From the editor. Self-reflection is not only healthy for individuals but also for churches and denominations. John Mahaffy’s “The Church’s [Not So] New Fundamentalism” calls us to just such an ecclesiastical self-reflection. The very name of this periodical is reflected in Mahaffy’s piece. Church officers along with every Christian in a position of authority are called to humble servanthood. This is a fruit of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control [see Gal. 5:22–23]), who works in us to overcome our natural tendency toward autonomy that dwells in each of us and thus spills over into marriages, churches, and denominations.

Danny Olinger continues the series “Jesus, Stab Me in the Heart! Flannery O’Connor at 100” with an analysis of the O’Connor short story “Greenleaf.” Each month Olinger will be reflecting on a sample of O’Connor’s short stories (I recommend O’Connor: Collected Works, The Library of America, 1988). O’Connor is unique among the greatest fiction writers of the twentieth century. “O’Connor’s one overarching theme is Jesus Christ and the scandal of the Christian religion.”[1]

Part 3 of Going Peopleless, in which I explore the benefits and liabilities of AI, will appear in the August-September issue of OS Online.

William Edgar reviews Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious by Ross Douthat in his article titled, “Consider This: What You See Is Not All You Get.” Despite Douthat’s Roman Catholic approach to apologetics, his arguments against philosophical materialism are valuable. As a presuppositionalist Edgar argues for a more forceful presentation of the Christian faith, rather than what Van Till would call “blockhouse methodology,” moving from reason to revelation. But Douthat is seeking to engage a generation that often knows nothing about Christianity. While some reviewers have compared Douthat to Blaise Pascal, Edgar asserts: “Pascal was much more prone to declare the Christian faith to be true, no wiggle room, full stop.”

Ryan McGraw reviews The Nature of the Church by John Brown of Wamphray. Brown (1610–79) original wrote in Latin, so this is an English translation. Educated at the University of Edinburgh (graduating in 1630), he became a pastor in the parish of Wamphray. In 1662 he was ejected from his parish and then exiled to Holland. A noted post-Reformation theologian, his exposition of Reformed and Presbyterian ecclesiology is a compelling and concise antidote to the radical individualism of our culture.

John Mallin reviews Depression: Finding Christ in the Darkness by Ed Welch. Depression is a devotional version of Welch’s extensive work on this topic. This Christocentric, practical devotion should be a great help to those who struggle in the darkness of depression.

Our poem is from a Christian poet, famous for his association with John Newton, William Cowper, who struggled mightily with depression and found his only relief from the darkness in Christ his Savior.

The cover is a picture of J. Gresham Machen on a mountain. I am not sure which one. He climbed the Matterhorn in the summer of 1932 in his early fifties. It was a remarkable feat at his age and without modern gear. He wrote a wonderful essay “Mountains and Why We Love Them.” I have only skied around the Matterhorn on both the Italian and Swiss sides. The picture below was taken on the way down to Zermatt. I believe that the picture of Machen is on Mount Adams, which was his favorite climb in the White Mountains.

Blessings in the Lamb,
Gregory Edward Reynolds

“FROM THE ARCHIVES “FUNDAMENTALISM”

http://opc.org/OS/pdf/Subject_Index_Vol_1-33.pdf

“Steering a Course between Fundamentalism and Transformationalism: J. Gresham Machen’s View of Christian Scholarship” (Dariusz M. Bryćko) 21 (2012): 91–101.

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.

[1] Danny Olinger, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Ordained Servant Online (March 2025)