The artificiality of the image unintentionally mirrors the tone of the article itself: carefully constructed, warmly presented, yet strangely detached from the theological gravity that historically defined Presbyterian worship. It reads smoothly, pleasantly, and without friction. But that very smoothness exposes its weakness. Here we are told that churches contain flawed people, yet we are never shown why they are flawed, nor why that flaw is so grave that the Son of God must die to redeem it.

The article presents church largely as a social environment: people greeting, music playing, coffee brewing, conversations happening. None of those things are wrong in themselves, but they are not the church’s reason for existence. The church gathers because God speaks in His Word, confronts sinners with their guilt, and proclaims the grace of Christ crucified and risen. Let us not forget, God is preparing a bride for His Son. Without that centre, the scene becomes a community gathering rather than the assembly of those called out by the Gospel.

The line that most reveals the problem is the invitation: “Come and see.” That phrase sounds biblical, yet here it functions as little more than a gentle marketing line. In Scripture, the call to come is bound to repentance and faith. As Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The invitation of the Gospel is not primarily to observe a friendly community but to be reconciled to God through Christ.

And so the piece feels carefully crafted but strangely hollow. It offers atmosphere without theology, belonging without conviction, and welcome without the weight of sin and grace that the Reformed faith has always insisted must stand at the centre of Christian witness. Without that gravity, the invitation may sound warm, yet it empties the gospel of its meaning.

The article reminds me of the way we were taught at Theological College how to prepare a sermon. Begin with a nice human-interest story to get people hooked, and once the bait is taken, segue to the biblical text. This is really a form of deception, and this article mimics that approach.

So let us dig a little deeper into this article by Rev David Burke.  Below are seven areas of concern that I have identified that may reveal how it is that the Presbyterian Church of Australia intends to “cast off its particularism”:

1. The Article Begins with Human Curiosity Rather than Divine Revelation

The opening assumes the reader’s curiosity about church culture rather than God’s authoritative summons through the Gospel. Reformed theology begins with God speaking, not man wondering.

Scripture frames the call very differently:

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17)

The church exists because God calls sinners through His Word, not because people are interested in exploring a religious community.

2. The Church is Presented Sociologically Rather than Covenantally

“A church is its people, not the place.”

While partly true, the statement misses the Reformed understanding of the church as the covenant assembly gathered by Word and sacrament.

According to the Reformed confessions, the church is recognized by the marks of the true church:

• the pure preaching of the Word
• the right administration of the sacraments
• the exercise of church discipline

The article describes demographics and personalities but never the means by which Christ actually governs His church.

 3. Sin is Minimized to Imperfection

The article repeatedly describes people as “flawed” or “not perfect.” This portrays human experience as the fundamental problem of humanity. Such language reflects what sociologists sometimes call  therapeutic anthropology.

Historic Reformed theology begins with a far more serious diagnosis. Humanity is not merely imperfect or struggling but fallen, guilty, and spiritually dead apart from Christ (Eph. 2:1–3).

When sin is softened into therapeutic brokenness, the purpose of the church subtly shifts. The church becomes a place where people with difficult lives gather for encouragement, rather than the place where sinners are confronted with their guilt and reconciled to God through the atoning work of Christ. In the therapeutic framework, the cross moves from the centre of the message to the background.

Without this diagnosis, the Gospel becomes unnecessary.

4. Worship is Framed as Human Expression Rather than God’s Ordained Service

The description of worship focuses on what people do: sing, welcome, share news, express belief.

Reformed theology insists that worship is not primarily human expression, but God-regulated service. The regulative principle teaches that God determines how He is to be worshipped (WCF 21).

The article subtly shifts worship from divine command to human atmosphere.

5. Preaching is Reduced to Practical Application

The sermon is described as a “Bible talk” that connects Scripture to everyday life.

In Reformed theology, preaching is far more than explanation or life advice. It is the authoritative proclamation of God’s Word through which Christ Himself addresses His people.

As Calvin said, when Scripture is faithfully preached God Himself speaks.

The article frames preaching as helpful instruction rather than divine confrontation and grace. I find it difficult to reconcile the idea of a casual “Bible talk” with the Reformed conviction that in the faithful preaching of Scripture, God Himself addresses His people.

6. The Gospel is Softened into Life Improvement

Near the end we read:

“Life only makes sense when we are connected to God.”

This language subtly reframes the Gospel from reconciliation with God through atonement into personal meaning and fulfilment. What does “connected to God” look like? What does this vague expression actually mean? The apostolic Gospel proclaims justification through Christ’s substitutionary death, not simply the restoration of life’s coherence.

 7. The Invitation is Social rather than Evangelical

The final appeal is:

“Come and see. Meet some ordinary people.”

In Scripture the call to come is always tied to the command to repent and believe. The Gospel summons sinners to turn to Christ, not merely to observe a Christian community. The apostles did not invite people merely to observe Christian gatherings. They announced the saving work of Christ and called hearers to be reconciled with God.

Burke’s article reflects a modern evangelistic strategy that prioritizes relational exposure rather than Gospel proclamation. The assumption is that if outsiders see a welcoming community, they will gradually discover Christ through that experience. However, the Gospel is not discovered through atmosphere but through the declared Word of God. The Reformed tradition has always preserved this emphasis through the centrality of preaching.

Summary

The article may appear warm and accessible, and socially inviting, yet its presentation of the church subtly shifts the centre away from the holy God who calls sinners through the preaching of the cross.

What remains is a portrait of church as community rather than the gathering of those redeemed by Christ through Word and sacrament.

For the Reformed tradition, that distinction is not small. It is the difference between religious culture and the church of Jesus Christ. If this article by David Burke is any indication of the future direction of worship within the PCA, the outlook is bleak indeed.

A PDF of the PCA article is here: Come-and-See.pdf

Note: Since this article was first written, the image accompanying Rev Burke’s article on the PCA website has been replaced twice. The concerns raised here, however, relate primarily to the theological framing of the church and worship in the article itself.