Michael Foster
@thisisfoster • 69,254 subscribers
I'm a pastor and writer. My wife and I live with our eight children on a small farm in Batavia, OH.
Shorts
Videos
Alright, here are a few quick clips of a #PCA in #NAPARC where a Teaching Elder (Pastor Joel Littlepage) says this: "...I want everyone to hear it from me as your pastor, because you're gonna hear it either way. We had discerned, Melissa and I, in our journey seeking the Lord's face, is that our calling was to come into full communion and unity with the Catholic Church." And then serves communion to the congregation, including Teaching Elder and the current Mission to North America coordinator Irwyn Ince. At the end of the service, TE Irwyn Ince sends them out with prayers and blessings, saying: "I'm gonna ask, uh, most particularly GMO's elder shepherdesses, leaders, come surround them, and anyone else who wants to come on down to the front. Put your hands on our dear Littlepages, as we get to go before the Lord on their behalf, understanding that as said before the service, this is just see you soon, not full goodbye." Church:
Michael Foster326,881 views • 9 months ago
This is a sweet video... I like to tell people that your family is not your fate. You’re not doomed to become your parents or to live exactly as you lived in your own childhood. If you came from a broken home, full of anger, constant arguing, and disorder, you don’t have to repeat that. You can escape it. But, almost paradoxically, you don’t escape it by obsessing over how you were wronged in your childhood. That usually pulls you right back into it. That’s why so many men who swear they’ll never become their fathers end up doing exactly that. You escape it by being future-focused for the good of others. You escape it by building something that blesses people beyond yourself, in your community, in your church, and especially in your family. You can be the link in a new chain. God brings beauty from ashes, and he has a habit of extinguishing a hellish heritage and, through a bold-hearted, repentant man, replacing it with the beginnings of a heritage shaped by heaven. But “your family is not your fate” cuts both ways. Maybe you’re not the first link, but the second or third in a godly heritage. You were blessed with advantages, growing up in church, reading the Bible, living in a home with present parents. If you take that for granted, your life will look very different from theirs, and not in a good way. The good life, as the Bible defines it, grows out of a Christian who wakes up and asks the LORD, “How can I obey you today, for your glory and for the good of others into the future?”
Michael Foster108,764 views • 4 months ago
This is the worst one I've seen so far... In this video, we see the installation of six women to Mclean Presbyterian Church (PCA)’s women’s board. In this clip, you will see that… - They receive the same officer training. - They take the same vows as officers. - They served on all the same committees as the officers. - They come alongside the elders and deacons to assist them in shepherding the church. - They are nominated by the congregation and installed in front of the congregation in a Lord’s Day service, and take vows. They don't list that they have a Board of Women on their website: Here's the full video: Here is the full transcript of the clip: "All right. Yeah. All right. Let's try, let's, all right, well, hey, good, good morning everyone. My name is Matt, and I serve as one of the pastors here. Uh, and the, the ladies standing before you this morning are our new members to our Board of Women. Uh, these, uh, individuals we're nominated by you, our congregation, around, uh, around the fall of last year. And they have gone through a rigorous training process, uh, where they've learned more about. Our doctrine, uh, the, the essentials of the Christian faith and, and what it is to, to serve and lead in Christ Church. Uh, our, our Board of women members go through the same training, uh, as our, as our elders and our deacons. And that's intentional because we believe that God has equipped all of our congregation, men and women to bless the church. And so these ladies bring an immense. Uh, set of gifts and skills and rich testimonies and lives of faith to bless our church family and our Board of women. You can see, uh, from the back of the worship guide that they serve on all of the committee, all the committees that our elders and deacons serve on, and they add a voice and a perspective, and they lend their gifts to make this church. Uh, as good as it can be. And so, uh, I'm gonna just say the names of the, of the, of the ladies joining our Board of Women. Uh, and you just give, give everyone a wave and then I'll ask the, the installation questions. So we have, uh, Ashley Nettles, faith Goodwin, Margie Watkins, Molly Odell, uh, Molly Preston and Rachel Moore. And, uh, congratulations on making it through the, the officer training. It is no small feat, and we are excited about, uh, about you, uh, coming alongside our elders and deacons to help shepherd and care for our church. So, I have these questions for you, and if you just want to respond in the affirmative, be great. So, first question, uh, do you believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as originally given to be the iner word of God? The only infallible rule of faith and practice. Do you? I do. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the confession of faith in the catechisms of this church as containing the system of doctrine taught in the holy scriptures? Do you, I do. Do you approve of the form of government and discipline of the Presbyterian church in America in conformity with the general principles of biblical polity? Do you. Do. Do you promise to serve on the board of women with love to God and a sincere desire to promote his glory in the gospel of his son? Do you? I do. Do you promise faithfully to perform all your assigned duties and to study the peace, unity, and purity of the church? Do you? I do. And do you promise to submit yourself in the Lord to the government of this church? Do you? So having affirmed all of these, these, uh, these questions, I now pronounce that Ashley Nettles Faith Goodwin, Margie Watkins, Molly O'Dell, Molly Preston and Rachel Moore have been installed as members of the Board of Women of McLean Presbyterian Church. Let me pray for you. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a great and good and generous God, and that you provide leaders for your church. I thank you for our Board of Women and, uh, all of our, uh, new members and our, and our current members as they seek to shepherd this church to better, uh, live for you in this time and place in which we live. I pray specifically for these new members, Lord, that you would bless them, that you would, uh, protect them from, uh, from the evil one and help them Lord to have lives of integrity and, uh, that they would faithfully, uh, execute all the duties that that come with serving your church here in McLean. We thank you, Lord, that they don't do this in their own strength, but they do this by the power of your Holy Spirit, which you've poured out richly in their lives. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and the true shepherd and overseer of this church. We ask all these, all these things in his perfect and precious name. Amen. Can we honor and celebrate our new Board of women members? Thank you. You can return to your seat."
