Pastors accuse PCA of 'demonizing' LGBTQ, sidelining women: 'Spiritually abusive'

A petition written by a group of ethnic-minority pastors within the Presbyterian Church in America went viral this week after accusing the largest conservative Presbyterian denomination in the U.S. of being spiritually abusive, sidelining women and "demonizing" gay people, among other grievances.

"We write as ethnic minority pastors and leaders within the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) with hearts full of gratitude and grief," reads the petition titled "A Call to Prayer & Lament," the authenticity of which a knowledgeable PCA source confirmed to The Christian Post.

'A schismatic culture'

While expressing gratitude for "the ways God has used this denomination to shape our faith, theology, and ministries," the petition laid out four scathing "laments" against the PCA: fostering "a schismatic culture," sidelining "minority and female leaders," supplanting "confessional generosity" with "theological rigidity," and allowing "denominational burden" to become "an obstacle to mission."

Noting "a deepening culture of suspicion, gracelessness, self-righteousness, and relational dysfunction" that allegedly exhibits "racial microaggressions, unnecessary theological gatekeeping, and a pervasive mistrust that corrodes gospel ministry and healthy community," the petition also obliquely accused the PCA of spiritual abuse.

"Some have described the denominational environment as emotionally or spiritually abusive, particularly toward leaders from marginalized and/or minority backgrounds. We long for a church culture marked by relational warmth, mutual trust, collegial deliberation, and grace," the petition said.

Without providing specific examples, the petition further claimed the PCA has hindered the denomination's "mission in our cities," in part by having "demonized" the LGBT community and others.

"The very neighbors we are seeking to love — secular, progressive non-Christians, LGTBQ individuals, immigrants, people of color, and more — are publicly belittled and demonized, if not by our words then by our legislative actions," the petition said.

The petitioners claimed, among other things, to be "[longing] for an ecclesial home" where "those wrestling with complex identities and callings find safety, truth, and grace," and where "theological depth is held together with spiritual warmth and missional clarity."

'Baseless innuendo'

The petition also alleged that "too often, faithful leaders in good standing are subjected to unchecked slander and baseless innuendo on social media," which it said "has begun to function as an unofficial court" of the denomination.

Initial petition signatories included 12 PCA pastors, such as the Rev. Duke Kwon, who pastors GraceDC Meridian Hill in Washington, D.C., and the Rev. Irwyn Ince, who is also from the GraceDC church network and led the PCA's Mission to North America (MNA), its North American missions arm, from 2021 until he stepped down in September.

Ince, who was involved earlier this year with controversial ethnic-based "affinity groups" in the PCA, resigned from the MNA after a viral X clip showed him formally blessing a pastor who announced his defection to the Roman Catholic Church from the pulpit.

The petition, which at first allowed anyone else to sign without confirming their identities, suspended signing on Tuesday after being inundated with fake names such "Adoll Fitler," "Ima Victum," "Judas Iscariot," among other more vulgar and offensive names that have since been removed.

"Unfortunately, due to incessant spam, we had to temporarily suspend submissions. We hope to have this feature active again soon," the petition said Tuesday. "For now, please continue to join us in prayer." As of Wednesday, a verification step had been added to the signature process that required users to "acknowledge my accountability before Him for the honesty of my statements."

The PCA's administrative committee, which had no part in the petition, did not respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.

The Rev. Zachary Groff, who pastors Antioch Presbyterian Church in Woodruff, South Carolina, and serves on the MNA's permanent committee, said in an X post that the views expressed in the petition did not reflect those of the denomination.

"The recently published (and subsequently/predictably spammed into oblivion) 'Call to Prayer & Lament' does NOT represent any PCA entity, church, presbytery, agency, or institution. And that's a good thing," he tweeted.

'Embarrassingly lowbrow'

The petition was met with mixed reactions on social media, with some characterizing the petition as a necessary step. Others were dismayed at what they described as evidence of encroaching "wokeness" and liberalism that assumes a left-wing worldview while calling good evil.

"This is such an embarrassingly lowbrow Leftist frame that I honestly don't know how anyone who calls themselves a Christian could write these lines or put their names to it," said William Wolfe, who serves as executive director of the Center for Baptist Leadership.

"But right now, a liberal group in the PCA is doing just that. Another reminder that Woke won't 'be put away' in conservative Christian denominations unless the good guys PUT it away," he added.

Wolfe also claimed "lament" has become "another one of those 'Christian and biblical words' that has been totally hijacked by the Woke in the American church (like empathy)."

"The tent is too big," the Rev. Sean McGowan, who pastors Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, Florida, wrote in an apparent reference to the late Rev. Tim Keller's famous "big tent" paper that was presented at the 2010 PCA General Assembly. Keller's concept, which was widely applauded at the time, advocated for uniting diverse Reformed theological viewpoints in pursuit of a common cultural mission.

"So glad my whiteness has been lamented in our denomination for the 800th time," wrote religion writer Zoe Miller, whose husband is a PCA pastor in Idaho.

Miller's post prompted the Rev. George Sayour, a PCA minister in Florida, to reply: "Is [Miller], a woman, allowed to disagree with this [petition]? Am I, an Arab, allowed to? Maybe the issue is less around Culture and Color, and more around Philosophy and Theology."

The Rev. Thomas Rickard, who pastors Seven Springs Presbyterian Church in Glade Spring, Virginia, and serves as stated clerk of the PCA's Westminster Presbytery throughout northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, penned a lengthy Medium post addressing some of the petition's claims.

"If the claims in this letter accurately describe our denomination, that the PCA as a whole is marked by suspicion, gracelessness, partiality, unjust exclusion, or hostility toward our neighbors, then the PCA would indeed be drifting from the Westminster Standards and would stand in grave danger, for such sins have no place in Christ’s Church," he wrote in part.

"Yet the conclusions offered seem to take the experiences or actions of individuals and extend them to the denomination as a whole, without citing the actions of the General Assembly or the courts of the Church," he continued.

"The Westminster Confession requires truth, evidence, and due process in any public accusation, and it forbids rash judgments and unwarranted generalizations. Some claims appear misleading, for example, the PCA's complementarian commitment is grounded in Scripture and our Standards (Male-only ordination), not in cultural 'male-dominance.'"

The Rev. Matt Kennedy, who serves as senior pastor at Church of the Good Shepherd, a conservative Anglican church in Binghamton, New York, pushed back especially against the petition's apparent assumption that homosexuality is an intrinsic part of one's identity.

"They seem to be about 5 minutes away from becoming openly affirming. They've already jettisoned Genesis and adopted the Queer Theory frame for sexual 'identity,'" Kennedy wrote.

"Also, they've become adept at that utterly ubiquitous tool of the leftist ideologue masquerading as the pious pilgrim: simultaneously exuding utter contempt and malice while playing the virtuous victim, 'confessing' the vaguely defined 'sin' of other people which, upon examination, turns out to be the rejection of leftist ideology," he added.