Dave,

I sense the difficulty you are experiencing. I agree with your assessment of the spiritual condition of the PSUSA, but I also firmly agree that a couple should worship at the same local church. I have know Christian couples that worship in separate churches for family reasons or due to loyalty to a certain denomination they attended before they were married, and it always seemed very strange to me.

It sounds like you are resigned to saying at the PCUSA church, which I feel is a good decision for the sake of your marriage, not knowing all the details. Pray to find a like-minded couple in the church and perhaps you could start a home Bible study with them, and you may find other conservatives come out from hiding. But perhaps God is calling you to take the first step of faith. You will not be fed by the sermons if in fact your pastor is a liberal. And the Sunday school curriculum is most certainly substandard. But is there a believing elder or other leader whom you could befriend and find fellowship with? Or meet with one morning a week just to pray with? That would give you the support and encouragement you need. Being a conservative in a liberal congregation is a discouraging situation. Pray for the courage to maintain your convictions and find other like-minded members. God has allowed you to discover and embrace the doctrines of grace and the Reformed tradition. There are certainly other members, even in the PCUSA, who long for something more than the social gospel or whatever it is they are hearing from the pulpit.

Other members of The Highway will most likely disagree with me and encourage you to come out from among them and be separate, even if your wife refuses to join you. And maybe they are right. None of us here knows your situation entirely. But if you are going to stay in a liberal church, don't try to survive alone. Seek out other Christians to pray and study with. If not in your local church, perhaps from one of the other churches in your area that you have visited.

May our Lord give you strength, wisdom and guidance for this challenging journey that you're on.