Tenth Presbyterian is again playing games with its members.
In an email dated April 5, 2025, Tenth Presbyterian (PCA) in Philadelphia announced that all active ruling members will resign at the end of the calendar year. While that sounds like good news at first blush, the reality is far different, with the announcement amounting to nothing more than badly done impression management.
Here’s why.
First, it’s too little, too late. Tenth has been a cesspool of corruption for far too long, which begs the question: Why are the elders not resigning effective immediately? That’s what persons and organizations of integrity do when multiple instances of abuse and other misconduct happen on their watch. And to be clear, Session should have resigned more than a year ago when Tim Bayly rightly called for it to do so.
Second, let’s not kid ourselves. Resigning with an effective date of almost eight months from now is far from being accountable. And Session has long been complicit in the abuse at Tenth Presbyterian. So why is this group of knuckleheads running a victory lap for the next eight months? The answer, we suspect, is that the ruling elders don’t want to relinquish control over the search process for Liam Goligher’s successor,
Moreover, apropos the concern stated in the email about leaving the church “rudderless,” it’s far better to be rudderless than to be steered in the direction of evil. And evil is an accurate description when, as here, we are talking about multiple incidents of sexual abuse and criminal conduct.
As for the church’s “Shepherding Plan,” spare us. The current group of ruling elders has nothing to offer in this department. Same for “oversight” and “governance.” Session has zero credibility, and it’s the people in the pew who are providing any moral perspective or shepherding to be found at the church.
Third, this Session has refused to implement even rudimentary safeguards, like background checks for clergy and persons in leadership. That should come as no surprise since Liam Goligher’s previous criminal conviction was public record and sitting there for all the world to see. Thus, it is fair to say that Session’s role in corruption at the church extends well beyond benign neglect.
Fourth, the news that the ruling elders are resigning comes in the context of Session’s utterly unconvincing “confession” to the congregation. Not only is “Liam did it” not a confession, but the very one-sided discussion sidestepped inconvenient issues, including insightful questions from members of the church and the Christian requirement of reparations to those hurt by the church.
Fifth, the announcement omits the elephant in the living room: the church’s perjury towards Phil Snyder. Perjury is a criminal offense, a violation of the Ten Commandments, and runs counter to foundational notions of Christian conduct. Until Tenth and its leadership accept responsibility for this gross malfeasance and take specific, concrete steps to repair the harm they have caused, the church remains morally bankrupt. And anyone who supports the church in any manner is complicit: One cannot be a good person and, for example, fund evil by donating money or time to an organization that engages in criminal conduct, as is the case with Tenth.
We also note that the announcement sidesteps criminal conduct and spiritual abuse, instead talking about how it will ask Session about sexual abuse. How convenient.
Sixth, Tenth continues its outrageous clericalism as it endeavors to assist Liam Goligher to return to a position of trust while ignoring the need to provide restitution and care for victims of abuse at the church. Indeed, to put it bluntly, Goligher doesn’t warrant so much as lifting a finger. He’s abused parishioners sexually, spiritually, and emotionally, engaged in criminal conduct, lied repeatedly to members of the church, and more. In other words, he’s abused the truth already bestowed upon him and done so repeatedly. Thus, it’s okay for the church and its members to shake the dust off their feet and focus on those hurt by the church. Or, to paraphrase Maya Angelou, Goligher has shown who and what he really is, and it’s okay to take him at his word.
Seventh, allowing current ruling elders to run again, subject to an examination by the nomenklatura, is far from helpful. Indeed, none of the current ruling elders has, for example, done anything meaningful to address the church’s criminal conduct towards Phil Snyder. So, we can safely tell all involved that they do not understand or follow Christian notions of repentance, and thus are unsuited to be ruling elders. Indeed, what the church needs is to clean house and get rid of all the ruling elders, lock, stock, and barrel.
Eighth—and this is our final point—this is a Session that remains focused on impression management, not Christian conduct, or, to use a Presbyterian phrase, doing things “decently and in order.”
Consider: Session tried mightily to deep-six the GRACE report, when the correct approach would have been to post it on the church’s website. The only reason the document came to light is that others had access to the report and took it public. Nor are financials, member communications, or other basic aspects of transparent governance readily available to the public.
To be clear: Until we see true repentance on the part of Tenth, including owning its criminal conduct and making restitution, and doing things “decently and in order,” we will continue to do everything in our power to resist Tenth and its agenda of evil and corruption. That includes encouraging persons of integrity to withhold their time, talent, and treasure until it is clear to all involved that the church is truly repentant of its individual and organizational misconduct, including non-sexual abuse.
Below is the text of the recent email from the church.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank you for your prayers and patience over the last few weeks. We are deeply grateful to serve at a church whose members love the Lord and care for one another. Session has had many meetings and discussions since the end of February, which have led to several decisions that we want to share with you.
First, given our recent confession, the feedback we received from you, and our own prayers and discussions, all the active ruling elders will be resigning from Session at the end of the year. If any active ruling elder wishes to remain on Session in 2026, he will have to go through the following process:
- First, pursuant to Chapter 24-1 of the Book of Church Order (“BCO”), all the men who wish to serve as ruling elders next year, including any who are currently on Session, must be nominated by a member of Tenth who is not currently on Session.
- Second, anyone who wants to serve as a ruling elder next year will be examined on essential matters such as their personal character, family management, and knowledge of Scripture and doctrine. Each examination will include at least two teaching elders.
- Third, anyone who wants to be on Session in 2026 will have to stand for election at our annual congregational meeting on December 5. Under Chapter 24-3 of the BCO, only men who receive majority support at the December meeting will serve on Session.
In order to make sure the church has a Session throughout the year, the resignations of the current ruling elders will take effect on December 31. Likewise, the elders who pass the above process and receive majority support from the congregation will be ordained and/or installed at our New Year’s Eve service. Any current elders who are reelected will serve for the remainder of their current term.
Some current elders will not be on the ballot in December, since their terms will be completed. Every other active ruling elder is praying about whether to stand for election in December. Given that there will be open elder positions to fill next year, the Nominating Committee will be asking you to nominate individuals who you think would be good ruling elders.
We believe this plan offers the best opportunity for Tenth to heal, move forward, and begin 2026 with a group of ruling elders who are supported by the congregation. While some of you might want quicker change, we are cognizant of our call to shepherd the members of Tenth and to maintain oversight and administration of Christ’s church (1 Peter 5:2). The immediate resignation of the entire Session would leave Tenth rudderless and undercut the churchwide shepherding plan we recently enacted. Moreover, by waiting until the end of the year to resign, we would give you time to prayerfully nominate new men to serve as ruling elders, and all potential ruling elders would have time to be examined as required by the BCO.
Second, following the congregation’s recommendation, we are working with our presbytery to have an outside minister appointed to serve as Session’s moderator until Tenth hires a new senior minister. We will keep you updated on these eforts. Please pray that the Lord would grace Tenth with a minister who is willing and able to serve as our moderator.
Third, given your vote to continue to have two ruling elders on the Nominating Committee, we have appointed Chris Pontius to serve on the committee along with the Chairman, Russ Pfeifer. Please pray for Chris and the committee as they help establish a Pulpit Committee to search for a permanent senior minister, and as they help identify potential new elders later this year.
Finally, following the congregation’s recommendation, we will be submitting a reference to presbytery so that it can determine whether any reports of sexual abuse have been mishandled by Tenth since December 2023.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this letter, and for your love for Christ and his church. We are praying for you, and we are grateful for all that you do at Tenth.
In Christ,
The Session of Tenth Presbyterian Church
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