Volume 1, Issue 3
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Note from the Plumb Line Editors
In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus issues a stern warning: “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly, they are ferocious wolves.” The problem with false teachers is they don’t look like wolves: they appear harmless and friendly. Outwardly, they look like sheep and mimic the vocabulary of sheep.…
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Genesis, Gender, and Greg Johnson
Those who support ordaining SSA pastors point to the importance of reaching the gay community for Christ and the foundational doctrine of grace. I get it. All of us struggle with temptation, so how is it fair to exclude those who are homosexually tempted yet celibate?
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The PCA and Greg Johnson:
The Real StoryThere is a narrative circulating in the EPC that Greg Johnson’s positions on homosexuality and same-sex attraction are orthodox since the PCA judicial cases that deliberated on allegations against Johnson exonerated him. This is incorrect.
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Life on Side B
Let’s take a moment to look down the road. Imagine what the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) will look like ten years from now if we choose to embrace and ordain leaders who identify with the Side B movement. What will our presbyteries look like? What will shape the spiritual life of our churches? Whose voices…
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The Benefits of Psalm Singing
The Psalter is a glorious tome, perfect for recitation, memorization, and preaching. But it was made to be sung. Paul explicitly commands us to sing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16.
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A Moderator’s Meanderings
“Meanderings” definition: Rambling or passing from one topic to another. I hope you find the following collection of articles, quotes, quips, and Scripture to be informative, edifying, and thought-provoking. This information is not as thorough or detailed as the other articles in the Plumb Line. But I hope to stimulate honest and open debate on…
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Book Review:
‘Dangerous Affirmation’Perkins argues in his book Dangerous Affirmation: The Threat of “Gay Christianity” that homosexuality and Christianity are incompatible. Perkins’ aim is to help the average Christian understand and respond biblically to the gay Christian movement. Perkins warns of the danger of affirming what God denies. Though Scripture is the primary focus, Perkins does not shy…
News
- Interim Committee
on SSA and Ordination
Reports to the 45th
General AssemblyIn response to the host of overtures before the 44th General Assembly asking whether admitting gay minister Greg Johnson to the EPC is biblically defensible, the 44th General Assembly appointed an Ad Interim Committee to study Scripture and the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms on related questions. The committee was charged to bring clarity to the EPC on the following issues: - National Leadership Team
Offers Response to PresbyteryAs reported previously in the Plumb Line, New River Presbytery (NRP) wrote a letter to the National Leadership Team (NLT) in August 2024 seeking reconciliation after the prejudicial handling by leaders of the EPC of the NRP’s unanimously passed overture. The NLT met with representatives of the NRP in January 2025 and respectfully listened to their complaints. The NRP leadership report that they voiced the following theological concerns at the January meeting: - New Mexico Church
Votes to Leave EPCConvinced that the EPC is no longer compatible with their beliefs, members of First Artesia Church in New Mexico voted May 4 to leave the denomination. The Letter of Racial Lament and the issue of homosexuality were key issues that caused the church to break away from the EPC, according to Pastor Scott Pettus.