Presbyterian Church In America (PCA) Votes to Investigate ‘Jesus Calling’
Two committees will look into theology of Sarah Young’s bestseller
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) will spend the next year investigating the book “Jesus Calling” to assess its “appropriateness for Christians.”
“Jesus Calling” Author Sarah Young / Courtesy photo
This decision was made last week at the denomination’s 51st General Assembly (GA) in Richmond, Virginia. According to its website, GA is held each year for pastors and church leaders in the PCA to “discuss, debate and decide biblical and ministry issues.”
Benjamin Inman, a pastor from North Carolina who has had long-standing issues with the book, introduced the investigation at GA through a measure called an overture. The overture states that the book “promotes ostensibly grave errors and has been firmly rejected by influential public figures within, and theologically akin to, the PCA.”
Some pastors expressed concerns that the way Young writes the book as the voice of Jesus could take away from “sola Scriptura,” the concept of the supreme authority of Scripture.
The overture passed by a vote of 947-834. It tasks two committees—the Committee on Discipleship Ministries and Mission to the World—to issue a report documenting whether or not the book violates “the Second Commandment, and bring recommendations for any warranted actions of repentance by the PCA.”
The book’s author, Sarah Young, who died last year, was part of the PCA and had a degree from Covenant Theological Seminary.
“Jesus Calling” originated from Young’s spiritual practice of “listening prayer” where she would journal what she felt the Holy Spirit was telling her. These messages eventually found their way to Integrity Publishers through a women’s prayer group. The publishers liked what they read and asked if she would write a year-long devotional based on her entries. In 2004 “Jesus Calling” was published.
Since then it has sold more than 45 million copies.
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Young’s husband, Steve, is a PCA elder and missionary to Japan. He spoke out against the overture and asked those in attendance to vote against the investigation.
According to Christianity Today, he told those at the assembly: “Her writings did not add to Scripture but explain it. She would stand with Martin Luther and declare that her conscience was captive to the Word of God…Sarah is a sister in Christ and wife who delighted in the law of the Lord, and on his law she meditated day and night. She was led to share her meditations with the world.”
In her author bio, Young herself wrote, “The devotions…are meant to be read slowly, preferably in a quiet place with your Bible open.”
ChurchLeaders reports that “a teaching elder from Alaska, Jerid Krulish, called the investigation into Young’s devotional a ‘fishing expedition’ that would waste the time of committee members.”
The overture comes as the PCA has been struggling with an abuse crisis, and has been slow to implement sexual abuse prevention training based on findings laid out in the DASA Report. At last year’s GA, four overtures related to the prevention of sexual abuse within PCA churches were rejected.
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