NEW HORIZONS in the ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 3 Then and Now at Palos Heights 7 A Servant’s Summit AUG-SEPT 2017 // by Danny E. Olinger // by Jamie Dean THE OPC IN Chicag and VOLUME 38, NUMBER 7 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 Then and Now at Palos Heights: Proofreader: Sarah J. Pederson Editorial Board: The Committee on Christian 84th General Assembly Education’s Subcommittee on Serial Publications By Danny E. Olinger © 2017 by The Committee on Christian Education of 7 A Servant’s Summit: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are Deacons as Visitors from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard By Jamie Dean Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. 10 The Reformation on Suffering: All rights reserved. (We use the 2011 revision.) Articles previously published may be slightly edited. Affliction for Christ’s Sake New Horizons (ISSN: 0199-3518) is published By Brian De Jong monthly except for a combined issue, usually August- September, by the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 N. Easton Road, Bldg. E, Willow Grove, PA 19090-2539; tel. 215- DEPARTMENTS 830-0900; fax 215-830-0350. Letters to the editor are welcome. They should deal 12 with an issue the magazine has recently addressed. Christian Education Their language should be temperate, and they may not Review: The Benedict Option • Our charge anyone with an offense. They should be brief, and they may be condensed by the editor. membership vows • Out of the mouth … Send inquiries, letters to the editor, and other 14 correspondence to the editor at [email protected]. Stewardship Send address changes to [email protected]. Allow six Money and stewardship weeks for address changes. 15 The digital edition (PDF, ePub, mobi) and an archive of Prayer Calendar previous issues are available at www.opc.org. 17 Views expressed by our writers are not necessarily Foreign Missions those of the editors or official positions of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The Reformation comes to Quebec Copies are distributed free to members and friends 19 of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Nonmembers Home Missions are asked to donate $20.00 for an annual subscription (USD $30.00 if sent to addresses in Canada; $40.00 Springfield, Ohio elsewhere abroad). A free e-mail PDF subscription is 20 also available. Requests for a subscription should be News, Views, & Reviews 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. The OPC’s Diaconal Summit III was held at Wheaton College for three days in June. Shown here is keynote speaker David Apple during a discussion time. Sitting comfortably on the stage floor is Pastor Nathan Trice, a member of the Committee on Diaconal Ministries (also a speaker at the summit). For a full report on this gathering, see Jamie Dean’s feature article on page 7. 2 / NEW HORIZONS / AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017 THEN AND NOW AT PALOS HEIGHTS: 84TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY DANNY E. OLINGER // When the Forty-first (1974) General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church met on the cam- pus of Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois, it was a big change. For the first time, the assembly met on a college cam- pus, not at a local OP church or at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. The com- president of the Committee on Foreign members, and 7,633 baptized children missioners stayed in dormitories, not Missions, helped present that commit- or noncommunicants. Mr. Haug also in homes of members, and ate in the tee’s report and was elected to serve a reported that 126 churches and 22 cha- dining hall, not in a church’s fellowship three–year term for a record seven- pels (mission works) were a part of the hall with meals supplied by the local teenth time. OPC. Mr. Brown reported 278 church- congregation. Statistician’s Report es and 44 mission works in the OPC. Forty-three years later, the Eighty- In his comments to the Assembly, fourth General Assembly returned Luke Brown also participated in Mr. Brown stated that a review of the to Trinity Christian College on May both assemblies. In 1974, Mr. Brown noncommunicant history suggests that 31–June 6, 2017, with the innovations was a twenty-eight-year-old ruling el- with over 540 children being added to introduced by the Forty-first (1974) der and first–time commissioner from the noncommunicant membership roll Assembly still in place. Six ministers— Church of the City in Philadelphia. each year by baptism, some 80 percent George Cottenden, Donald Duff, At the