Complete 2009 Ordained Servant Journal
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OrdainedServant A Journal for Church Officers VOLUME 18, 2009 Ordained Servant A Journal for Church Officers A publication of the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church ISSN 1525-3503 Volume 18 2009 Editor: Gregory Edward Reynolds • 827 Chestnut Street • Manchester, NH 03104 Telephone: 603-668-3069 • Electronic mail: [email protected] Website: www.opc.org/os.html Ordained Servant is published monthly online (except for combined issues June/July and August/ September) (E-ISSN 1931-7115, online edition); and printed annually (ISSN: 1525-3503) after the end of each calendar year, beginning with volume 15 (2006) published in 2007. Ordained Servant was published quarterly in print from 1992 through 2005. All 53 issues are available in our online archives. The editorial board is the Subcommittee on Serial Publications of the Committee on Christian Education. Subscriptions: Copies of the annual printed edition of Ordained Servant are sent to each ordained minister of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, each organized congregation, and each designated mission work, and are paid for by the Committee. Ordained elders, deacons, and licentiates of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church may receive copies gratis upon request. Ordained Servant is also available to anyone in the U.S. and Canada who wishes to subscribe by remitting $10.00 per year to: Ordained Servant, The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Box P, Willow Grove, PA 19090-0920. Checks should be made out to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, designated for Or- dained Servant in the memo line. Foreign and institutional subscribers please remit $15.00 per year. All remittances should be made payable in U.S. funds. Submissions: Chosen submissions will be published on the web and possibly chosen for the annual print edition. Please consult “Submissions, Style Guide, and Citations” on our website. Copyright Information: All material in this periodical is subject to U.S. and international copyright laws and may not be reproduced without prior written approval. Please refer to “Submissions, Style Guide, and Citations” at our website once you have received permission. Interested parties are invited to obtain permission to reproduce mate- rial found in this publication by writing to the editor. © Copyright 2009 by the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. All rights reserved. OrdainedServant A JOURNAL FOR CHURCH OFFICERS CONTENTS 5 From the Editor 42 “Evangelism and the Church,” Charles G. Dennison ServantThoughts EDITORIALS ServantMission 6 “Now We Live in Q’s World” 52 “How to Plant a Presbyterian Church,” Ross W. Graham 8 “The Risk of Serious Debate” 56 “Faithfulness in Giving to Worldwide 10 “Christ in the Midst of Culture: The Church Outreach,” Brenton C. Ferry as Embassy” 14 “Changing Pace: The Need for Rest in a ServantTruth Frenetic World” 61 “Original Sin: The Doctrine and Its 17 “Ambassadors of the Heavenly King” Implications,” John V. Fesko 20 “The Spirituality of Mission Work” ServantHistory 22 “The Humanity of John Calvin” 67 “John Calvin and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church,” John R. Muether ServantLiving 68 “Calvin’s Soteriology: The Structure of the 29 “When to Forgive Others,” Brenton C. Ferry Application of Redemption in Book Three of the Institutes,” Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. ServantWork 77 “John Calvin: Servant of the Word,” Glen J. Clary 31 “The Importance of Home Visitation,” G. I. Williamson ServantRest ServantWitness 93 “Sabbaticals for Pastors,” David VanDrunen 34 “Evangelistic Responsibility,” T. David Gordon ServantExchange 131 A Step from Death by Larry Woiwode, Diane L. Olinger 98 “A Tale of Two Calvins: A Review Article,” review of Calvin, Participation, and the Gift 132 Last Things First by John V. Fesko, David R. by J. Todd Billings, and Life in Christ by Holmlund Mark A. Garcia, John V. Fesko 133 Why Johnny Can’t Preach by T. David 104 “A Response to John Fesko’s Review,” Gordon, Stephen J. Tracey Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. 135 John Calvin by Robert Godfrey, Gregory E. Reynolds ServantWorld 136 Concerning the True Care of Souls by Martin 114 “Courageous Protestantism? Some Bucer, William Shishko Reflections on David Wells’s Analysis of the Contemporary Church,” Carl Trueman ServantReading 121 “David Wells’s Response to Carl Trueman’s REVIEW ARTICLES Review of His Five Books,” David F. Wells 138 “Too Frank by Half: What Love Should Have Covered,” review of Crazy for God by Frank ServantHumor Schaeffer, Gregory E. Reynolds EUTYCHUS II 142 “Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life,” 123 “The Fourth Use (Unintended) of the Law” review of Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life by Colin Duriez, Gregory E. Reynolds 125 “Remembering Robert” 145 “Covenant and Salvation,” review of Covenant and Salvation: Union with Christ ServantReading by Michael Horton, Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. BOOK REVIEWS 149 “Young Calvinism with and without an 126 A Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes Edge,” review of Young, Restless, Reformed by edited by David W. Hall and Peter A. Collin Hansen, and Minority Report by Carl Lillback, Danny E. Olinger R. Trueman, Darryl G. Hart 128 Original Sin by Alan Jacobs, David 152 “Francis Schaeffer: Reformed Fundamental- VanDrunen ist?” review of Francis Schaeffer and the Shaping of Evangelical America by Barry 129 We Become What We Worship by G. K. Hankins, Gregory E. Reynolds Beale, Shane Lems From the Editor his is the fourth annual printed edition of Ordained Servant. It is a contin- Tual source of great joy and satisfaction to me to help provide this resource for the officers of our church. Articles and reviews that are ephemeral, and may lose their importance in the coming years, will not be printed. Sometimes difficult editorial choices may require me to omit articles I would otherwise print if space were not an issue. This year we have made an important change in our citation standards. I owe John Muether a debt of gratitude for guiding me through this process. We have decided to distinguish between Or- dained Servant Online and Ordained Servant, the printed annual. The latter alone will be referred to by volume number with the year, while the online version will be referred to by month and year, and where appropriate by URL. Please consult “How to Cite Ordained Servant” on our website at http:// www.opc.org/OS/HowToCite.html. Once again I would like to thank General Secretary Danny Olinger and the subcommittee of Darryl Hart, Sid Dyer, and Paul MacDonald for their continued support, encouragement, and coun- sel. I would also like to thank the many people who make the regular online edition possible: Diane Olinger, Linda Foh, Stephen Pribble, and Andrew Moody, and the many fine writers without whom there would be no journal. Finally, I want to thank Ann Hart for her meticulous editorial work, and Jim Scott for his formatting of the printed volume. I hope you will continue to benefit from the articles and reviews that we are publishing on the web and in print. Your comments, suggestions, and unsolicited reviews and articles are always wel- come and play an important part in the formation of our journal. —Gregory Edward Reynolds Amoskeag Presbyterian Church Manchester, New Hampshire The world is seriously out of whack.2 The Hebrew word lbehe(hebel), normally translated “vanity,” has a range of meaning in the book of Ecclesiastes, Servant which goes beyond our common understanding of the word “vanity.” Its thirty-eight uses in the book Thoughts are nicely summed up by Meredith M. Kline: “not according to design.” Thus, emptiness and futility are only part of what Q is saying about our fallen situation. Because of Adam’s fall, the entire context Now We Live of human life is “out of whack”; we live in a wacky world, out of accord with God’s original inten- in Q’s World tion for it. “God made man upright, but they have Originally published electronically in Ordained Servant sought out many schemes” (7:29).3 The creation Online February 20091 is not presently the way it was designed to be. In- justice and inequity are everywhere. Wackiness is by Gregory Edward Reynolds ubiquitous. Every time we see the wicked prosper this is confirmed. Each time a carefully crafted “Q” is a term of endearment, my nickname for the plan goes awry we learn this anew. so-called “Preacher” of Ecclesiastes, better known Q is not, however, an existential cynic—a among academics as “Qoheleth”—hence Q. He kind of ancient version of Camus or Sartre. Nor is one of my favorites among biblical characters is he, as most Christians believe, placing himself because his perspective on the world reflects so hypothetically in the position of the unbeliever for perfectly the perspective of the pilgrim believer, es- apologetic or evangelistic purposes. Rather he is a pecially suitable for us New Covenant wanderers. believer contemplating life in a fallen world, full of He is a mysterious Solomonic figure who gathers injustice and inequities, ultimately overshadowed and assembles wise words in an artful way in order by death; but also full of temporary blessings, the to shepherd believers through life in a fallen world. rewards of our everyday work. In the midst of it all, Q enjoins the reader to fear God, obey his com- Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught mands, and enjoy his blessings. the people knowledge, weighing and studying Of course, it takes a series of sermons on and arranging many proverbs with great care. Ecclesiastes to unpack the implications of this The Preacher sought to find words of delight, wackiness and the wisdom we need to navigate it.4 and uprightly he wrote words of truth. The But let me enumerate several thematic ramifica- words of the wise are like goads, and like nails tions. firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are God’s ways are mysterious.