Written by K.V. Paxton |
Monday, October 4, 2021
[Yours] will not be perfect faithfulness, but are you resting in Christ as your hope, and leaning on Him? Are you striving to be what the church is called to be according to Christ? Then that’s all you are called to do. Be encouraged! Ultimately, your hope rests in Christ, not your performance.

What does church success look like during a global pandemic? For at least a generation, success in churches was based largely on numerics, on this, we can agree. Every year in my denomination (the Southern Baptist Convention), for example, churches must fill out the Annual Church Profile (ACP), which asks churches nearly every conceivable question regarding their numbers. It was easy to get sucked into this being a type of self-reflection on whether or not you and your church were “successful” that year. Now, this is not to denigrate ACPs, they serve a purpose, of course, but it has been clear for at least a half-century that numbers purportedly told the story about the health and success of a church.
And what pastor hasn’t attended associational, state, or national convention meetings where they were asked multiple times, “Hey brother, how many you runnin’?”
Numbers are important, but they do not always tell the full story of church health and success. Big churches can be unhealthy, small churches can be healthy. We know this in every season, but this especially comes to the fore in the midst of a global pandemic.
If numbers = success/health, a majority of churches right now are likely not getting a passing grade. Churches everywhere are seeing decreases in attendance: once-a-month attendees have become non-attenders, the vulnerable cannot attend because of health concerns, and some regular attenders have abandoned the fellowship, perhaps for a different church that fits their preferences better. This can be quite disheartening until you remember that Scripture does not define success or health according to numbers. Rather, what we are called to is faithfulness, and God will take care of the results.
This is good news for pastors, churches, and faithful church members. Better still, it applies whether or not we are in a global pandemic. While saying “just be faithful” seems overly simplistic, it really does not have to be as complicated as we might try to make it. Does this resolve all questions we might have right now in terms of having in-person service versus online-only or mask versus no mask or any number of questions the Bible is silent on? Of course not.
What it does do is (1) help us keep our hand to the plow, (2) fend off discouragement, and (3) protect our hearts when criticized.
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It is frustrating that there is so little that can be done if the Nigerian government is determined on a policy of slowly eradicating the Christian populations of north and central Nigeria over the years with mass murder, destruction of churches, homes, crops, and demographic replacement with people from northern Muslim tribes.

The persecution of Christians in Nigeria seems to be intensifying. Anyone paying attention is aware that there are continuing reports of people being killed in the north of Nigeria, and its so-called “Middle Belt” of farmland, where the mostly Christian farmers are being killed, their crops destroyed, and villages and homes burnt by radical Islamic groups: Fulani herdsman, Boko Haram, and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). However, Christian holidays are especially likely to be a time for attack, and this past Christmas saw one of the worst attacks yet, the slaughter of 200 Christians in Plateau State in the Middle Belt on December 23 through 25.
Atrocities on Christian Holidays
This attack recalls the Pentecost Sunday attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in southwest Nigeria in 2022. There 50 people were killed. A video clip of the church with pools of blood on the floor immediately after the attack in this article from LifeSiteNews.com is simply horrific.
The choice of a Christian holiday to attack Christians highlights a key controversy which is raised whenever there is attention to the killing in Nigeria. Is this simply a “farmer/herder” conflict, driven ultimately by economic factors, in particular, desertification of the Sahel (the semi-arid transitional zone south of the Sahara Desert), or is it a basically a religious clash, with Muslims attacking Christians in an effort to seize the property of Christian farmers and Islamize Nigeria? The governor of Plateau state, Caleb Mutfwang clearly stated after the attacks that what is happening in Nigeria is genocide. The word may be overused in our day but does express that what is happening is not a “clash,” or a “conflict,” or “sectarian violence,” all of which terms would indicated two sides fighting, but simply radical Muslim groups attacking Christians with the objective of killing them and seizing their property.
