I favor what is numbered Overture 23. It fits the flow of chapter 16 thematically, linguistically and logically.  A particular strength of Overture 23 is that it addresses the current error (calling oneself a gay/SSA/homosexual Christian); yet it also addresses any type of error where church officers may identify with other specific sins that could be called an “identity marker.”

There’s an “elephant in the room” in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) today. It’s all about the issue of identity—are some a “gay Christian,” a “homosexual Christian,” a “same sex attracted Christian,” etc.?
This issue will be prominently before the 49th PCA General Assembly.  Commissioners (made up of ministers and elders) will converge on Birmingham, Alabama to make extremely important decisions on issues of significant theological, pastoral, and ecclesiastical importance.
Most people have heard of the “elephant in the room” as a reference to a topic or issue that no one really wants to name but that EVERYONE knows is present.  Everyone steps around “the elephant” ensuring that “the elephant” is given plenty of space.  This behavior is actually very effective in guaranteeing “the elephant” will never be addressed.  Leave the elephant in the room long enough and the room will not be habitable.  Some might suggest just shoveling out the elephant manure to make the room as livable as possible.  We all know that is a losing proposition.
So, what can be done?  Someone must make everyone look at the elephant, someone must walk up and slap the beast on the rump and say, “Folks! This is an elephant, and we can either live with it or we must begin thinking about how to deal with it.  And when the elephant is out of the room, we need to ensure that elephants don’t wander back in again.”
What’s the question before the PCA? In light of some current issues in our culture, how is the church to address the qualifications for present or future officers who choose to identify themselves by some besetting sins or temptations or inclinations. Also, how should the church those who teach acceptable views regarding that may be sinful inclinations and actions for others to hold or practice?
There four overtures before the 49th General Assembly seeking to amend chapter 16 of the Book of Church Order (BCO).  I’m in favor of adding an amendment to the BCO that will fit the emphasis and flow in BCO 16. These proposed amendments are intended to support what the BCO already says but include wording that addresses current issues. And further, I favor an overture that will not be so narrow that it fails to anticipate address issues that will likely arise in the future.
I favor what is numbered Overture 23. It fits the flow of chapter 16 thematically, linguistically and logically.  A particular strength of Overture 23 is that it addresses the current error (calling oneself a gay/SSA/homosexual Christian); yet it also addresses any type of error where church officers may identify with other specific sins that could be called an “identity marker.”
Uniquely, Overture 23 (and Overture 20) addresses what officers in the PCA are permitted to teach others regarding any type of false identity.  Officers are NOT permitted to hold to or “teach that it is acceptable for Christians to identify or describe themselves” with sinful thoughts,  inclinations and/or actions
We MUST deal with the elephant.  Any overture that does not deal with identifying as a “gay Christian” (as helpful as it may otherwise be) is not addressing what has caused so much turmoil and disunity in the PCA over the last 4 years. Overture 23 promotes excellent wording to guide the church now and in the future.
[Identity and identify are NOT difficult to understand nor are these words frightening! We all know what it means to identify.  However, if it distresses people, use “self-profess.”]
Here is the proposed wording of the present Overture 23 that would become BCO 16-4 if approved:
Those whom God calls to bear office in His Church shall demonstrate maturity of faith and growing conformity to Jesus Christ. While these office bearers will see spiritual perfection only in glory, they will continue in this life to confess and to mortify remaining sins. Thus, those who identify or describe themselves according to their specific sins, or who teach that it is acceptable for Christians to identify or describe themselves in such a manner, shall not be approved for service by any court of Christ’s Church.
Bryant Hansen is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Senior Pastor of First PCA in Prattville, Ala.
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While enrapt in the progress of this mystery, I was suddenly jolted by a common misunderstanding of many relating to the need for conversion and what it means to be a Christian. St. Augustine of Canterbury may have been born an Anglican, but he could not be born a Christian. One may be born a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Presbyterian, a Baptist, a Roman Catholic, etc. However, Jesus Christ made very clear the necessity of a second birth when He said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).

