January 2024 Ordained Servant

From the Editor. Do we accept the Pharisees’ assessment of the apostles Peter and John as “uneducated”? T. David Gordon challenges an egalitarian reading of the often misunderstood passage in Acts 4:13. “Were Peter and John ‘Ignorant’ or ‘Uneducated’? A Non-Egalitarian Reading of Acts 3:1–4:22” This has important implications for our ecclesiology.

In chapter 10, “Take Heed to Yourself,” of The Voice of the Good Shepherd, I emphasize the importance of integrity and earnestness in ministers of the Word. This involves paying attention to our central task, which is the preaching of the Scriptures based on a close reading of the text, a task that the electronic environment tends to undermine. This combined with a “passionate intensity” will help us implement Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:16, NKJV).

In 1988 New Rochelle, New York, celebrated the tercentenary of the Huguenot founding of the city, based on the immigration of refugees from La Rochelle, France, in 1688. I was asked to present lectures at the public library, which I did in four parts: “The Huguenot Christian,” “The Huguenot Family and Education,” “The Huguenot Citizen,” and “The Huguenot Craftsman.” The research for these lectures was done largely at the libraries of Huguenot Society of America and the Huguenot-Thomas Paine Historical Association of New Rochelle. “The Huguenot Craftsman: Christianity and the Arts” is a slightly revised version of the fourth of those lectures. The first two were published in the October and November issues of Ordained Servant Online in 2010.

In “A Humble Minister’s Courageous Stand against Ecclesiastical Tyranny,” Robert Holda reviews a book about an unsung hero of the early days of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church: Standing Against Tyranny: The Life and Legacy of Arthur Perkins, by Rev. Brian L. De Jong.

In “Faith Can Flourish in Our Age of Unbelief,” Andy Wilson reviews Bulwarks of Unbelief: Atheism and Divine Absence in a Secular Age, by Joseph Minich. Minich demonstrates “how the modern technocultural order makes atheism much more plausible than it has been in previous eras.” However, orthodox Protestantism is best equipped with its confessional heritage to thrive in this godless moment. God’s sovereignty and the theology of the cross are a potent force aginst the would be autonomy of modern man.

Our poem this month is by Francis Thompson (1859–1907), “New Year’s Chimes.” Thompson is more well known for his 182 line poem, “The Hound of Heaven.” G. K. Chesteron said he was the greatest English poet since Robert Browning. The young Tolkien was also a fan. Thompson’s poetic energy is nicely displayed in this welcome to a new year.

The cover picture is the Jackson Community Church, Jackson, New Hampshire. The original congregation was Free Will Baptist, formed in 1803. The building was erected in 1847. In 1951 the Community Church was formed, affiliated with Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Churches. These two joined in 1957 to form the United Church of Christ (UCC). This represents a sad decline. The Congregational church in which I was raised joined the UCC in the 1960s. I never once heard the gospel preached. We were taught to be nice and not naughty.

Blessings in the Lamb,
Gregory Edward Reynolds

FROM THE ARCHIVES: “HUGUENOTS”
https://opc.org/OS/pdf/Subject_Index.pdf

• “The Huguenots: Calvin Comes to America” (Gregory Edward Reynolds) 19 (2010): 72–80.
• “Theology in a Time of Persecution” (Gregory Edward Reynolds) 31 (2022): 136-41.

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.