Keller made about six points concerning what the PCA should do in the coming years to foster unity. There were two that most impressed me

I am more firmly convinced than ever that the PCA will decline in membership in the decade ahead, largely because of the division between the Traditionalists and the Contemporaries, which is growing wider each year…However, I believe that IF the PCA can hold together, we can still be a great influence for the gospel, and a great comfort to ourselves. And perhaps our decline in numbers will not be too steep a decline.

This essay is a follow-up to my earlier one about the coming decline in the size of the PCA (read here: http://bit.ly/bXU4V0. I waited until after the General Assembly in Nashville, to see what would happen with the Strategic Plan and other doings at the GA.

Sad to say, I am more firmly convinced than ever that the PCA will decline in membership in the decade ahead, largely because of the division between the
Traditionalists and the Contemporaries, which is growing wider each year.

However, I believe that IF the PCA can hold together, we can still be a great influence for the gospel, and a great comfort to ourselves. And perhaps our decline in numbers will not be too steep a decline. I believe that the seminar given by Ligon Duncan and Tim Keller can point the way.

On June 30, 2010, the GA adjourned early in the afternoon to provide time for “The PCA – a Way Forward: What We All Can Agree On and Why We Should Stay Together.” Tim Keller, senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, represented the Contemporary party of the PCA. Ligon Duncan, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi, represented the Traditionalists.

Keller suggested that the PCA consists of doctrinalists, pietists, and culturalists. The doctrinalists are chiefly concerned with doctrinal precision and strict subscription to the Westminster Standards; the pietists are looking for personal conversion and holy living; the culturalists see engaging the culture and transforming society as their primary goal in ministry.

(Personally, I think it is more accurate and helpful to simply speak of Traditionalists and Contemporaries. Those who do not want change, vs those who want change. Those who sing the Trinity Hymnal or Psalter vs those who sing modern worship songs on screens with guitars and drums. Those who want to use the modern vocabulary of “incarnational, relational and missional” and those who don’t. Those who want to be more “seeker-sensitive” and those who want to be more proclamational and even confrontational in preaching style. These are the most obvious and deepest chasms between the two parties.)

Keller said that historically American Presbyterianism took on these three forms, and that all three categories are part of the PCA’s “DNA.” Keller stated that these parties within the PCA cannot eliminate the others, even if they try. All three are naturally a part of Presbyterianism, and will always recur eventually. Keller said that all the parties in the PCA actually need each other for essential spiritual balance. He also said that the PCA is the only Reformed denomination in America with such strongly delineated parties co-existing.

Keller is correct in stating that we will always have our factions, and that these factions can never truly be eliminated; it’s not possible to be homogeneous. So, the oil and vinegar need to learn to co-exist and appreciate each other. Salad dressing may be a good example: Vinegar, water, oil, garlic, salt and pepper, can never melt together. But they can exist in the same bottle, and when shaken together make a delicious concoction. Perhaps we can do this in the PCA, too.

According to my notes (which are imperfect and hastily jotted down on a Demos’ Restaurant menu) Keller made about six points concerning what the PCA should do in the coming years to foster unity. There were two that most impressed me:

1. We should stop impugning the motives of those in other camps in the PCA. We are creating caricatures of one another, and that are not honest, fair, or helpful. I agree fully with Keller about this. Only God can see another man’s heart. We are brothers in arms. We are fellow pastors in the PCA. Of course we will have a rotten apple every now and then, but we must not fall into the trap of demonizing those with whom we disagree. This is what the Republicans and Democrats have done with their respective candidates, and it has harmfully polarized the nation. We must not let it happen to our part of the Body of Christ.

2. We should NOT remove the old landmarks. Don’t change our beliefs and standards. Leave the Book of Church Order alone. Somehow we have been able to stay together since 1973, so let’s not change the recipe. This piece of advice is especially pointed for the Contemporaries, who are now the majority of the PCA (perhaps 60% — 40%). Those who want to change are now sitting in the seats of influence and power. So they need to be extra careful not to change the old landmarks lest they force out the Traditionalists.

According to Keller, we should recognize that our divisions are basically over worship and the role of women. That being the case, the Contemporaries in power should not continue to return with overtures year after year about the role of women in the church. Also, when we have GA, those who do the planning should be careful not to allow in worship that which will offend a large portion of the PCA (music, liturgy, the method of the Lord’s Supper, dance, drama, etc.) We must watch out in love not to offend the weaker brethren (God knows which are which; we can all use the advice).

Ligon Duncan said that the parties in the PCA need to spend time together appreciating and advancing the points on which we agree, which he listed:

1. The inerrancy and authority of the Bible.
2. The necessity of believing and preaching the gospel.
3. The importance of doctrine, especially covenant theology.
4. The importance of growing deeper in our spiritual life.
5. The importance of the Great Commission.
6. We all love our original motto: “Faithful to Scripture, True to the Reformed Faith, and Obedient to the Great Commission.”

Duncan gave some other answers to the question: “Why should we stay together:”

1. No other Reformed denomination has so much agreement on all of the points listed above.

2. The PCA is the largest conservative Reformed denomination in the English speaking world.

3. The size and unity of the PCA gives us a large voice in the military chaplaincy and in Evangelicalism at large.

4. The various PCA camps really do need each other. It’s a case of iron sharpening iron.

Duncan also gave some practical directions on how to strengthen our unity in the PCA:

1. We must intentionally set about to foster and treasure our unity.
2. We must intentionally want to give and receive joy to the other parties. We must not antagonize each other, just the opposite: Let’s bless each other.
3. Even though we have differences, we must not be vague about those differences. Clarity promotes confidence.

That was the basic ground covered in the seminar, and I reproduce my notes and comments here, because I think this all has a direct bearing on the future of the PCA. I still don’t believe we can reverse the decline of the PCA. There are MANY reasons this will happen, as I listed in my previous article. But it is possible that we can greatly reduce the speed of our numerical decline, if we can truly promote unity and Christian love among ourselves, while maintaining our commitment to the Word of God, to the Reformed Faith, and to our obedience to the Great Commission. And who knows…God can do miracles. Maybe the PCA will continue to grow after all.
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Dr. Marshall C. St. John is pastor of Wayside Presbyterian Church in Signal Mountain, Tenn.