Configuration of the Crisis
As noted by Jeff King, President of International Christian Concern in a video clip interviewing a Nigerian pastor cited in an article last fall, when the British ruled Nigeria, they relied on northern Muslims, and particularly the Fulani tribe (with millions of members across the Sahel) to rule the country. This left northern Muslims in charge of the military and security apparatus, with the result that Nigerian army today is reluctant to act against Islamic terrorists (former President Muhammadu Buhari was himself a Fulani), or is even complicit in attacks, arresting or attacking civilian guards against the violence.
In line with this pattern, TruthNigeria, which attempts to report on ongoing slaughter and negligence of Nigerian authorities stopping it and the Western establishment in recognizing it, reported on January 7 that “Nigerian army soldiers are standing as watchmen for Fulani terrorists who have moved into some of the conquered villages …. The terrorist invaders will prevent the return of the 10,000 displaced residents, the majority of whom are Christians, according to victims and humanitarian aid givers.” Additionally, the army has been arresting the civilian guards who attempt to protect the northern communities from Islamic terrorists. Meanwhile, the attacked villages of Mutfet, Ndun, Mbong, and Yelwa Nono still have no security presence. Faced with enormous criticism from the West regarding the Christmas massacre, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission has ordered broadcasters in Nigeria to stop reporting on the killing and violence.
Life After an Attack
But for those on the ground in Nigeria, the sudden catastrophe and sorrow at the loss of loved ones, property and livelihood as they were preparing to celebrate Christmas is compounded by the immediate need for food and shelter, and the prospect of how they will rebuild their lives and communities with no assurance (despite promises) of security. A Nigerian pastor who lost his home in the Christmas attack spoke movingly of having lost seven family members as well. Like surely many, many others, he lost everything in his home, “bought foodstuffs, clothing, and whatever. It was a furnished house, but it is burnt, and even the church that is by my side was burnt.”
The hapless residents of northern Nigeria are doing what they can to respond to their plight. The civilian guards, while themselves apparently the occasional targets of the army, are one response. In another response to the Christmas massacre, residents of the affected areas rallied in Jos, the capital of Plateau State.
The displacement of people from devastated and dangerous areas has resulted in multitudes of displaced persons. The linked article above from Barron’s on the most recent attacks also noted that “thousands of people were also displaced in the attacks, which hit mostly Christian villages.” But many others have been displaced as well, as the violence has intensified. Last October it was reported that over two million persons were displaced by the “farmer/herder” conflict in Benue State. (south of Plateau State).
Persistent Government Complicity
Government complicity was discussed in this writer’s previous article on the Nigerian crisis, and seems to be continuing. Reports of the violence not uncommonly implicate the government in what is happening. As noted in my earlier article in September, it is estimated by Vatican News that 52,250 people have been killed in the last 14 years, and 18,000 churches have been set on fire. Such statistics testify either to a government unable or unwilling to stop the violence. The Director of the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (InterSociety),Emeka Umeagbalasi, has accused the government of encouraging the bloodshed. “The level of violence is expected to continue, and it has continued to rise because the authorities are fueling the crisis,” he said.
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The SJC recommends that Missouri Presbytery (MOP) utilize the AIC report on Human Sexuality to help protect the peace and purity of the church by acknowledging where the “statements of some speakers at Revoice 18 may have differed from the propositions in that Report.” MOP, commendably, took action to protect the peace and purity of Memorial Presbyterian Church by alerting the congregation to erroneous beliefs promoted at Revoice 18. Now, they must act in a similar manner by recognizing the errors of Revoice 18 to the broader church with hopes of maintaining the peace and purity of the Church.

