April 2011 Ordained Servant

From the Editor. Decisions, decisions. As God's image-bearers we constantly make choices and judgments. As Christians we are concerned that our decisions please our Lord. But how can we know? The Bible doesn't directly address many, or even most, of the decisions we make. Pastor Lems gives sound practical advice on this question in "What Should I Do? Making Decisions Biblically." This is an article that church officers can pass on to church members.

Pastor Lems's article is based on the assumption that the Christian lives in two kingdoms at once, as citizens of the world and citizens of heaven. Each of our book reviews this month discuss a number of significant books which in one way or another tackle this important issue. Richard Gamble of Hillsdale College deals with three books on Christ, culture, and politics. Meredith M. Kline of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary looks at this question more tangentially in his review of Greidanus's Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes. I review David VanDrunen's new book, Living in God's Two Kingdoms. Finally, the intersection between culture and worship is accented by Stephen Tracey's review of T. David Gordon's popular new take on the always controversial topic of worship music, Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns.

You may have noticed that I am publishing a poem in each issue of Ordained Servant Online. I believe that there is a poverty of poetry among us as Americans, but perhaps especially as Christians. A knowledge of the wide world of poetry and the practice of reading it aloud can only help preachers communicate the Word better and see God's world more clearly. This month I have chosen Robert Herrick (1591–1674), and a poem that critic Harold Bloom considers "exceptional" among his otherwise "predictable devotional pieces."

Blessings in the Lamb,
Gregory Edward Reynolds

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 endeavor to stimulate clear thinking and the consistent practice of historic, confessional Presbyterianism.