After nearly two decades of faithfully planting and shepherding this church, Reyn has discerned that this is the right time—for both him and Uptown—to step aside and make room for the next season of leadership. His decision reflects long-term prayer and wisdom, and as leaders we fully affirm and support it.

This transition honors Reyn’s desire in this season of life, while also serving as a faithful bridge to Uptown’s future in its current stage of growth.

Nope. There’s no scandal or dramatic event that is leading to Reyn’s departure. He remains committed to helping with a smooth transition process.

No. This transition has been thoughtfully considered and prayerfully discussed. Our leadership has been working together to ensure clarity, unity, and care in how we communicate and move forward.

• Peace and unity in the congregation

• Wisdom for church leadership

• Blessing and clarity for our pastor and their family

• Discernment regarding future leadership

• Our relationship with our current pastor: from “pastor” to spiritual father, brother, mentor, neighbor and friend.

• Our future pastor: We will have a new lead pastor who guides Uptown in vision, mission, preaching, teaching, and discipleship.

• Our current leadership team: We will ask Uptowners who have already been leading faithfully in smaller (and perhaps unseen) ways to take on some responsibilities during the transition period.

• Uptown’s mission and values

• Our call to one another and the community

• Availability of elders and pulpit nominating committee members as they prioritize the pastoral transition, out of love for our church.

• Our denominational affiliation in our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)-- depending on what the congregation decides in September.

• Possibly…Uptowners. While we pray that will not be the case, sometimes congregants choose to leave during a pastoral transition.

Are there good reasons for a church to leave a denomination to join, and even start, another connectional body? Our own current denomination states that denominational belonging is a voluntary association. A church can leave for almost any reason we think is important.

For more, read Reyn’s pastoral advice here.

The session has discussed withdrawal from the PCA for more than three years. Our experience in the denomination in recent years has changed from our experience in previous years.  

Specifically:

• the intensified disenfranchisement of minorities and women, in both public and private conduct

• The increased hindrance to local mission and leadership development

• Our seeking a fuller biblical theology and practice of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and

• Our seeking a safer body to be accountable to.

Many instances of these four issues have mirrored the social changes in the country. We believe our denomination has changed in ways that have made it difficult to continue carrying out our mission.

We are not alone. There are many other churches that share our view and experience in the PCA.

Read: Why we recommend withdrawing from the PCA

The main, narrow, “now” reason we are recommending Fall withdrawal is to make clear to candidates what kind of church we are. (It also opens up applications to candidates that would otherwise be ineligible.) The plan is to time withdrawal with the candidate search, moving to an interim denominational belonging. Long-term we will seek belonging to a new denomination.

Short-term, no interim changes should impact much Uptown week to week. We are seeking an interim denomination in the Fall. Our theology will not be changing on any issue of biblical or theological systems, women's ordination, spiritual gifts, biblical interpretation, or fundamental orthodox beliefs. There will be a time for larger debate on significant issues such as women's ordination with respect to long-term denominational belonging.

We will affirm theological positions that Uptown already holds, such as the Gospel of the Kingdom re: justice, power, and race. You will not find this the time to change the things you do not like about Uptown. We seek relational, social discontinuity with a body it is increasingly difficult to submit to as an authority with our best interests at heart. But we will always seek constitutional theological (Westminster et al) and connectional (church government courts and systems) accountability, which is the mechanism for safety in a presbyterian church. It is not our intent to spend any time as an independent, or non-denominational church.

We may delay the congregational vote on this matter until the congregation is sufficiently educated on the issues related to this vote.

Uptown would no longer be a member of the PCA, accountable to its courts.We will adopt explicit theological standards in continuity with Uptown’s 20 years as a local, reformed church (Westminster Standards and other reformed statements). We will seek connected accountability to a body of elders, through a system of courts to be determined.  We are exploring relationships with like-minded local churches or other congregations seeking to leave the PCA. Long-term, we will consider joining or forming a new denomination.

• Uptown’s theology, mission and values

• Uptown’s commitment to unity in the broader church

• The upcoming pastoral transition has created a sense of urgency around settling denominational matters, prompting us to clarify and articulate who we are as a church for prospective candidates.

See the timeline above for more details.

Yes. While adjustments may be made where necessary, our mission and commitment to serving God and one another remain unchanged. Note: VBS and the Fall Retreat will not happen in 2026 (which was already under consideration for other reasons).

There may be a period of time where Uptown may be without a lead pastor as we search for a new leader. Interim leadership plans will be communicated. Our elders and ministry leaders are committed to maintaining stability, pastoral care, and continued ministry momentum.

Our transition team has been researching positive (and negative) examples of pastoral transitions and are working to avoid missteps for more than a year. That said, we recognize our limitations and will do our best to engage wise counselors (including professional consultants) to guide us in this process, while ensuring alignment with Uptown’s unique DNA and values.

Of utmost importance is to find a pastor who aligns with Uptown’s values and will properly steward the mission given to our congregation. This will require us to surrender our personal preferences and commit to prioritizing the needs of the collective church.

We encourage you to nominate Pulpit Nominating Committee members who are wise, discerning, mature in faith, and embody Uptown’s core DNA.

Pray for wisdom and discernment for the church in making this decision.

As a reminder, our long-term reasons for recommending withdrawal are:

1. Social: The intensified disenfranchisement of minorities, the sidelining and treatment of women, and the divisive public and private conduct of the denomination.

2. Missional: The increased hindrance to local mission and leadership development.

3. Theological: Seeking for a more biblical theology of the Kingdom of God with respect to justice, race, and culture.

4. Ecclesial: Seeking a safer accountable body.

Here are NOT reasons for recommending withdrawal:

1. Theological slide or weakening of biblical commitments. We are seeking deeper fidelity to the bible.

2. Any particular change in biblical change in the ordination of women to elder (we have not yet come to an alternate biblical position on this in the session, nor given it the due study and prayer it deserves)

• Pray for them

• Offer encouragement and gratitude

• Respect appropriate boundaries

• Speak with grace and unity

• Commit to prayer

• Guard against speculation or gossip

• Maintain generous tithing practices

• Participate in open meetings and communication opportunities

• Encourage one another

• Trust the leadership process

Potentially - late June 2027. We will take time to celebrate, express gratitude, and pray together before that day.

Yes. We will host town halls called “churchwide conversations, where the official message will be reiterated and questions can be addressed thoughtfully and respectfully. We encourage attending those gatherings.

You may reach out directly to an elder. We want to maintain a culture of openness, trust, and pastoral care.

George Sarkissian: george@uptowncommunitychurch.com

Joe Spix: joe@uptowncommunitychurch.com