In 2008 Dr. John Robbins asked me to write a companion to his excellent, Can the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Be Saved. John went home to be with his Lord in August of that year. I don’t recall whether we had any conversations about what I came up with to fulfill his request, but in 2009 the Trinity Foundation published my little book regarding the future of the Presbyterian Church in America. At the time of publication many still held out hope that PCA could indeed be saved. However, the future of the PCA was sealed a couple of years later with the trials of leading Federal Vision shills Peter Leithart (Pacific Northwest Presbytery) and Jeffrey Meyers (Missouri Presbytery). Both these men were cleared of the serious charge of heresy . . . despite the PCA’s 2007 report condemning the Federal Vision as “contrary to the Westminster Standards” on a number of counts to include the doctrine of justification by belief alone.
While the writing was already on the wall in big red letters, it wasn’t until the General Assembly of the PCA upheld the lower courts decisions before even the most stubborn should have realized the fight for the PCA was over. If a church is unwilling to defend the purity and simplicity of the Gospel against counterfeit challengers like the Federal Vision, then it’s not much of a stretch to suspect they will tolerate a myriad of lesser departures from the faith, which is exactly what has happened to the PCA.
When I got the first proofs of my little book the original cover was of a woman’s praying hands. I suspect Dr. Robbins son in-law and new president of the Trinity Foundation, Tom Juodaitis, was one of those people who still held out hope for the PCA. I didn’t share that opinion and I asked Tom if he could find a cover more in line with the book’s main thesis. I asked if he could find a nice picture of a burnt out husk of church. I’m so glad he did. Today the PCA is a safe haven for Federal Visionists and continues its slide into complete apostasy. One recent example is that an openly homosexual Teaching Elder, Greg Johnson, one of the leaders in the so-called “Revoice” LBGTQ moment in the PCA (yes, there is an LBGTQ movement in the PCA), was cleared of all charges by the Missouri Presbytery (the same bankrupt Presbytery that cleared Federal Visonist Jeffrey Meyers who remains in the PCA as a pastor in “good standing“).
Earlier this year PCA pastor, Dewey Roberts, while a little late to the party, saw the writing on the wall and said farewell to the PCA which he served for 43 years. Roberts was one of the men fighting the Federal Vision and is the author of Historic Christianity and the Federal Vision: A Theological Analysis and Practical Evaluation (currently out of print). The PCA’s acceptance of openly homosexual Greg Johnson was the last of many straws that caused him to separate from a denomination which has long since lost its way. Roberts wrote:
There are people who say they are going to stay in the PCA and fight to reclaim it. Well, here is my advice. If you want to stay in the PCA and fight, make sure that you do not become a faithful reprover or zealous reformer. If you do, your presbytery and denomination will not like it. You will be persecuted. You might find your knees cut off from underneath you, figuratively speaking. The fact that homosexuality is such an issue in the PCA is an indication that the spirit of the world has already entered into this denomination. The spirit of the world does not like to be reproved and reformed. The PCA will let you stay and vote as long as you can accept the downward spiral without sounding too much of an alarm. But… the PCA does not want you to be a faithful reprover and zealous reformer.
Admittedly, there are still faithful pastors ministering under the radar in the PCA. Let’s call them stragglers. One of the most notable is Patrick Hines, pastor of Bridwell Heights Presbyterian Church in Kingsport, TN. A couple of days ago I listened to his podcast, Doug Wilson Chesterton & Tolkien where he demolishes one of Doug Wilson’s favorite strawmen; the assertion that we are not saved by our “doctrinal works.” Wilson has bamboozled quite a few churchmen with this misleading line of argument and uses it to defend his belief that Roman Catholics like G. K. Chesterton and J. R. R. Tolkien are residing in glory despite their rejection of the Gospel. Hines also has a number of other podcasts where he dismantles any notion that Doug Wilson is anything other than a Christ denying heretic of the first order . . . (and even through we all knew that, it’s still helpful to listen to how Hines dismantles Wilson and I wish the clueless James White — who defends Wilson — would listen to them). Hines also has a slew of excellent podcasts on the pro-homosexual “Revoice” movement in the PCA. All highly recommend.
Finally, if anyone is interested in a free copy of Can the Presbyterian Church in American Be Saved? you can find my email address in the “About” section of this blog and I’ll be happy to send you a copy provided you’re in the U.S. and as long as my cache of books holds out. Also, don’t expect it quickly. I’m not Amazon.