Claiming they were kept in the dark about the issue of same-sex attraction decided at the 46th EPC General Assembly, some members have resigned from the historic 1,800-member First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge, La. (FPCBR).
Founded in 1827, FPCBR will soon be celebrating its 200th year as a congregation. After 20 years of ministry, Senior Pastor Gerrit Dawson retired at the end of April 2026 and the congregation is conducting a search for its next Senior Pastor (https://fpcbr.org/senior-pastor-search/). Normally, this would be a time of celebration, with ambitious development plans underway, according to the church website.
Instead, a significant number of members have expressed upset and opposition at the passage of the pastoral letter in June 2026 at the 46th GA of the EPC which permits consideration for ordination of celibate homosexuals who continue to experience sexual attraction to their own sex. Members claim they learned about the issue only after the General Assembly had taken place through online journals such as the Presbyterian Plumb Line.
Since this discovery, several members searched Scripture, located pertinent documents on the EPC website, and demanded an explanation from their Elders. In anguish, over a period of several weeks several members prepared their own papers proclaiming Biblical truths which countered the AIC documents and which were circulated among the members of FPCBR.
Reacting to the outcry of its members, the Session of FPCBR held several open meetings in August to draft a response to the congregation while members observed them working. That response, in a letter dated August 27, was emailed to the members and can be found here.
In addition, a “Conversations and Questions” open forum was held for the congregation on September 20, 2026, to hear from its Interim Pastor, Scott Graham; EPC Stated Clerk Dean Weaver; and Sandy Willson, a member of the EPC Ad Interim Committee on Same-Sex Attraction and Ordination Standards. A video of that public meeting was available on the church website for a few weeks, but has since been removed. Before it was removed, the Plumb Line reviewed that video and captured the audio recording, which is available here.
Both Weaver and Willson sought to persuade the congregation that actions taken at the 46th General Assembly actually strengthened the EPC constitutional and ordination standards to exclude from ordination individuals who identified as homosexual, regardless of celibacy, by closing three “loopholes” in the ordination standards regarding concupiscence, sanctification, and sexual identity (Weaver, 00:23:00). [Editor note: references are to approximate time stamps in the audio recording.]
In his remarks, Willson stated, “our number one goal: We want to be eminently Biblical. And so, our concern for those who seem to be opposing it on the grounds I just stated, are not being eminently Biblical (00:45:00). [editor note: The “grounds (he) just stated” is his understanding of the Red Line Statement.]
After 53 minutes of explanation from Weaver and Willson, members of the congregation were invited to ask questions. During the Q&A time, church members questioned the logic and Biblical basis of the Pastoral Letter on Same-Sex Attraction approved by GA.
The first speaker, Greg, asked, “Same-sex attraction is the word that’s used in here. And same-sex attraction appears to be, to me, the same thing as homosexual temptation. Homosexual desires. Is that correct? If not, how’s it different?” (00:54:00).
In response, Willson responded, “We tried to delineate the progress that leads to final sin, you know, a physical engagement in homosexuality. So, it begins with our indwelling sin. And because of that, we’re all susceptible … Everyone has SSA (00:56:00). But the one who has SSA that is not generating the temptation, nor falling prey to external temptation through repentance, that’s the person that’s being addressed in our paper.”
Greg responded, “Reading the pastoral letter … I don’t think that you get that out of there, the nuanced approach. I mean, it talks about ongoing experiencing same-sex attraction? … To me, that reads like a stronghold sin that is repetitive, that is getting a grip on you … And it seems to me that that is just something that would not be good for a person that you’re considering for ordination” (00:58:00).
After further remarks from Willson, Greg continued, “So, as you know, we are looking for a senior pastor … So, what I hear you saying through these documents and what you’re saying is we should not rule out anybody just based on ongoing same-sex attraction” (00:59:00).
Willson responded further, “We were not necessarily saying that … What we did intend to say, and I think the Assembly interprets it this way, is that in a case like that, where you have a person who has been repentant, is repentant, living a godly life, he mourns over these attractions, and he’s living out a chaste life in his heart and in his physical life that he’s not automatically disqualified by our denomination … You’re free to use your judgment. And there may be a case when a particular church in a particular place may find someone acceptable for them who meets the standards we just described and he would be suitable for that. And there might be another place where he wouldn’t be suitable.”
