Contents

Our Response to Sandy’s Fury

Patricia E. Clawson

A Holy Kind of Chaos

T. Nathan Trice

Remember Your Leaders

Jamie Dean

Home Missions

Welcome the New General Secretary

Christian Education

It Takes a Covenant Community

Foreign Missions

For Generations to Come

Stewardship

Casting Bread upon the Waters

Prayer Calendar

January

News

Reviews

Announcements

New Horizons
in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
January 2013 • Volume 34, Number 1

© 2013 by The Committee on Christian Education of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Editorial Board: The Committee on Christian Education’s Subcommittee on Serial Publications

Editor: Danny E. Olinger

Managing Editor: James W. Scott

Editorial Assistant: Patricia Clawson

Cover Designer: Christopher Tobias

Proofreader: Sarah J. Pederson

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Articles previously published may have been slightly edited.

New Horizons (ISSN: 0199-3518) is published monthly except for a combined issue in August-September by the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 N. Easton Road, Bldg. E, Willow Grove, PA 19090-2539; tel. 215-830-0900; fax 215-830-0350.

Send e-mail correspondence to the editor. Letters to the editor are welcome. They should deal with an issue the magazine has recently addressed. Their language should be temperate, and they may not charge anyone with an offense. They should be brief, and they may be condensed.

Views expressed by the writers do not necessarily represent the position of the magazine or of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

The OPC website contains an archive of past articles.

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The Presbytery of New Jersey celebrated God’s goodness to it with a seventy-fifth anniversary banquet (albeit a year late) on November 10 at the Hibernian Club in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. Over seventy people were in attendance. Speakers included Robert W. Eckardt, Stephen L. Phillips, and Danny E. Olinger. Seated in the picture at the left are (from the left): Jeanne and Stephen Phillips, Robert and Mary Eckardt, and Danny Olinger.

Our Response to Sandy’s Fury

Patricia E. Clawson

Hurricane Sandy hit America’s northeast coast on October 29, leaving devastation on Long Island in New York and on the barrier islands and bay in New Jersey. The storm surge flooded homes and churches, shoved houses off their foundations, sparked fires, dumped yachts on roof tops, downed cell towers and tree limbs, and exploded transformers, knocking homes into the dark and cold. Then a nor’easter dumped a half foot of snow on already damaged branches, causing more power outages.

Long Island, New York

William Shishko, pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Franklin Square, New York, remembers his first look at Sandy’s damage. “I was stunned at the devastation,” he said. Without power, he tried to get in touch with the church’s most vulnerable members, including Aida Rubin, a widow. He knew she had ridden out the storm in her home. “It was very frightening,” said Mrs. Rubin. When he finally reached her, she was in distress because she needed a generator to help remove backed-up sewage from her basement. Shishko prayed. One hour later, David Nakhla, the OPC’s disaster response coordinator, and David Haney, a Committee for Diaconal Ministries (CDM) member, were at his door with three generators and gasoline. “I was so thankful to the Lord,” said Shishko, who took them immediately to Mrs. Rubin’s home, initiating the OPC’s disaster response in New York.

The three men then drove to Roland and Marianna Bloch’s home, which sits two houses away from an ocean-fed pond. Although they had installed two pumps to keep their basement from flooding, they found their generator submerged and not working. Nakhla and Haney hooked up a replacement generator to help pump out water from their basement. They also helped their neighbor redirect his drainage pipes. The neighbor, a Jewish agnostic, thanked them and said, “I don’t know what drives you, but I can see something different. If there’s anything I can do to repay you folks …” Shishko responded that he could invite him to visit for one hour and ask questions about Christianity. Church member Richard Schwarz later fixed their water heater and brought food. “We were thanking God for the help we got from the OPC,” said Bloch. “Without them, we would have had a disaster. The help we received was nothing short of a miracle.”