British mysteries have begun to have a strong attraction for me in recent years. Unlike many of our own mysteries, the British seem to rely on superb acting rather than splashy action to grip one’s attention. The authors of such mysteries, such as Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, P. D. James, and Colin Dexter, are becoming familiar names to me. Perhaps their tales absorb one because the writers themselves are true scholars, products of Oxford or Cambridge. Consequently, their writings not only delight an inquisitive “whodunit” mind, they also satisfy a thirst for knowledge, wisdom, culture, and history. Their stories are so well researched.
“Murder in the Cathedral” appeared as a recent episode on Public Television. Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse was investigating a series of murders which took place in a cathedral in Oxford. The first murder was committed while a ceremony to honor St. Augustine was taking place. Inspector Morse, whose main interests consist of classical music and a pint of beer, appeared ignorant of both doctrine and church history. His nickname while at the university was “Pagan” due to his distaste of all things religious. Because the ceremony itself offered a clue, he visited the Archdeacon of the Anglican Church to find out if there was a St. Augustine and who he was. The Archdeacon surprised him (and me) by responding, “Which St. Augustine?” He explained that there were two: St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Augustine of Canterbury. He further explained that St. Augustine of Hippo needed to be converted because of his sinful youth while St. Augustine of Canterbury did not need to be converted because he was “born” a Christian.
While enrapt in the progress of this mystery, I was suddenly jolted by a common misunderstanding of many relating to the need for conversion and what it means to be a Christian. St. Augustine of Canterbury may have been born an Anglican, but he could not be born a Christian. One may be born a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Presbyterian, a Baptist, a Roman Catholic, etc. However, Jesus Christ made very clear the necessity of a second birth when He said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).
It is true that someone, such as Augustine of Canterbury, may be born into a covenant relationship to God by virtue of being born into a Christian family; but that child must one day make his or her own personal decision to trust Christ’s atonement for sin. There must be an active commitment to follow Christ and to give Him first place in one’s life. To “be born again” is to be born of the Spirit. To be born of the Spirit is to recognize one’s sinful nature and inability to cleanse oneself. There is a new recognition that only the blood of Christ shed on the cross of Calvary can make one clean and whole, forgive (as if one had never sinned), and put one in a right standing before God. This is part of “the mystery of godliness” mentioned in Paul’s first epistle to Timoth:
By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:He who was revealed in the flesh,Was vindicated in the Spirit,Seen by angels,Proclaimed among the nations,Believed on in the world,Taken up in glory. (I Timothy 3:16)
It is hoped that the Archdeacon might merely have forgotten a very important event in the life of St. Augustine of Canterbury.
Inspector Morse went on to solve the mystery of “Murder in the Cathedral.” However, I fear he did not solve for himself personally, “the mystery of godliness” or change the status of his university days’ nickname.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the sequel to “Murder in the Cathedral” could be written entitled “Miracle in the Cathedral?” In the sequel, the inspector would solve this personal mystery as have so many down through the ages and universally in the world. Those of us who have come to understand this mystery in life have both the privilege and the responsibility to share with others the solution to “the mystery of godliness.” Whenever anyone is “born again” or “born from above,” a miracle takes place, whether in a cathedral, a church, or anywhere else!
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa. Originally published April 1989—The Centralian.
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It is with a mixture of sorrow and hope that we, the elders of Memorial Presbyterian Church, after fifteen months spent fasting, praying, waiting, consulting and listening, now write to call a meeting of the congregation for 5:30–6:30 p.m. Friday, November 18, 2022, in the Auditorium for the purpose of deciding on matters pertaining to denominational alignment. We are recommending the congregation vote to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church in America in accordance with Book of Church Order 25-11

October 18, 2022
Dear church family,
Memorial exists to bring the Welcome of Jesus through his Gospel as found in his Word to St. Louis. We have seen how he provides for us. We have experienced his Spirit’s work among us. We have had our hearts captivated by the gospel. We have had the privilege of being coworkers in what Jesus is doing on the earth. For the past 40 years, we have done so as a member church of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
Since our first letter on July 13 and last letter on September 8, troubling new circumstances have arisen that move us to believe it is time for us to take the next step toward denominational realignment.
It is with a mixture of sorrow and hope that we, the elders of Memorial Presbyterian Church, after fifteen months spent fasting, praying, waiting, consulting and listening, now write to call a meeting of the congregation for 5:30–6:30 p.m. Friday, November 18, 2022, in the Auditorium for the purpose of deciding on matters pertaining to denominational alignment. We are recommending the congregation vote to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church in America in accordance with Book of Church Order 25-11, which states:
Particular churches need remain in association with any court of this body only so long as they themselves so desire. The relationship is voluntary, based upon mutual love and confidence, and is in no sense to be maintained by the exercise of any force or coercion whatsoever. A particular church may withdraw from any court of this body at any time for reasons which seem to it sufficient, provided, however, the congregation is given at least thirty-days’ notice of any meeting where the congregation is to vote on a proposed withdrawal from the Presbyterian Church in America.
Memorial exists to bring the Welcome of Jesus to sinners like ourselves, helping them embrace that Welcome, live out that Welcome and unleash that Welcome in the power of the Holy Spirit. Continued attacks from within our denomination have and continue to hinder and distract from that mission. We need a team that is for us.
This is a historic moment. As historic as our vote in 1980 to leave what was then our denomination. We believe this step is necessary to protect Memorial’s ministries and ministers from distraction and abuse. More details about our recommended path forward will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.
In our last letter, we explained that there were some questions about which we still needed further information. Two questions related to our reception into another denomination. We are still working on those questions and hope to have full answers for you soon.
Two other questions were related to timing and unity. We heard the congregation asking:

