February 2019 Ordained Servant

From the Editor. Navigating its way between the Scylla of authoritarianism and the Charybdis of egalitarianism is the uniquely biblical idea of the servant leader—ordained servant. T. David Gordon’s “Reflections on Ministerial Authority” reminds ministers of the important limits of ministerial authority. In turn these limits remind us that we are servants of the Lord by being servants of his Word.

David Noe presents his translation of the second part of “Beza on the Trinity.” This will be published as one piece in the 2018 print edition.

Diane Olinger provides a review article entitled “Roger Williams: Servant of the Public Good.” In it she examines James A. Warren’s God, War, and Providence, an illuminating book that shows that Williams’s diplomacy toward the Native Americans was driven by his Christian faith and his view of the proper relationship between church and civil authority.

John Mahaffy reviews Aimee Byrd’s Why Can’t We Be Friends? Avoidance Is Not Purity. Byrd reminds us that avoiding sexual temptation does not define the male-female relationship for Christians, rather our union with Christ does. In marriage, servant leadership of the husband sets the tone of the relationship as brother and sister in Christ.

I review Andy Crouch’s The Tech-wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place. Crouch, the editor of Christianity Today, presents a practical guide for families to better navigate the electronic environment.

Our poem this month, William Cowper’s “Ode, Supposed to be Written on the Marriage of a Friend,” is not an easy one. Like much good poetry it takes close reading, reading aloud, mixed with some classical learning (I had to look things up). While distractedness, along with other cultural prejudices unsuits for thoughtful reading, especially the concentrated richness of poetry, it is the discipline of such reading that helps us regain the focus we are losing.

Apart from his hymns Cowper has been largely neglected of late. His corpus is immense, his learning far ranging, and his theology and piety are superb. He is a treasure waiting to be enjoyed.

Blessings in the Lamb,
Gregory Edward Reynolds

FROM THE ARCHIVES “CHURCH GOVERNMENT, MINISTRY”

Subject Index

• “Church Government Briefly Considered.” (Greg L. Bahnsen) 4:1 (Jan. 1995): 9–10.
• “Diseases of Church Government.” (J. G. Vos) 2:4 (Oct. 1993): 91–95.
• “Editorial [on Presbyterian Polity].” (G. I. Williamson) 4:2 (Apr. 1995): 25–26.
• “Which is More Hierarchical: The Reformed or the Presbyterian Form of Church Government?” (G. I. Williamson) 8:2 (Mar. 1999): 43–46.
• “Biblical Theology and the Session – Part 2: Redemptive History and Church Discipline.” (James S. Gidley) 9:3 (Jul. 2000): 50–54.
• “Discipline is Not a Dirty Word.” (Geoffrey Smith) 2:1 (Jan. 1993): 23.
• >“Editorial [on Church Discipline].” (G. I. Williamson) 2:2 (Apr. 1993): 25–26.
• “A Charge to New Church Officers.” (Stephen Doe) 9:2 (Apr. 2000): 43–44.
• “Democracy and the Denigration of Office” (Gregory E. Reynolds) 23 (2014): 12–23.

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.