The next day, Haney returned to New York with deacon Rich Duggan, bringing generators, gasoline, cleaning supplies, construction bags, space heaters, fire logs, fans, and ice. The following Saturday, deacon David Askey, Ray Thistlethwaite, and Luke Brown, from Hatboro, Pennsylvania, arrived, carrying generators, water heaters, shop vacs, floor fans, space heaters, fifty gallons of gasoline, lights, and boxes of clothes. They worked in Mrs. Rubin’s basement, hauling out a bed, dolls, a swollen dresser, and 130 trash bags filled with belongings. They also removed paneling, sheet rock, and insulation. Raun Treible, an Orthodox Presbyterian who is a heating and air conditioning expert from Orlando, restored her heating. Volunteer Elisabeth Shishko, 16, remembered, “It’s sad. They lost everything (in the basement).” The relief team also asked her neighbors if they needed help. “The congregation demonstrated the love of Christ,” said Mrs. Rubin. “It’s not just talk. People there worked hard. It was a beautiful testimony to the world on behalf of Christ.”

The church women collected and sorted bags of winter clothing, piled up from floor to ceiling in the church basement. Though they were without power, the Shishkos housed Treible and Rick Dickinson, an OP minister and retired Air Force chaplain from Bangor, Maine. Dickinson ministered to the victims, both physically and spiritually, including preaching on Psalm 23 Sunday evening. “You need someone to minister to you,” said Shishko. At Nakhla’s request, Treible came to New York the following Thursday. “My talent wasn’t evangelism and preaching,” he said. “I try to make things more livable. I adopted Isaiah’s philosophy of willingness: Here I am. Send me.”

Dickinson arrived the next day with eight filled gasoline containers. “I’m grateful that the OPC is willing to invest the time, energy, and resources in being prepared and poised to respond, which enables you to respond quickly,” said Dickinson. “It provides a healthy way for those not immediately impacted by an event to weep with those who weep.”

Elder Al Zarek serves as the OPC’s New York site coordinator. “My function is to try to find out what the needs are and to make arrangements to help in any way I can,” he said. “It’s work dealing with the church first and then outreach. (The relief work) is hard but rewarding.”

Also on Long Island, Meindert Ploegman, pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Bohemia, helped out member Matt Fleischer, who lived on the waterfront. Fleischer sent his wife and three children to a motel, parked his car on higher ground, and then stayed in his home, hauling stuff into the attic until the water came. He waded through waist-high water to a nearby hill. They lost everything in their ranch home. Neighbors helped with the cleanup. Ploegman spent a day removing nails and sheet rock. He offered to send a crew to help rebuild, but Fleischer is first trying to settle with insurance and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “It’s only things,” said Fleischer.

The destruction reinforced for Ploegman that: “A man’s life doesn’t consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

The Jersey Shore

On one of New Jersey’s barrier islands, Redeemer OPC sits midway between the ocean and the bay in Seaside Heights. When the bay and the ocean met in the middle of the island, it submerged the basement of the church building they rent. Couches, cabinets, tables, and chairs sailed into the hallway. This was especially difficult for the church, which has no pastor or church officers, but member Charlie Farrell stepped in to serve as site coordinator.

“It’s a war zone,” said Charlie’s wife, Elena, who saw the National Guard and police from many states guarding against looters.

Deacon (and CDM member) Kenley Leslie and his wife, Sarah, from Morgantown, West Virginia, drove their RV to the area to help with the cleanup. Without special skills, Sarah Leslie knows she can at least remove drywall and yank out nails. “Once you’re in a situation, you’ll be able to do what needs to be done,” she said, as she cleaned out the kitchen of Josephine DeFeis’s home. “The willingness to serve is more important than your skill set.”

Cleanup beginning for Josephine DeFeis (Kenley Leslie in background)

James Hulbert, an RPCNA construction worker from New York, also helped. Josephine DeFeis appreciated the volunteers who helped her cope with her loss. “I had a beautiful condo. Now everything is trash,” she said. “I’m thankful and blessed (by the help).”

OP member Dave Weller and his boarder stayed in his home on Barnegat Bay during Sandy until water started shooting through his walls. He shut off the electricity and waded through two feet of water to a neighbor’s home. Later he found his house covered in soot and pieces of burnt wood—the debris from three summer homes that burned to the ground a few houses away.

“You always see these things happening on TV, but you don’t really know what those people have gone through until you experience it,” said Weller. “If everything is ordained by God, we’re feeling the wrath of God at times. I thank the Lord my house is still here and needs to be repaired.”

Charlie Farrell, New Jersey site coordinator, in front of the Weller home

Deacon Ed Dubravsky, an electrician from Dover, New Hampshire, worked on Weller’s home. “God doesn’t give us a talent just to use on ourselves,” said Dubravsky. “We should use it to help our brothers and sisters. This is how I can help.”