Another speaker, Peggy (1:14:00) said, “My husband and I have been members of this church for 38 years … As members of Christ’s body, each of us has the privilege of knowing and standing strong on the Word of God, having put on Christ through faith, we must also learn to put on, effectively use, and maintain the full armor of God … His spirit equips us to spiritually recognize changes like the ones approved at this year’s EPC General Assembly. I’m talking mostly about the pastoral letter issues. To me, and to many others, that signals a path has been cleared for the enemy to enter our denomination … Yet the Ad Interim Committee recommends that church courts consider for ordination candidates whose ongoing experiences of same-sex attraction, and this is where I stop every time. I can’t get over the words. Every Biblically thoughtful reader should stop and question them … this is not a true Biblical standard.”
Another speaker, Maureen (1:25:00) stated, “Someone has got to stand up for our little ones … The Pastoral Letter regarding children who may be experiencing same-sex attraction, quote. ‘We should help them understand that they can live very faithful Christian lives as single persons.’ … it also continues to say, if these children — birth to 18 — are convinced of their same-sex attraction, they are to disclose their struggles only to those who would edify them. Okay, who are they disclosing them to? Other same-sex attracted people? I don’t think it’s God’s will that we nurture a same-sex attraction in a child.”
Some members of FPCBR objecting to the action of its Session were reportedly brought before the Session and accused of disturbing the peace and unity of the church. As a result, several members have resigned their memberships and others are preparing letters of resignation. At least one Ruling Elder has resigned from ordination. These reports were all confirmed by the remarks members made during the congregational forum and recorded on video.
One church member, Beau (audio unclear) (1:31:00), questioned whether a person with “indwelling sin” could meet the Biblical standard for church leaders to be “above reproach.” He stated that concupiscence is not in the Westminster Confession and that Westminster question 150 “clearly states that some sins are more heinous than others.” He concluded with the statement: “It’s clear that it is allowed now to have SSA in the EPC. For me, I just wholeheartedly disagree. We can discuss it all night, but it’s really just an impasse. And we can have hope to say it would never happen in this church. But I don’t want to be a part of a denomination that ordains this.”
Another church member, Lisa (1:41:00), expressed despair that in consequence of the actions taken by their Elders (and the EPC) members of the church are leaving. “How do we come back as a family again, because this is my family, and it breaks my heart to see people leaving it.”
The last congregant to speak was Brenda (1:56:00).
“I had spoken to someone who was at the GA in June and was attending a luncheon that was given before the vote on the pastoral letter. That person was in a room with the lunch where the luncheon was, and the AIC was given an hour to make their case to the people in the room. There were hundreds of people in the room. I was told that one of the leaders, EPC leaders in the room, actually stood up and said that there are homosexual celibate pastors — plural — ordained in the EPC already.”
In his response, Weaver said he was not at that particular meeting but denied knowing any celibate homosexual who is ordained in the EPC leadership (1:58:00). Willson was one of the speakers at that luncheon meeting and did not deny that the statement was made. In his response to Brenda, he denied knowing any unrepentant homosexuals ordained in the EPC, but clarified that it was beyond his purview to know whether someone has SSA or not. He stated further (1:59:00), “But I’ll say to you, for the history of the EPC, I don’t know why there wouldn’t be someone who’s a ruling elder in a church somewhere or a teaching elder in a presbytery somewhere … who experiences SSA. And yes, I would assume they’re married, which means they’re bisexual. Probably. So, we’re all guessing.”
Near the end of the meeting (2:08:00), Weaver argued that the pastoral letter “doesn’t have anything to do with people being ordained,” and “misrepresentations” that “all of a sudden we are ordaining homosexuals” is “dangerously close to a violation of the 9th commandment” — despite the fact that the pastoral letter does advise that courts may permit consideration of SSA homosexual applicants for ordination.
Posted November 7, 2026
Leave a Comment