The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), at its annual meeting on Thursday, voted to investigate the Christian relevance of the best-selling book. Jesus calls by Sarah Young, who was part of the PCA and died in August last year at 77 years old. Young was one of the most widely read evangelicals of the last 20 years.
Pastors in the denomination fear that Young’s use of Jesus’ voice in the book could undermine the concept of sola Scriptura and this could constitute heresy. The book was published in 2004, and criticism of its theology from denominational leaders has already been widely publicized.
In addition to being a graduate of the denomination’s Covenant Theological Seminary, Young was the wife of PCA elder and missionary to Japan, Steve Young.
During debate on the measure, the recent widower stood and addressed several thousand religious leaders, asking the congregation to vote against the investigation.
“His writings do not add anything to the Scriptures but explain them,” Steve Young said. “She would stand with Martin Luther and declare that her conscience was captive to the Word of God. »
He continues: “Sarah is a sister in Christ and a wife who rejoiced in the law of the Lord, and who meditated on his law day and night. She was moved to share her meditations with the world.
Young herself says his devotions were meant to be read “with the Bible open.”
The measure passed by a relatively close vote, 947 to 834, with 20 abstentions. He commissioned two denominational committees to answer a series of questions about the book and each publish a report.
The committees must review the history of denominational agencies with the book and must “evaluate the book’s relevance to Christians in general and PCA members and congregations in particular, with particular attention to its doctrine and method.”
One of the committee’s reports will come from Mission to the World (MTW), the faith-based mission agency through which Sarah Young and her husband served as missionaries. MTW’s report must “examine MTW’s relationship with the book, knowledge of its contents, and any advice given to the author” and “consider actions that MTW and the General Assembly should take in light of this study of the book and the agency’s relationship with it.”
Those who support the measure said the reports would be helpful.
“This book in question may be the best-selling book of any PCA member,” said Pastor Zachary Groff, speaking in support of the investigation.
Chuck Williams, another Church leader, expressed concern about anyone “claiming to have immediate revelation from God.” (Young’s editors at Thomas Nelson said she made it clear that she had no “new revelations.”)
Opponents of the measure believed it was an unusual undertaking for the denomination to investigate a book and felt it was inappropriate given the timing after his death.
A Tennessee pastor, Daniel Wells, said he knew Young’s extended family.
“They are still in mourning,” he said, calling for a vote against this measure. “Romans 12:15 tells us to weep with those who mourn. This opening would instead ask us to investigate this deceased woman.
Church leader Jerid Krulish, speaking against the measure, noted that he was from Alaska, where people often eat a lot of fish.
“I know a fishing expedition when I see it,” he told the audience, laughing. “I find it derogatory and a waste of time for these committees.”
Hymn author Kevin Twit also rose to oppose the measure, saying he had not read the book but that John Newton’s hymn “Thoughtful, unbelieving and fearful heart” also speaks using the voice of God, and he considers it not a new revelation but a summary of ideas.
THE original legislation (called an opening in the PCA) came from an individual, Pastor Benjamin Inman. Most legislative texts emanate from a consistory. The lack of support for the measure from a presbytery does not bode well for its chances at the denominational level.
But this week, the denomination’s opening committee amended Inman’s legislation to be gentler and more palatable to the assembly — removing language condemning Young for publishing a book guilty of idolatry, for example – and recommended that the assembled assembly vote yes on the amended version.
of Inman original legislation called on the PCA to consider repentance for failing to sanction Young for idolatry, while acknowledging that “the perpetrator’s death in August 2023 brought her beyond the PCA’s jurisdiction.”
Steve Tipton, the chairman of the committee that produced the amended legislation, said the aim of the faith-based report was not to condemn Young, although he said “we can all guess” what the faith-based committees would say on the relevance of the book for Christians.
The PCA is a small denomination — with about 1,800 congregations compared to the Southern Baptist Convention’s 47,000 — but it has a broad intellectual influence, with authors like Young, Tim Keller, O. Alan Noble, Kevin DeYoung and Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt. Jesus calls sold more than 45 million copies.
Evangelical leaders have already criticized the book. Author Kathy Keller, wife of Tim Keller, said Jesus calls undermined the sufficiency of Scripture. Blogger Tim Challies said the book was “unworthy of our attention”.
The CPA disagreed.