One Saturday, deacon Jesse Kafka arranged for ten volunteers from Medford and Bellmawr, New Jersey, to join three volunteers from Bangor, Maine, and five from Salem County, New Jersey, led by Jeremy Patrick, in cleaning Weller’s home, two other houses, and hauling and chopping fallen trees on other properties. “The people are responding to an immense need,” said Kafka. “The Lord put it in their hearts that we don’t want to abandon people in their time of need and to show the love of Christ through actual, practical love.”

“They’ve been very, very good,” said Weller, changing his mind on whether his small OP church should merge with an independent congregation. “In my heart, I want to remain OPC,” said Weller, who appreciates the denominational support that independent congregations don’t have.

OPC Diaconal Ministries

The OPC’s response to Sandy is different than it was seven years ago, when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. In 2005, the OPC began to develop a denomination-wide disaster relief effort, which led to the hiring of Nakhla two years ago. During his tenure, Nakhla has spearheaded the OPC’s response to earthquakes in Haiti and Japan and smaller tornadoes, hurricanes, and tropical storms in the U.S. Each disaster response has been unique. Chain saws were needed for Katrina, while shop vacs and generators were necessary for Sandy’s victims. “We’re there to respond first and foremost to the church and members of the church,” said Nakhla. “We try to assess the situation quickly, so we can give the church an informed plan of attack.”

CDM member Kenley Leslie appreciates Nakhla’s work. “It’s really great to have somebody directing things,” he said. “He can manage resources.” He also can seek to make sure the OPC’s disaster relief is the marriage of Word and deed.

“We’re never going to be the Red Cross,” observed Haney. “We’re only going to do work in conjunction with the gospel.”

The author is the editorial assistant for New Horizons.

The Relief Effort Continues

The specific needs for future volunteers are unclear because insurance companies and FEMA may require work to be done by licensed or union contractors. David Nakhla anticipates that skilled and nonskilled help will still be needed for some rebuilding. The relief effort also may shift to outreach, by helping families and neighbors of OP victims.

Some homeowners were without flood insurance or complete home owners insurance. David Haney anticipates the CDM spending at least $100,000 on relief because so many OP families are involved. Financial gifts may be written to the “Orthodox Presbyterian Church,” designated “Hurricane Sandy Relief,” and mailed to: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 N. Easton Road, Building E, Willow Grove, PA 19090.

To volunteer, contact either David Nakhla at Nakhla.1@opc.org or one of the site coordinators: Al Zarek at zarekpackaging@optonline.net in New York or Charlie Farrell at farre954@regis.edu in New Jersey. Check www.opcstm.org/hurricane-sandy-response if you are interested in participating in the relief effort. For the latest news reports, go to www.facebook.com/OPCDisasterResponse.

A Holy Kind of Chaos

T. Nathan Trice

It was the “holy chaos” created by the early church’s zeal for mercy ministry that occasioned the first diaconate. It has been a similar zeal for ministries of mercy in the OPC, and the potential chaos that can accompany it, that has occasioned the need for a denominational Committee on Diaconal Ministries. May it ever be so.

Of course, the specific catalyst for the institution of the diaconate in Acts 6 was, sadly, a controversy in the church over money. The Greek-speaking members of the church in Jerusalem were convinced that their widows were being slighted in the distribution of financial support. Scripture never weighs in on whether this charge was true or not; it simply records how the issue prompted the apostles’ response of calling for an election of “seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3) to whom they could entrust the oversight of this mercy ministry. The new deacons’ first job was to sort out this little tempest in a teapot, and then to maintain the daily distribution to the poor in an equitable way.

The larger reality behind this controversy, however, was something that reflected quite well on the early church. In Acts 4, we are told where all the funds for the support of widows were coming from: a tremendous outpouring of generosity toward the poor. We read: “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need” (Acts 4: 34–35).

This Christian community was clearly in the grip of zeal for doing good to others; it was a natural outflow of their sense of the goodness of God to them. And their response was quite extravagant. When I think of the practical realities behind what is recorded about the church in Acts, it seems to me like a somewhat chaotic time. The leadership of the church was being swamped not only by new converts who needed discipling (Acts 5:14; 6:1), but also by the money and good intentions of those who were zealous to contribute to the needs of the poor. It was chaotic indeed, but a good kind of chaos. This state of affairs lay behind the problem that arose in Acts 6 and the solution that the diaconate afforded.

