December 2019 Ordained Servant

From the Editor. Servant Thoughts this month crystalize some concerns I have had for many years about proper grammar. In an era where even young executives with MBAs need remedial courses in grammar and manners, I think that the church is not entirely immune from this cultural bankruptcy. Since good grammar and good manners are related in showing respect for others, I hope to be addressing this occasionally in the years to come.

Alan Strange gives us Part 2 of “Conflict Resolution in the Church.” If you missed Part 1, be sure to read it in last month’s issue. Because our Book of Discipline cannot cover every detail or possible situation, Strange’s article will help clarify the text.

Soon you will see another new face for OPC.org. Once again the Committee on Christian Education’s (CCE) Subcommittee on Internet Ministries (SIM) has managed the redesign of OPC.org with the indispensable help of web designer Chris Tobias and a very competent technical engineer.

David Noe completes his translation of Beza’s twenty-one theses on the Trinity (16–21). Our next classic will be David Noe’s translation of Chrysostom’s commentary on Galatians. Many of the works included in Servant Classics have never been translated into English. The Chrysostom’s commentary on Galatians will be newly translated. I am grateful for David Noe’s pioneering work for OS.

Professor Ryan McGraw reviews the second volume of Peter Van Mastricht’s magisterial Theoretical-Practical Theology, Faith in the Triune God. Even the placement of the topic of faith between Scripture and the doctrine of God demonstrates how Post-Reformation theologians never saw a dichotomy between doctrine and life.

Musicologist Timothy Shafer reviews Scott Aniol’s Worship in Song: A Biblical Approach to Music and Worship. This review is unusual in two ways. First, I rarely review a book this old (2009); and second, I never have a reviewer who also blurbed the book. In this case, however, I believe that this book has not been appreciated as it ought to have been. Good principles never go out of date.

I hope you enjoy Henry Vaughan’s magnificent incarnation poem, “Christ’s Nativity.” It reminds us of the artistry and faith of the Metaphysical poets.

The cover picture is from the New York Public Library last Christmas, guarded by those stalwart lions Patience and Fortitude, virtues that we need plenty of in this present evil age.

Blessings in the Lamb,
Gregory Edward Reynolds

FROM THE ARCHIVES “INCARNATION”

Subject Index

• “Incarnation, Inspiration, and Pneumatology: A Reformed Incarnational Analogy.” (Lane G. Tipton) 17 (2008): 85–90.

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.