Earlier this week, byFaith Online published an article entitled SJC Concludes Action on Matters Related To Revoice 2018. In that article TE Larry Hoop states, “this concludes the matters that have been before the SJC related to Revoice 18 involving TE Greg Johnson, the Session of Memorial Presbyterian Church, and Missouri Presbytery.”[1] This statement summarizes the determination of the Standing Judicial Commission’s (SJC) ruling on the three cases concerning the revoice movement and Side-B homosexuality (Investigation into the views of TE Greg Johnson, Revoice 18 conference at Memorial Presbyterian church, and the request to assume original jurisdiction over the TE Greg Johnson case).
It is true that the SJC is a commission that acts on behalf of the General Assembly and functions much like the Supreme Court in the United States. The Book of Church Order (BCO) states this concerning the SJC’s work: “in the cases committed to it, the Standing Judicial Commission shall have the judicial powers and be governed by the judicial procedures of the General Assembly. The decision of the Standing Judicial Commission shall be the final decision of the General Assembly” (BCO 15-5).[2] With that said, there is still more work to be done – and more actions to be taken – in the courts of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) regarding the Revoice controversy.
Mending the Controversy
The work before the PCA is substantial and demands careful attention. There are at least three actions that can be taken to help mend the current division in the PCA: follow the SJC’s recommendation, amend the BCO, and lead the church as churchmen.
Following the Standing Judicial Commission
First, Missouri Presbytery (MOP) should follow the “Amends” laid out in the SJC report. The SJC has called on MOP to “hold a new hearing” (BCO 43-10) that focuses on the following matters:
What steps must MOP take to make clear to the broader Church the errors that were identified in Presbytery’s various investigations with regard to some of the teachings at Revoice 18, particularly with regard to Theological Judgments 2, 3, and 5, and what steps must MOP take to fulfill its responsibilities to protect the peace and purity of the broader Church under BCO 11-3, 11-4 and 13-9(f) in light of those errors?[3]
The SJC argues that Theological Judgments 2, 3 and 5 of MOP’s report found error within Revoice 18, but declined to act upon that error. The SJC states, “MOP unnecessarily restrained itself by the incorrect criteria for review that it opted to follow in evaluating the teachings of Revoice 18. Consequently, it did not take adequate action with respect to the errors that it had identified.”[4] The SJC has requested MOP to address the following Theological Judgments:
“Revoice 18’s use of the terminology in question, though confusing to some and potentially unwise, was not a grave and serious doctrinal error” (Theological Judgment #2).
“We concur with the CIM’s judgment that the evidence was such that this question as to whether a ‘gay beneath the gay’ exists could not have been judged to be a key teaching of Revoice, but continues to have the potential for becoming a grave and serious error if it begins to play a more central role, and thus we exhort those involved with Revoice to consider our position on this matter” (Theological Judgment #3).
“We concur that i) celibate SSA believers face complex barriers in developing friendships with people of the same gender and that, ii) Christians must labor to empathize with this difficulty and that, iii) it was unwise and hence an error of judgment rather than an error striking at the vitals of religion for Revoice leaders to be entertaining publicly the possibility of celibate partnerships without more careful boundaries proposed and that, iv) TE Johnson adequately warned about the dangers of these type of friendships in his own Revoice 18 talk.” (Theological Judgment #5)[5]
The SJC recommends that MOP utilize the AIC report on Human Sexuality to help protect the peace and purity of the church by acknowledging where the “statements of some speakers at Revoice 18 may have differed from the propositions in that Report.”[6] MOP, commendably, took action to protect the peace and purity of Memorial Presbyterian Church by alerting the congregation to erroneous beliefs promoted at Revoice 18. Now, they must act in a similar manner by recognizing the errors of Revoice 18 to the broader church with hopes of maintaining the peace and purity of the Church.[7]
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[1] Larry Hoop, “SJC Concludes Action on Matters Related To Revoice 2018,” 2022.
[2] The Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America (Office of the Stated Clerk, 2021).
[3] SJC, “Decision on Complaint: TE Ryan Speck v. Missouri Presbytery,” 2022, 11–12.
[4] Ibid., 8.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid., 14.
[7] Ibid., 11.