Author: Plumb Line
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Ad-Interim Report:
Good Material but Bad AdviceWe are grateful that the preliminary report from the Ad Interim Committee (AIC) appointed to deal with the question of SSA and ordination will be presented to the 45th General Assembly. Ruling and teaching elders across the EPC will now have opportunity to provide feedback over the next year before the final report and recommendations…
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A Red Line on Ordination
and Same-Sex Attraction
in the EPCThe Evangelical Presbyterian Church has long held that ordination is not a right, but a calling that must meet the highest biblical and spiritual standards. As the Book of Government states: “Those who serve as ordained officers in the Church must exhibit a godly walk, an exemplary life, and soundness in the faith … They…
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Plumb Line Perspectives
on the 45th General AssemblyThe 45th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, convening to address a host of matters, is a pivotal moment for our denomination. The Presbyterian Plumb Line Editorial Board urges Commissioners to engage deeply with the critical issues at hand, guided by Scripture, the Westminster Standards, and a commitment to the purity and peace of…
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Note from the Plumb Line Editors
One of the distinguishing marks of being Presbyterian is our form of government. In fact, we take our name from our polity! It is a great privilege to meet collectively in a General Assembly and deliberate on the important affairs of our denomination, a pattern going back to the Reformation era and established by American…
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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.
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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…
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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…
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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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Pennsylvania Church Withdraws from the EPC
After a contentious two-year battle that ended with its pastor and Session removed from office by the Presbytery of the Alleghenies, Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pa., voted in January to dissolve its relationship with the EPC.
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Ohio Church Votes to Leave EPC
Frustrated by the failure of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies and the General Assembly to vote on an overture forbidding the ordination of homosexuals, a church in Mansfield, Ohio, voted in November to leave the EPC.