Bad Testimony of a Church in presbytery

[JBaldwin]

What do you do when you hear repeated bad reports about a church in your presbytery?

On and off over the last several years, I've heard negative reports about a church in our presbytery. We were members there at one time and left shortly after the last pastor (who resigned), and at least 1/3 of the congregation left in the year or two that followed. While the issues were not seriously doctrinal in nature, they were spiritual in nature and serious enough that many good people felt they could no longer submit to the church leadership.

The only reason I mention the above is I want to make it clear that people who've come to me with their concerns do so because they know I used to be a member there and that we went to the leadership to try to address the problems.

While I have heard the occasional complaint about this or that about this church in the last several years, lately, it seems every time I go out in public I run into someone who has had a bad experience with someone in leadership at that church (I've heard 4 bad reports in the last two weeks and only one person was a member of the church). These reports are coming from members, non-members and former members who have recently had dealings with the leadership in the church.

Last night, I had dinner with a group of women (none of whom are members), and one of the women quietly shared with me the problems her organization is having with the leadership and staff of the church. It bothered me so much, I'm still thinking about it this morning.

The problems are really no different than when we attended the church, but they have now seem to be reaching out and leaving a bad testimony with people who are associating with the church.

Is this nothing more than a matter of prayer? Or at some point, does this matter need to brought to the attention of someone in the presbytery?

I am going to talk to my pastor, but do have any of you pastors or elders ever encountered a problem like this in a PCA church?

 

[fredtgreco]

You should talk to your pastor and let him know your concerns. If anything can be done, your Session has both more ability than you (through their involvement in Presbytery) and responsibility where you do not (you need not worry that it is your "fault" for doing nothing more).

 

[jfschultz]

I was a member of the largest Presbyterian Church in Tennessee, when near the end of the 5 year escape clause period, left the PCUSA.

One, of several, reasons that this church went EPC instead of PCA was the apparent lack of action of the PCA presbytery in dealing with an errant congregation.

BTW, my joining the that PCUSA church raised some eyebrows because I was the clerk of session at that PCA church!