Michael Foster168,880 views • 8 months ago
The audio (and video from the PCA's GA from a few years ago) below has not been altered. This proud RTS Orlando graduate is Andrew Augenstein, a ruling elder at Lake Nona Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Central Florida Presbytery. He says he is a good friend with Timothy Keller (1950-2023) protege and Revoice advocate Scott Sauls. He is a defender of Greg Johnson. He is "same sex attracted" or whatever is code for "having gay desires is just part of who I am" these days. He is against the #savethepca campaign, and told me that "Shepherdess = manufactured crisis." He was also on the subcommittee that investigated the original allegations against Burk Parsons of St. Andrews Chapel. Side note: Pastor Parsons isn't a defender of Greg Johnson or same sex attracted. This is Elder Augenstein's good friend Jerry Klemm, pastor of Covenant Church (PCA). He is the prosecutor in the current case against Burk Parsons. Elder Augenstein and Pastor Klemm are signers of an open letter of encouragement called A Faithful PCA. It was to assure the PCA that all the talk about them ordaining homosexuals was overblown. The letter was also signed by former PCA Pastor Jeremy Fair who was recently arrested on prostitution charges. And a bunch of elders promoting functional female officers or gay celibate Christianity stuff like Irwin Ince, Zachary C Bradley, Ted Spaid (no longer in the PCA), Scott Saul (resigned for harsh leadership), etc., signed this monstrosity. Everyone on this list is worth looking into. Here's all the signees...
Michael Foster49,851 views • 5 months ago
City Church Eastside (PCA) is in the Metro Atlanta Presbytery. Pastor Scott Armstrong leads it. He has his wife, Kerstin Armstrong, listed as "Pastor of Women." Together, they run Cultivating Growth, where Kerstin is also listed as a Pastor of Women. She appears to have an M.Div. & MA in Counseling from Reformed Seminary. Sources:
Michael Foster66,681 views • 8 months ago
"Blue Collar Confessionalism isn’t doctrine on a shelf—it’s doctrine that drives nails, raises children, and leads families. It’s theology that works. And this year, we’re doubling down: stop being distracted by everything out of reach, and start putting your hands to the work God has laid on your own doorstep. Join us for The World Right in Front of You A Conference on Blue Collar Confessionalism." The conference will be held on 8/28-8/30/25 in Batavia, OH (details on West/South conferences TBA). This year's speakers include William Wolfe 🇺🇸, Ryan Denton, Rob Pacienza*, Jake Mentzel, Keith Foskey, me and my wife. Times are tight—we get it. We had a little money left over from last year, so we cut prices and added a family pass to make it a lot more affordable for everyone. You can find more details and tickets here: *Tentatively
Michael Foster75,370 views • 1 year ago
Wildwood Church PCA (Wildwood Church) presents its "shepherdess" ministry as a ministry to women. However, just this past Sunday, they had one of their shepherdess lead to elements of the worship service usually reserved for elders or, perhaps, male ministerial candidates: the call to worship and the pastoral prayer. The call to worship includes a call-and-response, and the shepherdess leads the “leader” component. In other words, we have a woman leading not just women but men in the formal elements of a worship service. This isn't happening in the DC metro but in the typically conservative Gulf Coast Presbytery. I hope the men there will right the ship before this sort of compromise spreads further. Full Service:
Michael Foster48,509 views • 8 months ago
On July 20, 2025, one of Christ Central Church PCA’s so-called “Women Shepherds,” Michelle Hurlbert, led the congregation in reciting the Apostles’ Creed, gave the call to worship, and offered an exhortation followed by a prayer during the collection of tithes and offerings. This congregation, led by Pastor Tony Myles, is located in Charlotte, within the same presbytery as Pastor Kevin DeYoung. Once again, these women shepherds are presented as merely a ministry to women but they often led large portions of public worship. You can find the Women Shepherds team when you scroll down here: You can watch the entire public service here:
Michael Foster37,431 views • 8 months ago
Capital Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Fairfax, VA—pastored by Rob Yancey—has a “Board of Women” that functions alongside the elders and deacons: “The Board of Women exists to be a collective voice of women in leadership, serving the whole church through shepherding, service, prayer, and ministry to women. Board of Women members are active on each Session and Diaconate committee. The qualifications for Board of Women members are found in Titus 2:3–5 and 1 Timothy .” Notice how they even list qualifications, as if this were a formal office.
