Call to Arms

Churches As Sexual Revolution Battlefields

By ROD DREHER

This just in from a reader:

Three very important but seriously under reported stories came out this weekend about Evangelical churches and their responses to LGBT issues. First the PCA (a supposedly conservative evangelical Calvinist denomination) adopted the Nashville Statement at their general assembly. Hurray, orthodoxy prevailed right? Except the vote was 803-541, or 60% to 40%. Which means that 40% of that church voted to deny their own church’s teaching on human sexuality. The same situation that caused the PCUSA to crumble will inevitably happen to the PCA, remember that the first vote on the LGBT agenda failed in the PCUSA by similar margins (298-221, 57% to 43%) circa 2006. Except the sexual revolutionaries kept bringing the issue up and the margins got closer and closer until in 2014 they succeeded. Given the status of Covenant Seminary and its open embrace of Revoice, I am not optimistic about the future of the PCA.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/june/pca-nashville-statement-lgbt-revoice-sbc-ecc-vote.html

Secondly, the Evangelical Covenant church voted to expel one of their leading congregations. By a 77% to 23% vote, the annual meeting expelled First Covenant Church of Minneapolis over this issue. While that should in theory be a victory, remember that once again, theological nihilists are in charge of training future pastors for their church. Compare that to the situation at the Mennonite Church USA which was in a similar situation. The church itself was largely conservative, but liberals were in charge of training their pastors. In the Mennonite Church USA, they also had a church that began promoting the sexual revolution and the general conference expelled said church. The revolutionaries continued behind the scenes, revised the church’s position and said congregation was welcomed back with open arms.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/minneapolis-pastor-and-church-expelled-over-gay-marriage

The last story is a bit older, but no less significant and much less talked about. The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) just completed its annual conference, and the forces of Sexual Revolution are on the march. There is now active organizations at all levels of the denomination seeking to “enlighten” the church on LGBTQ+ issues. Once again, given that theological nihilists are training pastors at their premier seminary, the future is not bright at that institution either.

https://www.theaquilareport.com/the-continuing-downgrade-in-the-christian-reformed-church/

You have three supposedly conservative churches that are about to crumble to the forces of secularism. For the last 40 years, the only institution that has withstood the secularist assault has been evangelical churches; they have proven themselves to be very tough nuts to crack. But even the hardest walnut will eventually crumble. I know that you are currently writing a book about the resistance the church provided to communism, but I will not lie here or engage in pointless flattery:

I do not see how this turns out well for the church in America. 

This reader’s e-mail highlights precisely why, in the Benedict Option concept, I believe that the churches have to focus much more intensely on self-reform, and spiritual discipline. As I say in the book, I am not opposed to Christians being involved in politics — in fact, on the religious liberty question at least, it’s mandatory — but our first and by far more important battle is within our own churches and families. . . . 

UPDATE: A PCA pastor e-mails to say the reader (whom I don’t know personally; he is not a “friend”) I quoted above significantly distorts what happened:

While there was a lot of debate over commending the Nashville Statement, and the numbers did come down to 60/40, this was far more complicated than your friend indicated. Many voted against it because of concerns over the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (who was behind the Statement, and has promoted what many believe to be pretty goofy views of male/female roles), because our own Westminster Confession is already quite clear about sexual sin (so, many argued, why would we need to hastily adopt a somewhat clunky and unnuanced statement, signed by oodles of Calvinist/evangelical celebrities, in order to “do/say something!”), because (fairly or unfairly) the NS statement has become somewhat radioactive in the broader evangelical world (ie, that it is considered by many to be harsh and unloving, at least in tone), and because it says nothing about how to care for those who struggle in these sins. I know multiple non-progressives (myself included) who voted against commending the NS.

Furthermore, right after this debate and vote the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to commend the RPCNA (a small sister-denomination)’s study report on same-sex attraction/sin, which is entirely orthodox and biblical, though much longer and far more nuanced/pastoral, but without the (fair and unfair) “baggage” of the Nashville Statement.

Finally, Covenant Seminary has not “openly embraced” Revoice; in fact, in the months leading up to this week’s Assembly it has repeatedly issued multiple statements (some through its president) clearly and openly distancing itself from Revoice and its teaching. Your friend is simply wrong here.