If Greg is tried (or re-tried) by the PCA sooner rather than later, will that hold up the church’s denominational realignment until after the trial and ruling has come—a judicial process that can take months or years?

We have now learned that, yes, once a court of the church (whether local Missouri Presbytery, denominational supreme court or General Assembly) takes a case, thereby entering into judicial process, the pastor involved must see the case through unless another denomination receives him into it. Other denominations can be hesitant to receive a pastor under such circumstances, and would likely require a supermajority vote to receive him. This could hold us all up.
Greg was exonerated by our denominational supreme court a year ago. But his critics have been busy retargeting him and—just this month—now targeting other Memorial pastors.
Our denominational supreme court already has requests from several regional presbyteries to try (or re-try) Greg in an attempt to reverse last year’s ruling. They could vote to accept this case as early as this weekend or as late as February. If they refuse to take the case, a minority report is likely, setting Greg up for a possible trial on the floor of General Assembly next June in Memphis.
Additionally, our local Missouri Presbytery has received a number of new requests for investigations even since our last letter to you. One misrepresents Greg’s views and involves accusations that his 2021 book doesn’t properly reflect the nuance of the Westminster Larger Catechism.
And yet another most recent one requests that pastors Sam Dolby and Keith Robinson also be investigated—alongside Greg—concerning their Christian character due to their support for our Chapel ministry to artists.
Other possible cases against our pastors are also developing. The flow of these baseless judicial attacks is unlikely to slow down. We are being deliberately targeted. To protect our pastors—and to keep our presbytery from having to do multiple formal investigations of baseless accusations—we therefore think it wise to take this next step in realignment sooner rather than later.

We also heard you asking, whatever we decide—and it will be the congregation that decides, not the Session—we are your servants—how can we do it together as a family, with love even when perspectives differ?

We are therefore scheduling two additional fireside chats, which also will involve intercessory prayer for our protection and unity as a congregation.
This will not be an easy decision for some of us. Greg has shared how deeply sorrowful this decision is for him. Greg is not alone in these feelings. This will not be a time to celebrate.
While Memorial will continue to send students to Covenant College and continue to support our MTW missionaries and especially our RUF minister at Wash U, many of us and many of our Memorial siblings are already grieving a loss. Please be in prayer for them. Speak kindly to them. Reach out to listen and to love. And respect your sibling’s perspective, especially if it differs from your own.
Also, realize that it is common to experience feelings of anxiety during periods of uncertainty or transition. We encourage you to channel any anxiety into prayer for the church.
We will have a Fireside Chat and Prayer Gathering Monday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m.
We will have another Wednesday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Our intention has been to bathe this process with prayer and with love. We believe this decision to be the most loving option for Memorial, for same-sex oriented believers, for our pastors and, yes, for the PCA itself.
We hope that Memorial’s withdrawal from the PCA will strengthen the hands of our friends within the denomination. As their opponents have capitalized on the “wedge issue” they found in knowing the PCA had a celibate same-sex oriented pastor, we can now remove Memorial from that equation. Critics will have to find some other cause with which to rally their troops. Lord willing, that will help our friends in the denomination as they work hard to once again take leadership to ground the denomination in a humble, winsome and missiological grace.
We believe Jesus is walking with us through this process, as is our current presbytery. The gospel is at work among us. The Lord’s Spirit is within us. We are not afraid.
In this letter, we have described what we believe we must move away from to protect our mission. In a fourth letter, we hope soon to offer a clearer picture of what we hope to move toward. We are still discerning that matter, and we are excited by the possibilities. Jesus loves Memorial, and we are confident that he will preserve us in our mission as he pours his love and Spirit out upon us—and through us to others.
We love you and thank God for you.
Your servants in Jesus,
The Session of Memorial Presbyterian Church
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