NEW HORIZONS in the ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 6 The Reformation: Then and 14 New Editions of Important OCTOBER 2016 Now // by John Muether and Books by Van Til // David Noe by William D. Dennison VOLUME 37, NUMBER 9 CONTENTS New Horizons in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Editor: Danny E. Olinger Managing Editor: James W. Scott FEATURES Editorial Assistant: Patricia E. Clawson Cover Designer: Christopher Tobias 3 Choosing the Good Portion Proofreader: Sarah J. Pederson Editorial Board: The Committee on Christian An Interview with Patricia E. Clawson Education’s Subcommittee on Serial Publications and Diane L. Olinger © 2016 by The Committee on Christian Education of 6 The Reformation: Then and Now The Orthodox Presbyterian Church. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are By John Muether and David Noe from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard 8 Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing How Calvinism Became a Global Faith ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. By David C. Noe All rights reserved. (We use the 2011 revision.) Articles previously published may be slightly edited. New Horizons (ISSN: 0199-3518) is published monthly except for a combined issue, usually August- DEPARTMENTS September, by the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 N. Easton 10 Road, Bldg. E, Willow Grove, PA 19090-2539; tel. 215- Foreign Missions 830-0900; fax 215-830-0350. Multiple witnesses in Quebec Letters to the editor are welcome. They should deal 12 with an issue the magazine has recently addressed. Home Missions Their language should be temperate, and they may not charge anyone with an offense. 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Requests for a subscription should be sent to [email protected] or the address below. Periodicals postage is paid at Willow Grove, Pa., and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to New Horizons in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 N. Easton Road, Bldg. E, Willow Grove, PA 19090-2539. Discover how the Lord used generations of women to help mold the Orthodox Presbyterian Church into what it is today. Choosing the Good Portion: Women of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church will be available by the end of October. To order online and pay by credit card, go to store.opc.org and click on “Church History.” If you prefer to order by email and be billed, write to [email protected]. The price for this 475- page hardback, containing photographs of nearly all the women, is $15.00, plus $4.00 shipping. Shipping is free for orders of $35.00 or more. 2 / NEW HORIZONS / OCTOBER 2016 CHOOSING THE GOOD PORTION AN INTERVIEW WITH PATRICIA E. CLAWSON AND DIANE L. OLINGER // The Committee for the Historian is publishing Choosing the Good Portion, a book telling the stories of many women who have made important contributions to the life of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church over the years. New Horizons editor Danny Olinger and agreed immediately to support we wanted to go beyond that. We re- here interviews the two editors of that the project. However, I didn’t want to searched the Presbyterian Guardian and volume, Patricia E. Clawson and Diane develop the book on my own. Diane New Horizons to find out about the L. Olinger. Olinger, with whom I had collaborated contributions of other women. We sat on several New Horizons articles, loved down with individuals like John Gal- NH: How did the idea for the book the idea of this book and agreed to co- braith and Charlotte Kuschke to gather come about? edit with me. names. Pat: When Grace Mullen was bat- Diane: I was excited to be part of Pat: We also sent a communica- tling cancer, I would visit her. Since she the project after receiving Pat’s invita- tion to the stated clerks of all seventeen was the OPC archivist and was inter- tion to coedit with her. In years past, we presbyteries and asked for recommen- ested in OPC history, I told her about had brainstormed about what we could dations from individuals and churches. the vignettes on men and women that do for women’s history in the OPC. For Once we received the feedback, we appeared in Today in OPC History on instance, we kicked around the idea of were able to identify over ninety wom- OPC.org. One day I mentioned Polly a cookbook with inserts about women’s en whom we wanted to include in the Gaffin. “What a marvelous person Aunt history. We were looking for a format book. We would have loved to feature Polly was!” exuded Grace. She then that would get people excited about many more women, but who could pick leaned forward and said, “Pat, I think reading about these women and also up such a volume? you should write a book on Polly!” give us an avenue to research them. I I wasn’t confident that I could was excited to see this come to fruition NH: How did you find the authors to write a book about her, but her encour- with Pat taking the lead. write the stories? agement made me think about the his- Diane: We wanted our writers to torical information available on OPC NH: Once you had the idea of the be either members of the OPC or those women. I wondered if the godly women book in place, how did you decide who were raised in the OPC. We tried who helped start our church would be which women to include? to identify those women who had a per- forgotten. I asked the Committee for Diane: Pat and I spent several sonal connection with the woman they the Historian what they thought about months thinking about this. Some would be writing about, or who knew a book that would tell the stories of the women were easy to pick out, like how to find the sources. Many of the women of the OPC. They were excited many of the foreign missionaries. But authors turned out to be daughters, NEW HORIZONS / OCTOBER 2016 / 3 daughters-in-law, or friends of the per- son. That’s why we included short biog- raphies of the authors at the end. We wanted to show the relationships that often existed, whether it was through a blood relation or through someone’s church family or through a common in- terest or ministry. Pat: A good example of what Di- ane is talking about is Trudy Bosman. If you look at the bio, she and her husband moved deliberately near the Menomi- nee Indian Reservation. He got a job in the community, so that they could serve there. So she wrote about Hermima Davies, who labored with her husband, John, in helping to organize an OP church on the reservation. The editors working on Choosing the Good Portion Diane: Fifty-five women accepted our invitation. They put in many hours researching and writing their chapters, other guests, but was “distracted” in her could worship was all-important. They and we couldn’t be more pleased with efforts. Her sister Mary appears to have were committed to serving the OPC in their work. helped her, then “left” to sit with the any way they could because the church disciples and listen to Jesus’ teaching. stood by Christ and the Scriptures. NH: What advice did you give your Martha was intent on “much serving,” Pat: At the beginning, the commit- authors? and complained to Jesus that Mary had ment to the cause was much stronger. Diane: We tried to pick out stories “left” the serving to her. Mary may have They all had to sacrifice and make very in which you ask yourself while reading, thought that what she had helped to difficult decisions. They lost their pen- “How did she have the fortitude to do prepare was adequate, so she sat down sions, their homes—all sorts of things— that?” or “How did she have the time to to listen to Jesus. He told Martha that to come into this denomination. I think do that?” This is why one of the things “one thing is necessary” and that Mary of someone like Hattie DeWaard leav- that we asked our authors to do was to “has chosen the good portion.” ing everything for the gospel. find out what the struggles were for a The women featured in this book My husband, Doug, and I made particular woman. We didn’t want to are like Martha because they served the a decision to come into the OPC. We hear only what her achievements were. church with great zeal. Yet even more wrestled with all the issues. Our kids What gave her problems? The Lillian they shared Mary’s love for God’s Word, didn’t wrestle with any of them.