July 1, 2020

Classical Protestant Resurgence:  how the PCA regained its mojo

Part 4 of the Series, “Religion in Post-Obama America”

Associated Press, Atlanta

Ten years ago, many thought that the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) was at a crisis point.   Years of stagnant growth and divisiveness had taken their toll.   In an effort to stem the tide, many prominent men within the PCA urged it to change her tack or risk irrelevancy.   An effort was made to broaden the PCA’s appeal by severing its ties with doctrinally similar, but smaller denominations in favor of cooperation with larger and growing movements.

However, a surprising thing happened.  Unconvinced that such a change in tactics was called for, the denomination instead chose to reemphasize her distinctives -- doctrines such predestination of an “elect,” the baptizing of infants, and the necessity of churches being connected in regional bodies called presbyteries.  Many feared that such a doctrinal approach would weaken the PCA and make it less appealing to the newer generations of Christians which appeared to be flocking to newer movements such as the so called “emergent” churches of the day and the Acts 29 Network (now on its third iteration as the Acts 31 network).

Perhaps a greater challenge to the PCA came from allies within the Southern Baptist Convention.   A renewed interest in Calvinism among Baptists of various kinds – ironically fueled in part by the success of the PCA – stemmed some of the PCA’s momentum as many younger Calvinists chose to practice their faith in a Baptist context.   The PCA was no longer the newest and coolest Calvinist kid on the block.  It had lost its mojo.

It was understandable then that some of the PCA leaders, wishing to keep up a perceived momentum from its earlier decades of rapid growth (due in large part to whole churches transferring in from other denominations), pushed for the PCA to accommodate herself to changing demographic trends.  

What could not have been foreseen was the growing cynicism of the newer generations towards the marketing which had been directed towards them by these newer movements.   Many recognized that the “emerging” churches had essentially employed the same strategy of the much maligned Willow Creek “church growth” strategies popularized in the suburbs of the 1980s and 90s.  Only this time, instead of syncretizing Christianity with the American suburban sub-culture, the emergents syncretized the Christian faith with the gentrification sub-culture of American cities.  (See Part 2 of this Series:  “How religion played a role in the re-segregating of the American urban landscape.”)    As sociologists have since shown, both rounds of syncretism served to accommodate evangelical Christianity to the predominant relativism of American culture, to the extent that doctrinal distinctives were often played down in hopes of churches appearing more open minded and relevant to the issues of the day.

At the same time, many of these disillusioned younger Christians found themselves attracted to the bold Calvinism found among a variety of Baptist preachers of the time, men such as John Piper of Minneapolis, Mark Dever of Washington, D.C., and Marc Driscoll of Seattle.  These ministers supported doctrines such as predestination and held to a strong view of the church, and yet rejected Presbyterian principles such as standing presbyteries and baptizing infants in favor of local church autonomy and baptizing only those who could recount some sort of credible conversion experience.  And while these popular Baptist ministers cooperated with other denominations, they made no bones about their distinctive Baptist convictions.   Such humble confidence in the midst of the emergent, relativist landscape proved attractive and successful.

Against this backdrop, the PCA held their annual General Assembly in late June of 2010.  Leaders from across the denomination were urging a new direction and a renewed emphasis on numerical growth in order to “be part of what God is doing in the world.”  After days of debate, the denominational rank and file rejected such an approach in favor of a return to their roots as a Calvinist denomination, including those convictions which distinguished them from both the emergent churches and their Calvinist Baptist allies.

At the same time, there was a renewed emphasis across the PCA on doing the simple things well – preaching from the Bible, emphasizing the doctrine of “justification by faith alone” as central to the Christian life, praying in small groups, and taking church discipline seriously (that members must uphold their vows to follow Christ or face correction from church leaders).   An emphasis was placed on local ministry rather than embracing a one-size-fits-all national strategy.

But this counter-intuitive approach to church growth paid off.   Younger Christians of all backgrounds were attracted to the authentic, simple approach to faith which did not overly concern itself with marketing or social trends.   At the same time, they were drawn to the certainty and stability which the PCA presented, and increasingly convinced of the Biblical rationale for infant baptism and standing presbyteries once the PCA began to aggressively promote its views.   Of course, a fine line had to be walked, both not to alienate other Christian denominations and to ensure that its own members did not confuse secondary matters with more essential matters such as the divinity of Jesus.  But somehow, the PCA pulled it off, and has seen steady numerical growth 7 of the past 10 years.

With the precipitous decline of the historically larger PC(USA), the PCA now appears on the cusp of becoming the largest Presbyterian body in the United States, with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church not far behind.