The indefinite suspension of a pastor within the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has brought up debate over proper social media usage for pastors and clergyman. Pastor Zachary Garris, the pastor of Bryce Avenue Presbyterian Church in White Rock, New Mexico was indefinitely suspended for “unwholesome speech” by the Rio Grande Presbytery, the regional governing body overseeing Garris’s church. According to a post from PCA minister Sean McGowan, a friend and supporter of Garris, Garris had faced two charges for posts he made on social media in 2023 and 2024.

In one of the charges, Garris faced criticism for comments he made regarding chattel slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War. Screenshots of an interaction between Garris and Lamont English, a black official in a PCA mission agency, in 2023 show English pressing Garris on whether or not chattel slavery in the US was “absolutely sinful.” While Garris agreed that Presbyterians at the time “opposed abuses” within chattel slavery, “they rejected abolitionism because of the Bible’s teaching.” Garris claimed that the Bible “does not condemn chattel slavery per se, and therefore neither can we,” and cited Israel’s own use of chattel slavery in the Old Testament as an example. Garris made a distinction between being against slavery, which he stated he was, and supporting abolition, something he said was not a historic belief of the Presbyterian church. Despite the criticism of Garris’s position, he was found Not Guilty of racism.

The second charge came from an exchange between Garris and another black member of the PCA, Dr. Anthony Bradley. While the original comments from Bradley during that exchange have been removed, the charges from the PCA outline two comments Garris made against Bradley in 2023. In one, Garris criticized Bradley on X saying “Even here you only speak on ‘some’ situations. Sometimes things are more complex than a PhD can handle.” In another comment, apparently referring to Bradley, he stated, “You started by misusing a Bible verse and then calling others ‘biblically illiterate.’ But arrogance can’t tolerate banter.” Garris was found guilty of violating Ephesians 4:29, which states, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

The suspension earned criticism throughout X from pastors and evangelical commentators, with some accusing the PCA of doubles standards. Christian commentator Megan Basham noted that Dr. Bradley has attacked her on X in the past. “Anthony Bradley has said much worse about me. This man just one example of an about a half dozen,” she wrote, sharing a screenshot where Dr. Bradley called her “low IQ.” “It seems that @ZacharyGarris has essentially been disciplined by his presbytery for sarcasm. If that is the case, I wouldn’t last a day,” wrote Keith Foskey, a Calvinist pastor who makes tongue-in-cheek videos about the differences between evangelical denominations. The PCA has not offered broader context to Garris’s suspension, nor has it listed any details for any path to restoration.