This article was first published in AP and on my substack here
A Memo to the Media from a Presbyterian Minister
Some reflections on media coverage of the NSW Assemblies decision to have biblical eldership
The Presbyterian Church of New South Wales has decided to go along with all the other Presbyterian churches in Australia by upholding the biblical teaching that only men can be elders. In today’s age, this may come as a shock to some. And it is very easy for a newspaper to report on it in such a way as so that it appears to be a negative thing for women and a return to the Dark Ages. Before writing your articles, we would suggest that it would be a good idea if you try to understand our position. It is surely the duty of the media to accurately report, seek to understand and avoid sensationalism. And sub-editors please stop destroying your journalists’ integrity with the ‘click bait’ shock ‘evil Pressies vote to oppress women’ type headlines!
We ask you to note the following. The decision was made after a number of years of close examination of the Bible, the theological and pastoral issues involved, and the consequences. The vote in favour of the decision was surprisingly overwhelming – 136 to 61.
The Church does not really need to justify this any more than the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox Churches need to justify not having women priests, or indeed Islamic mosques having only male mullahs. Did you write about the Roman Catholic Church being divided and making a bad decision when a conclave of entirely male cardinals elected the current pope? If you are going to condemn us for holding to what we believe to be biblical, then you would have to condemn all of them as well. If you want to be diverse, equal and tolerant.
It is easy for you to portray this as a division, but in reality, the discussion itself was done in a harmonious way. The biggest misunderstanding is not so much the role of women, but the role of what an elder is. In the common understanding of the culture, it is assumed that the elder is equivalent to someone being a board member or CEO in a corporation, and therefore it would indeed be shocking if the church were to say that women were not capable of doing such a role. But that is not the purpose of the elder.
What is an elder?
The elder is there to represent Christ to the congregation and to pastor the members of that church. They take responsibility for the spiritual oversight of the church and its members. But there are other roles within the church. For example, the deacons and deaconesses are to take responsibility for the material and social well-being of the congregations. We have committees of management on which women are as eligible to serve as men if they have the appropriate qualifications. For all of these we would defer to Christ in deciding who we should choose. In the Bible, one of the qualifications for being an elder is that he be a man. The Lord Jesus Christ, as head of the Church, chose twelve male apostles. You are perfectly entitled as a newspaper to disagree with Jesus, but as a church, we don’t have that right. We will follow the Maker’s instructions. To portray this as any kind of denigration of women or a lack of recognition of their abilities is to make a false portrayal. Women serve with great diligence and faithfulness within our congregations and will continue to do so. To give an unbalanced report does these women great disservice and may cause harm to others who could be helped by our ministry.
What about the Women who agree with male only elders?
Whilst it will be fairly easy for you to find a woman who disagrees with this and who will provide you with the quotes you want, it would also be easy for you to find women who do agree with what we have done – and indeed who appealed to us to return to the biblical pattern. For example, the following online article from Alison Smith is a statement which many women would endorse. https://ap.org.au/2026/07/09/a-plea-to-the-men/
To be fair in your reporting, you should at least identify the fact that such women exist, and this is not a case of men versus women. Indeed, on the other hand, there are men within the church who do not agree with the position on male-only eldership.
Who are the Real Regressives?
This is not a case of the church regressing and the world progressing. We do not believe that the world is progressing. Rather, we think that the world is regressing into a Greco-Roman pagan view of society. We believe that this is harmful to men but especially to women. Ask yourself are women safer, more respected and honoured as our society regresses? Why, some of the leaders in our society cannot even tell us what a woman is! The church has no such problem. We are progressing to a more biblical understanding and seeking to be faithful to our Lord. The is the bride of Christ, and we submit to Him in all things.
Please keep reporting on us Pressies!
We are grateful for this interest in the Presbyterian Church, and we hope it will continue. The Presbyterian Ladies College, in which the Assembly met, is a fine example of Presbyterian schools which serve throughout our state. Many churches are deeply involved in their communities, and we have many discussions which would be of interest to the wider community. Why would anyone be interested? With 20,000 attenders we know that we are small. But then the Greens have 3,500 members, the Liberals 10,000 and the Labor party 15,000. You rightly give them plenty coverage.
It is sad that the only time it seems that you are interested in us is when you think there is some kind of scandal or division, or you think that you can portray us as a reactionary and negative force. We do not ask that you do not criticise us. We are not that modern! We do ask that you do not use us for your own agendas. Instead, we simply ask for understanding and a chance for us to state our case without prejudice and bigotry.
We look forward to your continued interaction with us, and we are happy to make ourselves available to answer any questions you may have.
On behalf of some of the NSW Presbyterians you missed.
– David Robertson
Well said with authority from God. Thank you brother.
Well said David, it will be interesting to see how the Woke press react to your comments or if they still try to spin the story for the sale of their newspapers or their media outlets.
‘The elder is there to represent Christ to the congregation’…..do you really think so?
Yes – Christ is the chief shepherd….the elders are undershepherds – they are to represent Him, not themselves….