Woman deacons and the PCA: earlier today, Atlanta jumps on the northern bandwagon...

(Tim) Two weeks ago, I wrote: "Places like New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and San Francisco will push for a liberalizing of the laws and practice of the PCA related to sexual matters, as we now see from 3 of those 4 metro areas in the documents related to woman deacons they've adopted in the past month."

Well, as of the meeting of Metro Atlanta Presbytery earlier today, make that 4 of 4.

The same position statement acted on by Northern California, Metro New York, and Philadelphia Presbyteries has now also been presented to and adopted by Metro Atlantic Presbytery. Although they changed some of the prefatory wording, they approved essentially the same document approved by Northern California and Metro New York Presbyteries.

In response, members of Northern California and Metro New York Presbyteries have filed three different complaints against their own presbyteries.

Let's pray there will also be a teaching elder or ruling elder in Metro Atlanta Presbytery who will file a complaint against his presbytery's action taken earlier today...

To remind our readers, these six statements form the substance of each of these presbyteries actions, and thus present the basis of the complaints against the presbyteries for their violations of Scripture and the Book of Church Order:

1. Only men are ordained as deacons and they conduct the diaconal ministries of the congregation.

2. Only men are ordained as deacons, yet Sessions select and appoint others--men and/or women--to assist the deacons in their work.

3. Only men are ordained as deacons and women are selected and appointed by the Session to serve as deaconesses who assist the male deacons.

4. Only men are ordained as deacons, yet the congregation elects women with the approval of the session to serve as deaconesses who assist the male deacons.

5. Men are ordained as deacons and women are commissioned as deaconesses without ordination, though both the men and the women are elected by the congregation and serve as equal partners in the diaconal ministry.

6. Both men and women serve as equal partners in diaconal ministry and are often described as “deacon” or “deaconess” though no one is ordained to this ministry.