Eighty-fourth Assembly, Mr. of that roll consists of children below Richard Gaffin, Jr., Glenn Jerrell, John Brown, the OPC’s statistician, gave twelve years of age. Of the remaining Mahaffy, and Stephen Phillips—were a summary of statistics for 2016. A 1,700 young people on the roll, 300 commissioners at both assemblies. comparison of his report and Edward profess their faith and are enrolled as These fathers in the faith, with a com- Haug’s statistician’s report to the Forty- communicant members each year. Since bined 293 years of ministerial service in first (1974) Assembly indicates that most of our young people profess faith the OPC, were not mere figureheads at much has changed in the OPC in the sometime during their teen years, there the recent assembly. Mr. Duff nomi- forty-three years between the two as- is no statistical indication that we are nated Larry Westerveld, pastor of Trin- semblies. Mr. Haug reported that the losing large numbers of covenant chil- ity OPC in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, as total membership at the end of 1973 dren, as is happening in some denomi- moderator. Mr. Mahaffy served as the was 15,043, consisting of 210 minis- nations. assistant stated clerk of the Assembly. ters, 9,940 communicant members, and Mr. Brown’s pastor at Trinity Mr. Phillips, president of the OPC 4,893 baptized children. Mr. Brown OPC, Mr. Westerveld, was elected as Trustees, presented the Trustees’ re- reported that total membership at the the moderator of the Eighty-fourth port. Mr. Cottenden served as chairman end of 2016 was 30,918, consisting of (2017) Assembly. Upon accepting the of an advisory committee. Mr. Gaffin, 540 ministers, 22,745 communicant honor, Mr. Westerveld lamented that NEW HORIZONS / AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017 / 3 understanding of the sec- (CEIR) regarding whether the suggest- ond coming of Jesus Christ. ed recommendation should be commu- The OPC’s Assembly did not nicated to other churches that adhere to agree. It stated that it was the Westminster Standards. neither necessary nor wise to The Bible Presbyterian Church amend the questions. This year’s assembly also The Eighty-fourth Assembly’s invi- considered matters related to tation to the Bible Presbyterian Church the Westminster Standards. In (BPC) to enter into an ecclesiastical response to the action of the relationship also has a historical con- Eighty-third (2016) Assembly, nection with the Forty-first Assembly asking that it consider creat- and its talks with the RPCES. In 1938, ing a “Modern English Study some members of the OPC (which Version of the Shorter Cat- was called the Presbyterian Church of echism,” the Committee on America until 1939) departed to form Christian Education recom- the Bible Presbyterian Synod. They left mended to this Assembly “that over issues of eschatology (whether offi- it, in accordance with FG 32.3, cers could adhere to dispensational the- elect a special committee or au- ology), temperance (whether members Incoming moderator Larry J. Westerveld (left) thorize a standing committee could partake of alcoholic beverages), welcomed to the podium by outgoing to make specific proposals for and the exact nature of the Westminster moderator Paul Tavares changes to the doctrinal stan- Confession and Catechisms adopted. In dards of the OPC (The Con- the mid-1950s, the Bible Presbyterian he had only one suit jacket for the week. fession of Faith and Catechisms) that Synod split into two groups. One of Thankfully, not only his wardrobe, but are morphological in nature (e.g., ‘thee’ them, the Bible Presbyterian Church, also his moderating, fared well during to ‘you’ and ‘hath’ to ‘has’) and update Columbus Synod, became the Evangel- the week, as he provided a consistent clearly obsolete and archaic words (e.g., ical Presbyterian Church in 1961. Four and firm hand in guiding the Assembly ‘stews’ in Larger Catechism 139).” The years later, the Evangelical Presbyterian through its business. Assembly did not approve the recom- Church merged with the Reformed Confessional Revision mendation, but referred it back to the Presbyterian Church, General Synod, CCE for perfecting. It also directed the to create the RPCES. The connections between the past CCE to confer with the Committee on Now, years after the splits and and the present continued with the Ecumenicity and Interchurch Relations mergers, CEIR administrator Jack reports of the commit- tees. In 1974, a potential merger of the OPC with the Reformed Presbyte- rian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES) led the Forty-first Assembly to debate possible changes to Larger