We write as ethnic minority pastors and leaders within the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) with hearts full of gratitude and grief. We are profoundly thankful for the ways God has used this denomination to shape our faith, theology, and ministries. Through the PCA, we have encountered the beauty of the gospel, the clarity of the Westminster Standards, the joys of connectionalism, and the life-changing impact of Christian mission. For these mercies, we give thanks to God.

 

Yet along with that gratitude, we also write with grief. We lament the growing divisions, the tone of our public witness, and the ways in which our life together has too often wounded rather than healed. We lament that many — especially many minority leaders and women — struggle to find a home within our communion. We lament how fear and suspicion have too frequently overshadowed charity and hope.

 

What follows are four laments that express both our grief and our longing for a more faithful, Christ-centered future.

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1. We lament the schismatic culture of the PCA. 

 

We have seen a deepening culture of suspicion, gracelessness, self-righteousness, and relational dysfunction within the denomination. Too often, faithful leaders in good standing are subjected to unchecked slander and baseless innuendo on social media, which has begun to function as an unofficial court of the church. Many of us have experienced or witnessed racial microaggressions, unnecessary theological gatekeeping, and a pervasive mistrust that corrodes gospel ministry and healthy community. Some have described the denominational environment as emotionally or spiritually abusive, particularly toward leaders from marginalized and/or minority backgrounds. We long for a church culture marked by relational warmth, mutual trust, collegial deliberation, and grace. 

 

2. We lament that minority and female leaders remain sidelined. 

 

Many of us and those we serve have been persistently excluded, questioned, or sidelined because of our race, gender, or cultural background, and because of the way our convictions and ministry methodologies are at times discordant with the white and male-dominant culture that is normative in the PCA. We lament the denomination’s lack of progress around racial reconciliation and unity since our corporate repentance in 2016, and around our commitment to become a more robust and gracious complementarian denomination in 2017. We are grieved that public figures who have denigrated racial minorities, immigrants, and women find widespread sympathy and support in our denomination. We remain discouraged by the absence of leaders of color at the national level in the PCA. The denomination’s structures continue to leave little room for genuine mutuality or reciprocity. We desire a spiritual family where women are empowered, minority voices are centered and celebrated rather than tolerated, and leadership reflects the global and multicultural body of Christ.

 

3. We lament that theological rigidity has supplanted confessional generosity.

 

We affirm and cherish our Reformed theological convictions. However, we are deeply concerned by the PCA’s narrowing definition of doctrinal and ministerial faithfulness. Rather than fostering a generous, confessional catholicity, the denomination has increasingly prioritized doctrinal gatekeeping and judicial processes that drain energy from mission and ministry. Rather than allowing room for charitable disagreement on secondary matters without fracturing fellowship, the denomination has become increasingly inhospitable to those who share our convictions. We seek a theological home that values both doctrinal clarity and pastoral flexibility—one where we can remain “faithful to the scriptures” and “true to the Reformed faith” without crushing the spirit of our churches.

 

4. We lament that the denominational burden has become an obstacle to mission.

 

The political and cultural battles within the PCA have taken a heavy toll in our local contexts. Rather than fueling mission in our cities, the denomination increasingly hinders it. The very neighbors we are seeking to love — secular, progressive non-Christians, LGTBQ individuals, immigrants, people of color, and more — are publicly belittled and demonized, if not by our words then by our legislative actions. Some of us are exhausted from fighting internal battles that distract from the work of gospel proclamation and community transformation. We lament how that exhaustion can undermine our mission, values, and callings, particularly in diverse, urban, and post-Christian settings.
 

Despite these laments, we remain resolved in our prayerful pursuit of a healthier and more God-honoring future. 

 

We continue to long for an ecclesial home where: 

 

• Ethnic minorities are fully embraced and empowered as leaders;

• Friendship, trust, and collaboration shape the culture of our institutions;

• Justice, mercy, and hospitality are marks of our communities;

• Those wrestling with complex identities and callings find safety, truth, and grace;

• Theological depth is held together with spiritual warmth and missional clarity.

 

We are deeply grateful for the ways the Lord has used the PCA both around the world and within our local communities. We honor the PCA. It is from a place of concern and love that our laments arise. For those who share these concerns and long for such a future, we invite you to join us in a season of earnest prayer and fasting for our denomination.