For numerous reasons it is my belief that now is not the time to leave the PCA, and I would encourage churches and teaching elders contemplating such action to stay and “fight the good fight.”  I would encourage more churches to become actively involved in both their presbyteries and at the General Assembly level. The ruling elders of our denomination have recently risen up and enabled us to have a greater voice for our conservative beliefs, and we must not retreat. 

Probably no one is more disappointed in the failure of Overture 15 than I am. Overture 15 would have codified the position that Side B homosexuals will not be allowed to be ordained as officers in the PCA. Last year, I predicted it would not pass the two-thirds threshold vote required of presbyteries, but until recently, I still maintained a small amount of hope.
How a statement so straight-forward and plain could fail is incomprehensible.  In days when perversion is becoming rampant in our society, we did not make a clear and unequivocal stand on this important issue. We failed to bear a good testimony to a generation living in darkness.
Like many of my brethren in the PCA, I must not only deal with disappointment but also with fatigue.  After fighting this battle for several years, I am tired and weary. Something in me just wants to give up, transfer to another denomination, or just become part of a local independent church. Some PCA churches undoubtedly will withdraw into their own local shell and isolate themselves, ignoring what goes on in the broader church.
I know that those who voted against the Overture will have well-developed and refined theological arguments for their vote.  I suspect that their consciences are clear.
However, one of my major concerns is perception. For example, I have heard others outside of the PCA interpret our action as opening the floodgate for homosexual preachers.  I do not think they understand all the nuances of the action, but regardless, this is how the PCA is now perceived in reformed and evangelical circles. At times, perception is everything.  This may not be everything in this case, but it is a major consideration.
I have dedicated much of my life to the PCA.  I am hurt because her character has been tarnished. It is akin to someone impugning the reputation of my own wife.
Yet, I am reminded of a few biblical passages that give me some encouragement.  “And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for we shall reap if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9).  For we have “not resisted to the point of shedding blood (Heb. 14:4).” Weariness is never a reason to give up the fight.  Weariness produces a temptation that must be resisted.
I am encouraged by several of things in the PCA.  First, it was heartening to me that even though the majority report of the Committee of Commissioners at the 49th General Assembly voted against the Overture, a minority report supporting the Overture was adopted by the Court.  According to the latest report at www.pcapolity.com, 45 presbyteries have now cast a positive vote for Overture 15, a majority of the total of 88 presbyteries, with 12 more still to vote.  I am also encouraged that a number of other overtures on this same issue will be forthcoming at the 50th General Assembly in Memphis. Greg Johnson and the Memorial Church have left the PCA.  This has promoted the peace and purity of our denomination.  There is an awareness among conservative presbyteries that we need to put more of our men on the GA Nominating Committee.  Thus, even with this defeat, overall, there are positive signs of hope.
Then too, I can always come home to my own Presbytery (Westminster) where we have already taken our stand on this issue. Only a judicial case against us could possibly change our minds, and I do not see that happening. In a document adopted by our Presbytery, (a document that does not rise to the level of our confessional standards), we have stated clearly that “men who identify as homosexual, even those who identify as homosexual and claim to practice celibacy in that self-identification, are disqualified from holding office in Westminster Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America.”  Any man who seeks to become a part of this Presbytery will be sent a document containing this statement, and told if he does not agree with it, then he need not apply for membership. He will not pass our examination. I would encourage other presbyteries to follow our example.
For numerous reasons it is my belief that now is not the time to leave the PCA, and I would encourage churches and teaching elders contemplating such action to stay and “fight the good fight.”  I would encourage more churches to become actively involved in both their presbyteries and at the General Assembly level. The ruling elders of our denomination have recently risen up and enabled us to have a greater voice for our conservative beliefs, and we must not retreat.
We are Presbyterians and we do believe that the church is connected by way of graded courts. We are not Congregationalists. We believe that our system of government is biblical, or so at least we took a vow declaring it to be so.  Every elder in the PCA has an obligation to participate in the work of the church at both the Presbytery and General Assembly level. To fail to do so, apart from providential reasons, is to fall short of our calling by God.
It is my personal conviction that Presbyterianism in America reflects modern consumerism more than it does the Bible or even the examples of our heroes of the past.  We are raised in a culture of a multitude of choices evident every time we go shopping.  We can buy a Chevrolet or a Ford. We are free to move from one state to another at our own discretion.  Sadly, this consumerism mentality has negated a right reading of the Scriptures and carried over into our “religious” choices.  American religiosity now allows us to move with ease from one church to another, and from one denomination to another any time we like. This is not to say that it may be necessary in some cases, but the choice is just too easy.
We recently celebrated the life of J. Gresham Machen, 100 years after he penned his landmark book “Christianity and Liberalism” in 1923.   However, little attention was given to the fact that he was suspended from the ministry by a Permanent Judicial Commission of New Brunswick Presbytery. He then appealed the matter to the Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly and lost the appeal.  When under duress, he did not immediately transfer to another denomination, or walk down the street to form a “Continuing Presbyterian Church,” never to be heard from again.  He used every avenue available to him in the Church.  He stayed in his church for the duration of the fight.  Not only should he be a model for us theologically, but also ecclesiastically.
Machen’s day was a different era. Thoughts of transfer, starting a new denomination, or even quitting was never the first thing on their minds.  His fame was greatly enhanced because of his courage before the church courts, and thus he became the hero that he is today. Heroes are not created by disappearing into a fog of obscurity, but by being suspended from the ministry (defrocked) by your own Presbytery for unjust cause. Heroes are made by those who endure to the end.
So, how do we overcome our discouragement.  We rise to the occasion and fight on.  We do not succumb to temptation and flee when the opposition appears strong, but rather we choose the pathway of endurance, while praying for victory.
Larry E. Ball is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tenn.
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“Related to the finitude of our knowledge is our continued growth in it. What we know and experience in the eternal state will not be static but ever increasing. As created and therefore finite beings, we are mutable. This means that we are subject to change. Change, however, is not necessarily a bad thing if the direction in which we are changing is for the better. As we grow, we develop, enlarge, and actualize our capacities for enjoying God and his creation—from “glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18, KJV)”

