March 2022 Ordained Servant

From the Editor. 2022 is the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the birth of Frances Schaeffer. I recently had a surprise call from someone I had not been in contact with for fifty years. Paul Maffin was converted from Zen Buddhism at L’Abri, having lived in an ashram in Bodh Gaya, India. Shortly after living in India, he arrived at L’Abri where I was working on renovating and installing a fireplace in Dr. and Mrs. Schaeffer’s bedroom. Paul and I became fast friends as he joined me in the work. Since then, Paul became a Reformed Baptist minister, so we had much to discuss as we reconnected by Zoom. Since we both eventually matured out of the hagiographic stage of having studied under Schaeffer, I thought it timely to ask Paul to provide a realistic assessment of the value of Schaeffer’s ministry on our generation in “An Honest Appreciation of Francis Schaeffer.”

My “Reflections on the Ministry of Francis Schaeffer” is based on excerpts from “Your Father’s L’Abri: Reflections on the Ministry of Francis Schaeffer.” While I understand the theoretical differences between Cornelius Van Til and Francis Schaeffer, and embrace the essential presuppositionalism of Van Til, Schaeffer was not an academic but rather an evangelist, using the tools of cultural apologetics.

Danny Olinger brings us Chapter 9, “God, Heaven, and Har Magedon” (2006) in The Writings of Meredith G. Kline on the Book of Revelation. This invaluable work culls from all of the late Meredith G. Kline’s reflections on the book of Revelations from his many published works.

Alan Strange continues with Chapter 25 of his Commentary on the Form of Government of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. I hope that church officers are reading this very helpful and insightful commentary on the first of our tertiary standards, to which each officer must vow to uphold.

David VanDrunen reviews three important books on the controversial topic of genetic editing in his review article, “Genetic Engineering, Human Nature, and Human Destiny.” VanDrunen’s informative and insightful review challenges officers to be aware of this burgeoning science that most often is rooted in materialism, leading to the belief that genetic engineering can solve the deepest problems of humanity. Nothing short of the nature and meaning of the human is at stake. This theoretical understanding will effect more and more lives as the field rapidly expands. While a biblical understanding of human nature in its fallen condition may not have much of an impact on popular culture, our critical understanding will equip us to make ethical judgments about having children and other issues rooted in Scripture.

Andrew Miller addresses the important exegetical topic of intra-canonical interpretation in his review of Old Testament Use of Old Testament: A Book-By-Book Guide by Gary Schnittjer.

Frank Smith reviews The Cottage by the Bridge by Ivars Fridenvalds. The Cottage by the Bridge is the captivating tale of a survivor’s journey and trials as he transitions from a life of oppression during World War II under communist and Nazi regimes to the freedom of the USA. Along the way he discovers the ultimate liberation—from sin and death in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our poem this month, “Marred Desire,” is by Greg Huteson. He is a ruling elder in Dallas, Texas. He presently works with Overseas Missionary Fellowship International in Taichung, Taiwan. Previously, for twenty-one years he and his wife worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Asia.

The cover picture, Farel House, the study center of L’Abri Fellowship, was taken by me in 1971.

Blessings in the Lamb,
Gregory Edward Reynolds

FROM THE ARCHIVES “SCHAEFFER”

http://opc.org/OS/pdf/Subject_Index.pdf

• “Francis A. Schaeffer: A Unique Evangelist.” (Gregory Edwards Reynolds) 17 (2008): 151–56.
• “Francis Schaeffer: Reformed Fundamentalist?” (Gregory Edward Reynolds) 18 (2009): 152–58.
• “A Letter from Cornelius Van Til to Francis Schaeffer.” (Cornelius Van Til) 6:4 (Oct. 1997): 77–80.
• “Too Frank by Half: What Love Should Have Covered.” (Gregory Edward Reynolds) 18 (2009): 138–42.
• “Your Father’s L’Abri: Reflections on the Ministry of Francis Schaeffer.” (Gregory Edward Reynolds) 17 (2008): 35–40.

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.