Well said, Pastor Robertson, well said. This is as clear an apologetic as I have read anywhere on Christian leadership in the Church and he takes to task the arrogant enemies of Christ and his body, doing so with grace and speaking the Truth in love (Ephesians 4.11-16). Always thankful when I read something from someone who is not ashamed of the gospel and who can articulate Scripture faithfully, boldly, and humbly. For those with ears to hear, listen and understand.
When I worked with Sydney Anglicans I came across what was termed ‘the Sydney Morning Herald test’: Will anything we are going to do land us in the SMH? Well, the Presbyterians in NSW have failed that test. We have ended up in the SMH. A hit piece was published about the NSW Presbyterian General Assembly – https://www.smh.com.au/national/this-christian-church-has-banned-women-elders-it-s-a-dangerous-move-20260723-p60hwd.html
On 28 July 2026 I submitted an edited version of the following article as a response to their attack. We wait to see if they will be diverse enough to publish it! Meanwhile AP have been gracious enough to publish the longform version here.
I was recently a member of the NSW Presbyterian Church Assembly which according to an opinion piece published in the SMH, puts women at greater risk of domestic violence. Apparently, I “committed an act of overt sexism and undermined the health and safety of women”. As someone who was born of a woman, is married to a woman, has two female daughters, four female granddaughters, and numerous female friends, you will forgive me for taking this a bit personally. Perhaps you will allow me to present the other side of the story?
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church voted to return to the biblical qualification of elders being men, not because we deny that women can lead in many spheres, nor because we believe that women are inferior, nor because we are a patriarchal institution seeking to return to the Stone Age, but simply because we believe it is what Christ commands. Nothing more. Nothing less.
This is not a new position. Kylie Maddox Pidgeon is absolutely correct to point out the history of the Presbyterian Ladies College. A school which has spent more than 140 years educating girls for lives of leadership. But for the majority of that time, the Presbyterian Church, which founded this college, did not have women elders. How is it possible that they could have a college which educated women for leadership whilst having this apparently neanderthal approach? If it is a contradiction now, then surely it was a contradiction then?
The problem is that Miss Pidgeon is reading the issue through the lens of a post-modern feminist. She is perfectly entitled to do that. But she is not entitled to demand that the church share either her ideology or her doctrines. As a church of Jesus Christ, we are obligated to follow His Word – whatever the passing fashions of the culture around us.
The Presbyterian church has not said that women are not suitable for leadership. There are many leadership roles within the church which women still do – and even more in the wider society. The problem is that Ms Pidgeon struggles with the notion of what eldership actually is. Fundamentally, it is not about power, but about service.
Jesus had clearly never heard that ‘diverse leadership teams tend to make stronger governance decisions when he chose 12 men as his apostles’. Paul was obviously ‘an enabler of domestic and family violence’ when he said that men should be elders!
Nor is our position unique. The Roman Catholic church and the Orthodox churches do not have women priests, and yet one can hardly imagine a hit piece being published attacking Catholic schools and the conclave of cardinals! Churches are free to move away from the biblical teaching but “She who marries the spirit of this age will be a widow in the next”. It is notable that churches which have followed the teaching of Ms Pidgeon are generally the fastest declining churches in the Western world – and there is no evidence at all that they are any safer for women.
Relying on an analysis by ABC News which did little other than perpetuate urban myths is not the way that the church should be guided. It is also an absurd generalization to state that the Presbyterian Church is not aware of domestic violence within our own communities. Every community, including those of journalists and academics, have issues with domestic violence. But just as Ms Pidgeon can cherry pick her own ‘expert studies’ I can point to peer-reviewed research which suggests the opposite. For example, Ellison, Trinitapoli, Anderson and Johnson have found that “religious involvement is correlated with reduced levels of domestic violence” and that “religious involvement, specifically church attendance, protects against domestic violence, “(Race/Ethnicity, religious involvement and domestic violence – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17951587/)
