07/02/2026
Recently I brought a new bird into my house, Berry. Usually, I get American budgies but this little guy is a British budgie. Meaning he’s about a head taller than my other bird.
Since I brought him home as a baby he was incredibly awkward. He is wildly energetic wanting to play, climb, and destroy every toy he finds. And his wild movements would result in him crashing and falling. Constantly. Often with a large thud because he’d forget to flap his wings to break the fall.
For my older adult bird, Frost, this giant clumsy baby was a mixture of terrifying and annoying. Berry would approach wanting to play and Frost would use his aerial advantage to flee.
At first, Frost didn’t like the new bird coming into his home, playing with his toys, eating his food, and expecting to be friends. It took a while for him to warm up to Berry. But has since taken the time to feed, groom, and to teach the giant baby how to properly do bird things like fly.
I have been reflecting on this as I’ve been listening to my fellow pastors talking about what happened at the General Assembly. Specifically, about a certain young group of believers, Presbyterians for the Kingdom, that have been causing a bit of a stir.
They’re eager in the faith, zealous for Christ, they’re rushing into the denomination with glee, hoping to play with their elders. And to put it mildly they’ve been falling on their faces as they’re awkwardly trying to navigate Presbyterian polity and Christian ethics.
Most notably there was an effort by them to explicitly ban ordained ministers from practicing polyamory in the Book of Order. Which on paper sounds so obvious, why would anyone object?
Except the overture itself was written so poorly, it was ruled out of order and was referred it out for further study. There was no vote for or against the proposal, just that it needed adjusted to even be considered to be voted on.
Plus, the overture is redundant as G-2.0503 (4) already states, a validated ministry shall “be carried on in accountability for its character and conduct to the presbytery in addition to any organizations, agencies, and institutions served…”
The older Presbyterians used their polity advantage to escape what was perceived as a trap. And it was a trap.
Unlike Berry who genuinely wants to play, the young Presbyterians for the Kingdom, wanted to expose how liberal the denomination had become…by writing an admittedly poorly written overture that would be rejected. As one of the co-authors of the overture, Richard Ackerman wrote, “Given how admittedly poorly we worded it, we knew from the start that CON-10 [the proposed overture] was practically begging to get shot down."
And has stated on his YouTube channel that “our goal is to expose the radical left to the moderate left” in our denomination.
The overture was admittedly created in bad faith and was correctly referred out for further study. Despite this, news and various articles are reporting the PCUSA refused to stop clergy polyamorous relationships.
The Presbyterians for the Kingdom might have had the righteous intentions but the goal was to publicly shame their siblings in Christ.
It’s not surprising when a baby bird falls and it’s not surprising when baby Christians stumbles about and has some incredibly bad takes.
And considering Presbyterians for the Kingdom is comprised of young 20 something Gen Z, they’re going to have some bad takes. They’re going to make huge mistakes; they’re definitely going to screw up polity.
They have zeal and energy and desire to serve God. But they lack the knowledge and wisdom that comes with growing in the Lord and walking slowly with Christ.
As it says in Proverbs 19:2 “Desire without knowledge is not good, and one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.”
Just like Berry awkwardly and wildly stomping about his cage and falling on his face needed Frost to show him how to fly. It is the job of those seasoned in the faith to help disciple and teach the younger generation. And that takes patience.
Especially now.
An article written in 2025 called, New Research: Belief in Jesus Rises, Fueled by Younger Adults, stated: “According to Barna’s latest data, 66 percent of all U.S. adults say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today. That marks a 12-percentage-point increase since 2021, when commitment levels reached their lowest in more than three decades of Barna tracking.”
The church is starting to have an influx of new believers. And with that is going to come incredibly bad and bizarre decisions as the new believers awkwardly and wildly stomp about the church. They can be scary. They definitely are doing some harm.
The only way to help they from not hurting themselves or others is by discipling them with love and patience. Berry stopped falling when Frost took the time to feed, groom and teach him to fly.
Likewise we need to take the time to nurture young zealous believers in the faith by correcting wrong behavior and beliefs with gentleness and love.
We all started somewhere. We all have had horribly wrong beliefs at some point or another. Let us give charity to our new brothers and sisters in Christ.
