Posted on 05/15/2024 11:07:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Presbyterian Church in America has canceled a panel discussion scheduled for its churchwide gathering next month that would have included Evangelical writer and New York Times columnist David French in response to much opposition.
ByFaith, the official magazine of the PCA, reported on Tuesday that the panel scheduled for the theologically conservative denomination's June General Assembly in Richmond, Virginia, had been canceled.
"The concerns that have been raised about the seminar and its topic have been so significant that it seems wisest for the peace and unity of the church not to proceed in this way," stated the PCA Administrative Committee in the report.
"Instead, the seminar time will be allocated to a prayer convocation that humbly petitions our God for the good of his church in a polarized political year, utilizing the means of grace provided by our Lord for his people."
PCA Stated Clerk Bryan Chapell apologized to the committee for the controversy that caused "some brothers to be concerned for the witness of our church and other brothers to be concerned for how our church processes differing views while protecting reputations."
"The purpose of the seminar was to help our churches deal with political tensions and, instead, controversy has ensued. This is contrary to the intended purposes of the seminar and the purposes that AC members and staff have so conscientiously pursued with me over the last four years," stated Chapell in his statement.
"Had I known some of the ways that the panelist has expressed himself or been understood in past writings, I would have made a different choice for the purposes of this seminar."
The Christian Post reached out to a representative of French for a response and was informed that the columnist was not making any statements on the matter at present.
Earlier this month, PCA announced that French, a prominent Evangelical critic of former president Donald Trump, would participate in a panel at the General Assembly titled "How to Be Supportive of Your Pastor and Church Leaders in a Polarized Political Year."
The decision to include French on the panel invited criticism from many members of the PCA and conservative Christians.
PCA Teaching Elder Ben C. Dunson wrote a column denouncing French's involvement, citing French's support for legalizing same-sex marriage, anti-Trump statements, defense of drag queen story hours and how he allegedly "besmirches the character of Christians who disagree with him on these issues."
"The General Assembly seminar announcement is worded so as to indicate that it will help us avoid political polarization. David French is the poster-child for political polarization," wrote Dunson, a visiting professor of New Testament at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina.
"Maybe he's right and we all have no choice but to vote for Joe Biden for President, but that is hardly a non-polarizing position to take. French's place on this panel will not fulfill the seminar's own stated purpose."
The Daily Wire reporter and author Megan Basham cited French's "divisive reputation" and argued that PCA leadership "knew full well the effect French's inclusion on a panel on polarizing politics would have."
"They deliberately took actions they knew would draw attention away from the business of the PCA and toward worldly political concerns and debates," she tweeted.
"In other words, they chose to deliberately disturb the peace of this gathering. This is an important thing to remember as discussions about what to do now go forward."
Is the PCA the conservative branch that broke from the PCUSA, or the opposite?
You are correct: we (the PCA) are the theologically conservative group... which is why this story is both interesting and noteworthy.
RE: Is the PCA the conservative branch that broke from the PCUSA?
Yes it is.
I was thinking of bringing this up with my PCA pastor last Sunday but decided to see how this would play out since the GA was next month. Seems to have resolved itself so onward and upward.
The Presbyterian Church did the right thing. David French does not speak for the majority of Evangelical Christians. He speaks for himself, and a small minority.
Good this saves me from calling the PCA to complain.
Yes PCA is the conservative church that broke from PCUSA. The PCA still is conservative, that’s why this choice of a speaker was a shock to many of us in the denomination. With all the outstanding scholars and leaders in the PCA why would the denomination think anything worthwhile could be learned from David French?
The EPC is also pretty conservative and broke away from PCUSA.
French is so hostile to Christian values, that most people on X think he is a leftist Jew.
Is the PCA the conservative branch that broke from the PCUSA, or the opposite?
No, and yes. The PCA split from the old PCUS before that body merged with the northern mainline presby church to become the PCUSA.
Good! What an irritating, squeaky-voiced scumbag.
Follow up to the article you posted recently.
The associate pastor in my Evangelical Presbyterian Church is promoting his Sunday School class that is using French’s After Party series of videos that supposedly offer a Christian approach to politics that probably reflects French’s notions that being partisan is un-Christian. He’s totally against Donald Trump—says Trump’s a disaster for the nation. He has advocated that Trump should be removed from the ballot.
I don’t know why my pastor is pushing anything this man is promoting. Is he ignorant or is he suggesting that those of us who support Trump and have deeply held political views are un-Christian? This pastor is originally from California and once mentioned that he and his son were greatly disturbed when they visited Disneyland and saw protestors condemning Disney’s woke politics.
I can’t imagine how my generally conservative congregation is going to react to the After Party program. They are probably unaware of the controversy roiling the PCA.
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