Its been almost 6 years and as many rounds of Overtures since the first Revoice Conference marking the official “coming out” of Side-B Gay Christianity within the PCA. During that time, those of us seeking to push-back on this harmful ideology have been called “southern moralistic pietists” on social media and characterized in USA Today and Yahoo by a PCA Pastor as “a couple thousand mostly older white, churchgoing, Southern, heterosexual religious conservatives with children and grandchildren and seersucker suits.”
Rhetoric and smear campaigns not withstanding, many good things have happened in the PCA with regard to these issues since they first reared their head back in 2018. The Nashville Statement was declared Biblically Faithful in 2019. The AIC Report on Human Sexuality passed in 2021. The Church and pastor who brought this controversy to the PCA left the denomination in 2022. Overtures to amend the Book of Church Order regarding this issue were passed in 2022 and 2023, the last of which will be ratified at the 2024 General Assembly. Also, in somewhat related news, a Statement by the PCA regarding transgenderism which calls on the US and State governments to put an end to chemical and surgical gender reassignment surgeries has been sent out by the Stated Clerks of the denomination and the individual presbyteries to government agencies.
Yet, after all of this, just this past week (Feb. 2024), there are PCA pastors questioning what Side-B is on X.com as well as attacking Rosaria Butterfield for condemning Revoice and Side-B publicly as noted in this article. For instance, multiple Officers in the PCA questioned (and here) if Butterfield actually still agrees with the Nashville Statement to which she is a signatory. This, despite that her comments are perfectly in-line with the Nashville Statement. Other TEs took to ad hominem attacks such as:
I considered RB sus after reader her first book. When you go from where she was before her conversion to becoming an advocate of exclusive psalmody, you’re dealing with a person who apparently can only live in the extremes. (here, also this one)
One pastor who has been involved in these Side-B debates from the beginning implies that we are disagreeing over tertiary issues:
This misunderstands our concerns with RB…We probably agree on paper on most things but it’s how she views people who disagree with her on a few tertiary issues that makes her so extreme. (here, since the posting of this article, this tweet has been removed. See similar screenshots from the same author at the bottom of the article, under the video).
When asked if he believes Side-B is a tertiary issue, he writes:
I don’t know what you mean by side-B. Terminology is a tertiary issue. Whether or not we attend conferences w/ ppl that don’t fully align with our views is tertiary. (here, since the posting of this article, this tweet has been removed. See screenshot at the bottom of the article, under the video).
Remember, the context of this discussion is Butterfield’s position that Side-B and Revoice teaching and conferences are wicked. Seeking to understand the actual disagreement and being able to accurately represent those you disagree with seems to still escape many who continue to minimize the Side-B/Revoice issue. Rosaria Butterfield and the majority of the PCA believe this is a doctrinal issue regarding anthropology, not just a terminology issue. Whether or not to attend Revoice, where sexless same-sex unions, queer treasure, and preferred pronouns are celebrated, is not simply an issue of discernment and therefore it is not a tertiary issue.
A Ray of Light from a PCA Ruling Elder
Remarkably, in the midst of that soft-peddling of Side-B there was a bright spot in PCA Twitter that same week. His name is Charles Higham and he is a Ruling Elder in the PCA who is open about his experience with same-sex attraction. In a rare occurrence on Twitter/X, RE Higham actually publicly repented of supporting Revoice and Side-B Gay Christianity. Here’s a transcript of his thread of tweets:
I have been wrestling with doing this for some time, but it seems the Lord won’t let me sit on it. I used to support #Revoice and even attended the 2022 conference. I defended Revoice, criticized the opponents, and publicly supported Greg Johnson on this app. 1/
I had rejected “Side B” for a long time but finally became open to it after reading Johnson’s book. Embracing that position seemed to make sense of my own struggles with homosexual lust. I even started calling myself gay with certain friends and even with my wife. 2/
I became critical of people who did not embrace Revoice. Now I realized that I was in grave error. “Side B” is not good for the Church. Our doctrinal standards do not allow for Revoice’s stance towards so-called “LGBTQ” issues. 3/
The PCA should not leave room for the “Side B” position, for it is not in accord with sound doctrine. I am sorry that I thought otherwise, and I wholeheartedly repent before all of you and ask for your forgiveness. 4/
Praise God Brother! If you want to hear RE Charles Higham’s testimony, TE Ryan Biese and myself have him on a cross-over episode between Presbyterian & Reformed Churchmen Podcast and The Westminster Standard Podcast. Or you can watch here.
It is my hope and prayer that for the Glory of God, the Supremacy of the Christ, a recognition of the Power of the Gospel to change us, the hope of sinners, and for the peace, purity, and unity of the PCA, that more men come to this realization with repentant hearts.
For More on Side-B and the Debates in the PCA
- What is Side-B & Where is it in the PCA
- The Joy-Robbing False Hope of Side-B Gay Christianity
- What Does the PCA Believe About Homosexuality and Gay Identity?
- Reality Check and the Future of the PCA
- Homosexuality and the True Divide in the PCA
Screenshots of some of the above deleted tweets:
