for those in non-creedal traditions (ie. evangelicals, Baptists, Brethren, etc.) fond of saying "No creed but the Bible."

1/ 1) On Creeds & Confessions
"All churches and all Christians have a creed or a confession...When asked by friends what the Bible teaches, we all try to offer a synthesis, a summary of what the Bible says. And as we move from biblical text to theological statement, we offer..."
2/

If you're a credobaptist b/c no one can show you an place or example in the Bible where an infant is baptized, then you also must deny communion to women based on the same interpretive principle given we have no explicit example of that practice either. If you're a credobaptist b/c you think all the examples of baptism in the NT are of people who hear the gospel, believe, and profess faith, don't forget that the focus of the NT is on the conversion of Gentiles & don't forget abt household baptisms. God often saves by household.

A 🧵:

Despite the appearance, the Baptist's primary error is in anthropology, not ecclesiology & sacraments.

What began as an important corrective to the state church resulted in an incorrect view of the individual & then further errors abt the church.

1/ In the late medieval state churches of Europe, citizens & church members were one & the same. This was an ecclesial error that led to many problems, one of which was the failure of the church to discipline its members. The church is the community of faith, but if every...
2/

Observations on PCA overture disagreements from multiple conversations :

Many of the supporters of the Os continue to misunderstand or misrepresent many who voted No.

1) Many are still wrongly claiming the “No” voters think it is ok to embrace a gay identity.

https://twitter.com/presbycast/status/1493913311695548421

The disagreement is not over whether or not this is ok to do but whether or not any use of “gay” (or like terms) as a personal descriptor is a statement of identity.

The report urges caution in this sort of terminology, but leaves it open to ppl to exercise wisdom.

With the unofficial but apparent failure of Overtures 23 & 37, it’s time for us in the PCA to both rejoice & lament, perhaps for different reasons, and to renew & pursue unity in spirit & action.

1/11 Personally, I’m glad these Os failed. As many of you know, I think they were poorly written, ill-conceived, contrary to the sexuality report, & likely damaging to our witness & ability to avoid frivolous cases in our courts.

2/

Thread to PCAers concerning O23 & O37:

A big reason to vote NO: 1) These overtures cannot accomplish what many hope but 2) will certainly do damage. 1) As a friend planning to vote YES admitted to me recently, these overtures will not accomplish what so many hope they will accomplish, namely, to compel presbytery's to examine candidates on character.

FYI: missional ≠ committed to missions and/or evangelism

"Missional" is a term referring to the movement started by Lesslie Newbigin & David Bosch & continued by thinkers like Darrell Guder.

1/4 Missional churches/leaders:
1. understand the mission of God & the church holistically as a restoration of creation in Christ rather than narrowly as mere conversion in Christ
2. reject the attractional approach of the seeker movement

2/4

In *You Are Not Your Own,* @TheAlanNoble says that in order to meet the responsibilities of self-belonging in the modern world, our attempts to justify our existence are like the fantasy of porn, leaving us feeling dissatisfied, tiny, meaningless, & sad. “…a society premised on the sovereign self has no discernable ends, only an ever expanding and ever demanding number of means. The goal of our striving cannot be reached because it is self-defined. The image of our fulfilled life is forever shifting.”

With help from from Thomas Witherow, I shall make you a Presbyterian (re: polity) by the end of this 🧵 by looking at the pattern & principles laid dow in Scripture. For context:
1/25

https://twitter.com/derekradney/status/1414922123106209801

1st: In the Church at the time of the Apostles, the ordinary officers in the church were bishops & deacons. Bishops were also called elders & pastors, so there were three terms for the same office.
(Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Timothy 3:2ff & 5:17ff; Titus 1:5-7; 1 Peter 5:1-5).

2/

After reading the @gospelrefnet article by @HarryLReeder3 on the threat of progressive Christianity, I thought I’d address several misconceptions I hope will assure him & those like him in the PCA that he need not be concerned abt the missional crowd.
1/
gospelreformation.net/historic-bibli… Reeder argues that, while different in that it doesn’t promote the same liberal theo., “Progressive Christianity and Liberal Christianity are both cut from the same bolt of cloth.”
While this may be true, this Progressive Christianity is not what’s being espoused in the PCA.
2/

@MeltonDuncan @IVMiles Thanks for asking, Melton. I’d be happy to offer some thoughts.

First, I agree w/ Trueman that: “…it is now clear that rumors of the PCA’s proximity to the PCUSA on the key issues of our day have been greatly exaggerated.”
1/ @MeltonDuncan @IVMiles This has been one of the biggest points I’ve been trying to make leading up to GA. It is abundantly clear that we have widespread agreement on our theology of sin & sanctification.
2/

In “The End of Our Exploring” @mattleeanderson observes that often, what we experience as the terror of God’s indifference or rejection isn’t rejection at all but merely a frustration of that to which we feel entitled. “Fundamentalism takes the form of a worry that on some level reason or science will undermine Christianity—which seems to mean ignoring them altogether. In such an environment, “faith” takes the form of holding onto a particular stance as a certainty, such that…

🧵on #pcaga re: what’s happened w/ the overtures on ordination & same-sex attraction (SSA), what's it mean, how did we get here, & what do I think. I was on the overtures committee (OC), helped craft the final language of O23, & contributed to the minority report of O37.
1/ First: What happened at #pcaga?
GA passed 2 overtures to change the PCA Book of Church Order (BCO). This is step 1 of 3. Step 2 requires 2/3 of the presbyteries to approve the changes by majority vote before next GA, & step 3 a majority vote next GA. Nothing has changed, yet.
2/

This morning, most people will be tied up in seminars, business meetings, and networking. The assembly will reconvene at 11am.
Study report on sexuality will be delivered at 1:45pm.
#pcaga Great thread for #pcaga

https://twitter.com/timkellernyc/status/1410077560906584066

#pcaga is now assembled. We finished our opening worship service, quorum has been established, and we will soon elect a new moderator. We’re working on testing electronic voting devices.
#pcaga

Observations abt the common conditions in communities that drive ppl to abandon the Christian faith:
1) Hypocrisy: high expectations by leaders w/ low performance, double standards, or abuse
2) Certainty: Qs or doubts abt God or Scripture are given no place & viewed as sinful
1/ 3) Control: ppl are pressured formally & informally to speak, dress, act, & behave in highly regulated ways beyond the boundaries laid out in Scripture
4) Separatism: non-Christians are demonized morally & intellectually, viewed as dangerous & to be avoided
2/