Michael Foster29,082 views • 8 months ago
Grace and Peace (PCA) in Austin is part of the South Texas Presbytery, moderated by Joshua Torrey. They have deaconesses, and they insist these are not ordained to an office. Okay, fine. But here’s what they actually say: “The role of Deaconess is not an ordained office of the church. However, they are charged with assisting the Deacons in all their work and should be held to the same standards as the men.” And again: “Deacons and deaconesses are elected by the Grace + Peace members based on the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:8–16.” So let’s review: - Not the same office as deacon. - Yet must meet the exact same qualifications. - Elected by the congregation in the same way. - Charged by the session to do the same work (“assisting in all their work”). In other words—deacon in everything but the name, just without ordination.
Michael Foster24,322 views • 8 months ago
" Your family is your resume. I don't care what anybody says about you. What your wife and kids say about you, that's who you are." - Pastor Mark Driscoll The This is Foster Podcast returns with an interview with Mark Driscoll. We mostly discuss men's ministry and raising up pastors. The podcast is on most directories, including... iTunes: Spotify:
Michael Foster25,058 views • 10 months ago
This is Brookhaven Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Atlanta, GA. They have a female director of shepherding and formation. The title “director” isn’t the issue—but "of shepherding" raises two big questions: 1. What’s the difference between pastoring and shepherding in the PCA? 2. What’s the difference between a pastor and a shepherd? I want to be precise here. Also worth noting: they list both men and women as deacons under the same heading, using the same nomination form, with no distinction between male and female, deacon and deaconess.
Michael Foster20,533 views • 8 months ago
First Presbyterian Church, Augusta (PCA), has a whole lot of women’s shepherds. They specify: “Women’s Shepherds are commissioned under the authority of BCO 9-7.” Here is what BCO 9-7 says: "It is often expedient that the Session of a church should select and appoint godly men and women of the congregation to assist the deacons in caring for the sick, the widows, the orphans, the prisoners, and others who may be in any distress or need. These assistants to the deacons are not officers of the church (BCO 7-2) and, as such, are not subjects for ordination (BCO 17)." But based on their own description, it doesn’t seem that First Pres’s women’s shepherds exist primarily to assist the deacons in works of mercy. They don’t list them under their mercy ministry, alongside the deacons, as “deaconesses” or “deacon assistants.” Instead, they list them under shepherding in a separate sub-header. At First Pres, shepherds function more like lay leaders who oversee a segment of the congregation called parishes. Listen to how they describe their work: "In addition, we have a team of Women’s Shepherds who are non-ordained members of our care team. They also have a flock and work with the elders and deacons to come alongside women in the church to encourage them, support them, help connect them with the church, and point them to the good news of Jesus. Our Women’s Shepherding program is small and growing. Currently, not every woman is assigned to a Women’s Shepherd; however, if you have a need, a Women’s Shepherd is available to assist you! All shepherds and Women’s Shepherds receive training in theology, crisis care, skilled listening, and peacemaking so that they can help shoulder the burden of life’s struggles. Their desire is to walk with our members, provide spiritual care and counsel, and connect you with other assistance as needed. A Care Group may be provided in certain situations. This is a small group of people gathered to address longer-term needs." This doesn’teven look like a straightforward application of BCO 9-7. Instead, it creates a non-ordained but commissioned group of women’s shepherds tasked with overseeing the spiritual (not merely practical) needs of the women. Functionally, men have their pastors, and women have their shepherds. It’s a slow drift toward female pastors for the whole congregation.
Michael Foster13,687 views • 8 months ago