Before I draw a parallel to the institution of the OPC’s Committee on Diaconal Ministries (CDM), I can’t resist asking, “Is that the reason why deacons are so necessary in your local church?” Are they necessary because without them the groundswell of ministry by every member of your church would border on the chaotic? Or are they necessary because if they didn’t do mercy ministry in your church, it wouldn’t happen at all? At the close of his letter to Titus, Paul exhorts: “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful” (Titus 3:14). Where whole congregations are devoted to good works on behalf of the needy, diaconates come closest to fulfilling their original reason for being. They exist, not to execute a program of the church called “mercy ministry” on their own, but to coordinate and oversee the calling of the whole church “to devote themselves to good works.”

In a similar way, the CDM exists because of the zeal for mercy ministry manifested throughout the churches and families of the OPC. As I write this, Hurricane Sandy has just ravaged the northeastern United States, inflicting a measure of damage difficult even to calculate. But even as the storm surge has begun to subside, a surge of zeal to help has been rising throughout the OPC.

David Haney and David Nakhla in New York after Hurricane Sandy

The OPC’s disaster response coordinator, David Nakhla, is soliciting information from all the churches affected by the flooding with a view to channeling that helpful zeal to places where it is most needed. Indeed, it was another hurricane—by the name of Katrina—that several years ago occasioned a defining moment in the history of the CDM. The outpouring of concern for those in the Gulf region affected by that hurricane, along with the zeal by many to go personally and provide relief for local residents, made very obvious the need for a coordination of disaster response on a denominational level. Without it, problems would inevitably arise in the midst of such a rush of well-meant ministry.

Shortly thereafter, the scope of the CDM’s responsibilities was enlarged to include such coordination, and the position of disaster response coordinator was created. Only six months after the present disaster response coordinator began his employment, the tsunami in Japan struck, but already a structure was in place to channel the new outpouring of zeal to help from within the denomination. In this way, the CDM has served the denomination by ordering and facilitating the reflexive compassion and generosity of the members and churches of the OPC in response to calamities.

In other ways, too, it is the zeal within the OPC to “help cases of urgent need” that has made the work of the CDM necessary. It was the zeal of many churches for greater involvement in short-term missions, typically of a diaconal nature, that gave rise to the other hat that David Nakhla wears: that of short-term missions coordinator. Last year seven OPC foreign fields received help from two hundred short-term missionaries, not to mention the many short-term helpers that contributed their efforts domestically. That was a fine testimony to the zeal within the OPC for this way of doing good.

In less public ways, the CDM has been able to connect generous donors with the needs of ministers or their widows in retirement, and to assist presbyteries that are intent on helping their members or member churches with catastrophic needs. We have also become a conduit, in connection with the Committee on Foreign Missions, for those men considering full-time mercy ministry overseas as missionary deacons. Even our work to provide training resources for diaconates across the denomination is only as helpful as the local churches are enthusiastic for “devoting themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need.”

Volunteers putting up an addition to missionary Ben Hopp’s house in Haiti

It is my happy observation that the Lord has been fanning the flames of zeal for mercy ministry within the OPC. We are keenly aware that no lasting good can be done for any man apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet we are growing in our appreciation of the fact that opportunities for gospel witness are multiplied and made more promising when pursued with concrete expressions of Christian love.

Paul tells us that we should “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10). Following our Lord’s example, the ministry of Word and deed belong together in our Christian service. The CDM can certainly play a role in stirring the church up to love and good deeds, just as local diaconates can. But the real reason for the existence and labors of the CDM is that God himself appears to be doing that stirring, even as he did in the “holy chaos” of the first-century church. May it ever be so.

The author is pastor of Matthews OPC in Matthews, N.C., and the newest member of the Committee on Diaconal Ministries.

Remember Your Leaders

Jamie Dean

In the rolling hills of eastern Pennsylvania, Amish men drive horse-drawn buggies past the quiet buildings at Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community. It’s a serene setting, but for some Quarryville residents, retirement seems like a distant notion.

Take Wendell Rockey. This retired OP minister has lived at Quarryville for four years, but his schedule is full. When I visited the retirement community in November, Rockey calculated he had preached seven times in the last ten weeks. It’s a robust pace for a man set to turn eighty-nine in January.

