June–July 2017 Ordained Servant

From the Editor. One of the unique aspects of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s ecclesiology is the ministry of the Regional Home Missionary (RHM). It is the ministry of the Word applied to a region, and it is a very flexible calling depending on the gifts of the missionary and the circumstances in his presbytery; but, in all cases, the aim is to plant churches. Lacy Andrews paints an informative picture of his work over more than two decades.

Another RHM, Steve Doe, challenges us to think about how we relate to our postmodern world. Do we really understand—or want to understand—the language of the latest generation? These are important questions for the church in its mission to a lost world.

Danny Olinger addresses the uneasy relationship between author John Updike and Christians. Updike’s often explicit sexuality is offensive to most Christians. Sadly, this eclipses the brilliant style, glimpses of grace, and trenchant cultural insights of this serious twentieth-century literary figure. Olinger helps the Christian navigate this important corpus.

Denominational historian John Muether brings us the sixth in his chronological series on Reformed confessions, the first of the Three Forms of Unity. It is wonderful to observe the progress of the confessing church in its dogmatic symbols.

Stephen Tracey reviews an excellent new anthology on preaching, Pulpit Aflame, and I review the biography of an early mentor in my Christian life and a philosopher-theologian whose thinking, writing, and teaching cut a wide swath in the twentieth- century Reformed world, Douglas Douma’s Presbyterian Philosopher: Gordon H. Clark.

Finally, don’t miss William’s Cowper’s (1731–1800) poem from his Olney Hymns (XLVIII), “Joy and Peace in Believing.”

Blessings in the Lamb,
Gregory E. Reynolds

FROM THE ARCHIVES “MISSIONS”

Subject Index

(If the below links do not take you to the correct page, try a different browser.)

• “Baseball and the Supernatural.” (Gregory E. Reynolds) 15 (2006): 28–30.
• “Seven Lessons for Missionaries from the Ministry of John Paton.” (Gregory E. Reynolds) 20 (2011): 20–24.
• “The Spirituality of Mission Work.” (Gregory E. Reynolds) 18 (2009): 20–22.


Ordained Servant exists to help encourage, inform, and equip church officers for faithful, effective, and God-glorifying ministry in the visible church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Its primary audience is ministers, elders, and deacons of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, as well as interested officers from other Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Through high-quality editorials, articles, and book reviews, we will endeavor to stimulate clear thinking and the consistent practice of historic, confessional Presbyterianism.