As a member of a PCA congregation, a congregation which has historically stayed to the right of the confessional interpretation, I have much compassion for men who are trapped in these Presbyteries which are sympathetic to progressive interpretations. However, is it not a first step that those Presbyteries which perceive themselves to be "Cons" to be sure that they have swept their own houses of their own leaven? Within my own Presbytery there are congregations who tip toe all around issues of the regulative principle, second commandment, and women's roles, etc, and yet are all in when it comes to Overture 15. Should we not begin with disciplinary actions against members of our own Presbyteries, see them to there just ends, and then decide whether we have removed the splinters enough from our own eyes, to see with sufficient clarity into the issues of the broader Church. What we might find is that there are actually very few Presbyteries who are really "Cons", but really just socially conservative. What we might find is that we are not comfortable being in our own Presbyteries, let alone the PCA as a denomination.
As a member of a PCA congregation, a congregation which has historically stayed to the right of the confessional interpretation, I have much compassion for men who are trapped in these Presbyteries which are sympathetic to progressive interpretations. However, is it not a first step that those Presbyteries which perceive themselves to be "Cons" to be sure that they have swept their own houses of their own leaven? Within my own Presbytery there are congregations who tip toe all around issues of the regulative principle, second commandment, and women's roles, etc, and yet are all in when it comes to Overture 15. Should we not begin with disciplinary actions against members of our own Presbyteries, see them to there just ends, and then decide whether we have removed the splinters enough from our own eyes, to see with sufficient clarity into the issues of the broader Church. What we might find is that there are actually very few Presbyteries who are really "Cons", but really just socially conservative. What we might find is that we are not comfortable being in our own Presbyteries, let alone the PCA as a denomination.