Let me explain why the Virginia pastors’ letter concerning the upcoming constitutional amendments causes me to recoil in perturbation. And no, I’m not being a stubborn mule about it. We begin with the timing. As they say, “Timing is everything.” And perhaps that's because everything we do unfolds in time. We are a rooted bunch, and space and time are great gifts from God. In fact, according to the Apostle Paul, we have the apparent ability to “redeem” or buy back time (Eph. 5:16). What makes the space/time discussion intriguing is the fact that our actions have the ability to accrue interest over…time. “Precept upon precept.” We’re not in an endless cycle of meaninglessness (sorry to break it to you existentialists), and what we did yesterday matters. What we’ve been doing says a lot about where we are this morning. Question: have you redeemed the time? Or are you Johnny-come-lately? The letter comes a couple of months before the vote. It speaks many true things! Here’s where the chafing begins. What have you, Virginia pastor who signed your name, been doing to actively abolish (not regulate) the abhorrent evil of child sacrifice—wait for it—before you signed your name to this letter? “Well, I’m busy with Word and sacrament.” (Run with it. I realize non-Reformed folks don’t talk like this.) Okay, that’s good. As a pastor, I am committed to liturgy as being a way of life, a way of rooting the Church’s restless heart in the things of God. But beyond supporting a pregnancy center (a good and helpful work, to be sure), or occasionally invoking the “sanctity of life” from the pulpit, what are YOU as an elder-pastor in the Church of the Living God doing about it? Equipping the saints? Sending out evangelists? Making disciples whose hands are dirty? Leading in the work itself? Does your prophetic voice carry any weight outside of the pulpit? What are YOU doing? “You expect me to drop everything and become a street preacher?!” To which I respond, “Would you do it if they were aborting pastors?” I recently spent time with a congressional candidate. He asked if I was aware of the amendments going on in Virginia. I responded: “Sir, we’ve been on the front lines laboring to abolish abortion in Virginia for nine, going on ten years. I’ve begged and pleaded for someone, anyone, to run a bill of equal justice. Politicians like Amanda Chase and Nick Freitas had the opportunity to run it, and given Nick’s online influence, it could have made considerable difference. But we're not pragmatists plucking a pinch of grass and tossing it into the air to see which way the political winds are blowing. We trust the sovereign providence of God and labor for the glory of God. We have had countless opportunities to destroy this wickedness and politicians won’t do it. Our job is to be obedient first, not effective first. The results belong to God.” Or something like that. I told the man that getting pastors involved has been about as successful as convincing them to keep their churches open during, say, a pandemic. Which brings me to my second and final point. This is a letter. Letters are generally fine, but would your wife be content to receive only love letters and never enjoy your presence? I am convinced that Christians in general (Pietism is to blame) have mastered the art of fighting evil from a safe distance. They’ll touch it with a ten-foot pole, but heaven forbid they get their hands dirty. The letter, with all its bluster, is Exhibit A. While we’re here, one more thing. The time for letters is passing. The time for obedience has always been upon us. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Better late than never. “For the shepherds have become senseless And have not sought Yahweh; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.” — Jeremiah 10:21

Ignoring the bonkers framing to start with, if Zachary Garris and Michael Clary are who you want “settling the question of women in the church,” I’m not interested in the least.

And the extreme rightward drift of Founders continues

Zach Garris a patriarchalist and a defender of the Confederacy, currently suspended from the ministry for unwholesome speech online by his PCA Presbytery. Clary is a Southern Baptist patriarchalist and writes for outfits like American Reformer and Center for Baptist Leadership.

I’m a Dispensationalist. I believe that the same literal, grammatical and historical hermeneutic that recovered the doctrine of Salvation can be applied to Eschatology. It’s a continuation of reformation. That’s why I’m also a Premillennialist.

No presbyterian who holds to the regulative principle of worship and values liberty of conscience should seek to give a so-called Christian Prince "the power to call synods" and "confirm or deny their theological judgments" thus making them "the settled doctrine of the land."