Some Christians think our future life will be rather static – and perhaps even boring. They think we will be ‘perfect’ – whatever that means – so we will not be making any advances or developing in any way. But Scripture does not speak that way about the next life.
Yes, in some things there will be no change – for example we will not be sinning there. So that is something we can count on as not changing but remaining the same. But as I said in a previous piece, getting into heaven – or more precisely, the new earth – will not make us godlike: we will not all of a sudden become omniscient and the like.
So there will be a real place to grow, to develop, to expand in so many ways, including intellectually. We will be learning new things. We will develop in our minds. I spoke to this somewhat in the earlier piece I just mentioned: billmuehlenberg.com/2022/07/20/will-there-be-art-galleries-in-heaven-christianity-culture-and-eschatology/
In that piece I spoke about cultural pursuits and even artistic endeavours taking place in the next world. Here I want to develop all this further, especially looking at things like the mind, learning, and perhaps even reading and writing. Yes I know, my love of books is showing here, but I think a case can be made for what follows.
As I said in that previous piece, there is admittedly a fair amount of speculation here. We do not have a heap of detail as to what life in the next world will be like, but we can consider it, based on what we do know about life in this world, and God’s original intentions when he first created man. Part of this I already discussed in my piece on the cultural mandate: billmuehlenberg.com/2022/07/19/on-the-cultural-mandate/
Let me feature a few writers on this topic, firstly by looking at the slightly broader issue of thinking of heaven as a boring, static place where nothing new ever transpires. In his book 10 Mistakes People Make About Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife Mike Fabarez discusses this matter:
If your unspoken aversion to thinking about the afterlife is prompted by this concern, allow me to relieve your fears. Even in this life, the exaltation of God is not confined to the singing of worship songs. The Bible says that you can and should seek to glorify God even when you are having dinner (1 Corinthians 10:31). In your daily tasks and at your place of employment, the Bible says you are to be engaged in consciously and joyfully serving Christ no matter what your job title might be….
If every task in heaven wherein you could engage your creativity, apply your wisdom, and purpose your mind to work had no pain, frustration, or disappointment associated with it, I’m assuming you would rethink your ambition of lounging in a hammock for eternity.
As to the issue of learning and the like in the next life, let me start with some thoughts from Alan Gomes and his very useful book, 40 Questions About Heaven and Hell. As to my point about us not being omniscient in heaven, he quotes W. G. T. Shedd:
“We are not to understand that the creature’s knowledge, in the future state, will be as extensive as that of the Omniscient One; or that it will be as profound and exhaustive as His. The infinitude of things can be known only by the Infinite Mind.” Gomes then says this:
Related to the finitude of our knowledge is our continued growth in it. What we know and experience in the eternal state will not be static but ever increasing. 
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We know that donkeys don’t talk—which is why it was incredible when one did. The action is miraculous: the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth. The donkey’s words function as a rebuke—ultimately from the Lord—against Balaam’s actions.

So here’s what happened: King Balak in Moab wanted the Israelites to be cursed, so the king sent for an international seer named Balaam who could do the cursing work.
In Numbers 22, Balak’s messengers talked with Balaam about making the trip to Moab. Eventually Balaam went with the messengers (22:21). But he didn’t walk. He rode his donkey.
Since Balaam was apparently not going with the conviction to obey the Lord, an angel of Yahweh opposed Balaam in the middle of the road. Balaam didn’t see the angel. The donkey, however, saw the angel and turned aside out of the road and into a field (Num. 22:23). Balaam, in his frustration and ignorance of the situation, struck the donkey!
The angel of the Lord then stood in a narrow path between vineyards in the field, with a wall on either side (Num. 22:24), and the donkey pushed against the wall and squished Balaam’s foot (22:25). Balaam struck the donkey a second time!
The angel of the Lord moved to block the path entirely, so the donkey lay down under Balaam (Num. 22:27). Balaam, again, was angry and, again, struck the donkey—a third time!
Now something different happened. “Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’” (Num. 22:28).
Did you notice the preface in front of the donkey’s words? The Lord “opened the mouth of the donkey.” We know that donkeys don’t talk—which is why it was incredible when one did. The action is miraculous: the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth. The donkey’s words function as a rebuke—ultimately from the Lord—against Balaam’s actions.
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