Here are some relevant sections from the Book of Church Order about teaching elders serving "out of bounds".

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Here are the definitions of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment from the DASA Report.

Sexual Assault Sexual assault is any type of sexual behavior or contact where consent is not freely given or obtained. It is accomplished through force, intimidation, violence, coercion, manipulation, threat, deception, or abuse of authority. Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It consists of inappropriate verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s sense of well-being by creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment from the viewpoint of the affected individual.

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In the state where Ashley grew up and now lives, clergy are mandatory reporters of child abuse. That was not the case when Ashley was a minor, however, that does not excuse the callousness and neglect she experienced when reaching out to church leaders for help. For more information on state laws about clergy and mandatory reporting, see the document Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Abuse and Neglect.

Here are two sections of the Book of Church Order (BCO) about the nomination and election of officers as referenced in the podcast.

24-3. All communing members in good and regular standing, but no others, are entitled to vote in the election of church officers in the churches to which they respectively belong. A majority vote of votes cast (excluding blanks and abstentions) is required for election.

24-4. The voters being convened, the moderator shall explain the purpose of the meeting and then put the question: Are you now ready to proceed to the election of additional ruling elders (or deacons) from the slate presented? If they declare themselves ready, the election may proceed by private ballot without nomination. In every case a majority of all the votes cast (excluding blanks and abstentions) shall be required to elect.

Another section was recently added to the BCO (final approval in 2023) that may be relevant in such cases. This language was designed to respond to concerns about officers referring to themselves as "gay" or "same-sex attracted". However, it may be useful in cases where abuse has been reported about a man standing for election to office:

"In the examination of the nominee’s personal character, the Session shall give specific attention to potential notorious concerns. Careful attention must be given to his practical struggle against sinful actions, as well as to persistent sinful desires. The nominee must give clear testimony of reliance upon his union with Christ and the benefits thereof by the Holy Spirit, depending on this work of grace to make progress over sin. ... [T]he Session may render a decision on Christian experience at any point in the process, and based on that decision, may judge him ineligible for that election."

This passage makes it clear that without the need of a formal judicial process, a session may at any time in the process determine a man ineligible for election to office based on their knowledge of his character and what practical measures he is taking to resist persistent sinful desires.

For more information on the process of nominating and electing officers in PCA churches, see Video 3 in the series An Inside Look at the PCA here.

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This podcast episode covered a lot of factual information about the BCO - the Book of Church Order - that governs church discipline in PCA churches. If you would like to learn more about the ideas we discussed, we recommend our free course Presbyterian Church Discipline 101.

We also referenced a case of the standing Judicial Commission: SJC 2019-06. You can download the full report of the SJC on this case here.

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In this episode, Jeanie mentioned that she found help from two podcasts and a group. Here are links to those resources:

The Flying Free Podcast

The Bare Marriage Podcast

The Flying Free group

In the introduction, we read a quote from the report of the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Committee of the PCA. At the end of the episode, we also recommended the paper "Divorce and Domestic Abuse". It is written by Shane Waldron, PCA Pastor and founder of Refuge Ministries. The paper is included as an attachment to the PCA's DASA Report. You can download the Report near the bottom of this page.

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Why tell stories of harm? Why another podcast? Why this podcast? Today, we're talking about the purpose behind Stories from the Presbyterian Pew, plus responding to possible objections to sharing these stories.

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The first episode of Stories from the Presbyterian Pew, a brand new resources by Advocacy from the Presbyterian Pew drops April 1. Until then, listen to the intro from the first episode to get an idea for what we've got planned!