The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America rejected a proposal to allow women to serve as ordained deacons during its annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.
Delegates voted Thursday against Overture 37, submitted by Pacific Presbytery, which proposed amending the PCA’s Book of Church Order to remove the word “men” from the qualifications for deacons. The measure would have permitted local church sessions to ordain qualified women as deacons while retaining the restriction of the office of elder to men.
Supporters of the overture pointed to differing practices among Reformed churches, the example of Phoebe in Romans 16:1, complementarian scholarship, historical Reformed writings and the principle of Christian liberty in support of the proposal.
Earlier in the week, the PCA Overtures Committee overwhelmingly recommended that the General Assembly reject the measure, stating, “Our constitutional documents are a sufficient expression of the biblical warrant, nature, qualifications, and duties of deacons.”
When the committee’s recommendation came before the full Assembly on Thursday, commissioners approved it by an overwhelming voice vote, with strong support and only a few opposing votes.
The General Assembly also voted Wednesday to make the “Partial Report of the Ad Interim Committee on Christian Nationalism” available to church sessions, presbyteries and other interested parties for review.
Prepared in response to an overture adopted last year, the document is not the denomination’s final position on Christian nationalism. Instead, it offers preliminary affirmations and denials addressing issues including the relationship between church and state, Christian political involvement, the responsibilities of civil government, racial issues and the Augustinian concept of “ordered loves.”
The report affirms that church and state have distinct, God-ordained responsibilities, stating that “both [are] institutions created by God, each with its distinct calling and sphere of responsibility” and that “the church is not called to direct the affairs of the state, nor the state the affairs of the church.”
It also cautions that because the term “Christian nationalism” is used in many different ways, any expression of it that promotes ethnic favoritism, racial superiority or equates national identity with the kingdom of God is contrary to Scripture, the Westminster Standards and the Gospel.
Commissioners also voted to extend the committee’s work for another year, with a final report scheduled to be presented to the 54th PCA General Assembly in 2027.
