Category: Extra

In the beloved fairy tale “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” Goldilocks rejects the bowls of porridge that are too hot and too cold, choosing instead the porridge that is “just right.” It is a charming children’s story. But when applied to denominational identity, the search for “just right” and a middle way can lead to…

For 46 years the EPC has been guided by its motto: In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity. In times of conflict and disagreement, our ethos has served us well. But what happens when the ethos becomes a weapon? What happens when it is used to silence disagreement and dissent? What happens when…

Perhaps you’ll receive this paper in an email from a pastor or fellow elder. Perhaps you’ll come across it via a blog, website, or social media post. You might receive it angrily or with a sense of happy relief. However this paper gets to you, you’ll inevitably ask the same question the authors did: Why?…

At a meeting of Presbytery of the West, a member of the Ad Interim Committee (AIC) on same sex attraction and ordination offered a critique of the Presbytery of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) overture. Some refer to this overture as the “Red Line Overture” referencing the Red Line Statement signed by over three hundred REs…

I am writing out of love for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and deep concern for the future of our denomination. As many of you know, I served for 25 years as a missionary in Turkey, planting churches. In 2016, I was arrested on false charges of espionage and terrorism and spent two years in Turkish…

Recently, some Clerks of Session received a letter from a group of EPC Teaching Elders with exhortations and statements apparently aimed at reassuring the church that all is well with the Ad Interim Committee (AIC) and that those who suggest otherwise are “sowing fear and unrest.” In fact, things are not well in the EPC.…