Rockey is accustomed to robust ministry. The father of four served five OP congregations before moving to Quarryville in 2008. His beloved wife, Trudi, died in June 2011, but his ministry continues. He volunteers as chairman of the community’s residence council. He provides pulpit supply at area churches. He preaches twice a month in Quarryville’s chapel services and once a month in the skilled nursing unit.

“There’s a lot of need around here,” says Rockey, “and a lot of opportunity.”

As Rockey and other retired OP pastors at Quarryville seek opportunities for service, the OPC’s Committee on Diaconal Ministries (CDM) seeks to encourage the pastors.

One source of encouragement is the Obadiah Fund—a denominational fund dedicated to caring for retired OP ministers and their wives. A generous donor (and longtime OPC member) proposed the idea in 2007 and has been supplying the funds for it ever since: about $150,000 each year.

The CDM has used that money first to meet the immediate needs of retired OP ministers or their widows. Some needs are occasional, but some are ongoing. For OP pastors retiring without substantial pensions, help from the Obadiah Fund can be a vital resource.

Not all retired ministers have acute needs, but the Obadiah Fund seeks to encourage them too. After meeting immediate needs, the CDM has been sending a $1,000 check to every retired pastor or surviving widow. A letter accompanying the gift encourages them to use the funds as they see fit. Last year, those one-time gifts were sent to ninety-six recipients.

It’s a fitting way to honor the Obadiahs (a name that means “servant of the Lord”) who have faithfully served the OPC in the past and to encourage them as they continue to serve the Lord in the present.

Rockey is one example of an Obadiah who has served the OPC for decades. He was born in Joplin, Missouri, in 1924—twelve years before the OPC’s founding—and grew up in New York. After graduating from high school, he worked as a messenger and proofreader at a law firm on Wall Street. By 1942, Rockey had enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served as a radar operator on a destroyer escort during World War II.

Those convoys took Rockey as far away as North Africa, but his most significant experiences happened closer to home. As the young sailor with a Presbyterian background visited Baptist churches in ports like Norfolk, the Lord used powerful preaching to draw him to saving faith in Christ.

When he returned to New York, Rockey worked for an export business and participated in a local church. Soon he developed a desire for the ministry. That led him to college and then to Westminster Theological Seminary, where he learned the riches of Reformed theology. He graduated in 1954 and accepted a call to Wayside OPC in Grove City, Pennsylvania.

Rockey would go on to pastor four more OP congregations and serve as director of Deerwater Bible Conference. He also served as his presbytery’s secretary of home missions.

He especially enjoyed church planting, and he was grateful for a congregation that supported him after the loss of his first wife. First OPC in Hamilton, Massachusetts, called the widower with three young children as its first pastor. “Can you imagine the kindness to do that?” he asks.

Rockey also enjoyed nurturing college and seminary students, and introducing them to the doctrines of grace. These days Rockey continues to nurture the community at Quarryville with the same biblical principles that undergirded his ministry for fifty years.

Rockey was thankful for the unsolicited gift from the Obadiah Fund, and says it’s a reminder that sessions should discuss financial needs—including retirement plans—with their pastors.

It’s a discussion Rockey never had with his elders. That left him with substantial needs and led him into full-time work for the U.S. Postal Service while serving full-time as a pastor. He’s thankful the Lord used his work in both areas to provide for his needs, but he encourages sessions and presbyteries to be more proactive.

CDM member David Haney agrees. He says the committee has seen retirees face substantial needs, and those needs will likely grow as other OP ministers retire: “We may have just seen the tip of the iceberg.”

For now, Rockey is thankful that his needs are met apart from outside help, but he finds the unexpected gifts encouraging: “To experience the love of God and the love of his people—you give thanks for that.”

Wendell Rockey

Robert W. Eckardt is another Obadiah who gives thanks. This retired OP minister has lived at Quarryville for ten years with Mary, his wife of sixty-three years. (His son, also named Robert, serves as pastor of Redeemer OPC in Dayton, Ohio. Another son lives on the West Coast.)

Eckardt’s history with the OPC goes back to the denomination’s beginning. As a thirteen-year-old boy, he attended the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of America in 1936, the body that changed its name to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1939.

He attended the gathering at the New Century Club in Philadelphia with an aunt who brought him along. (Eckardt still has the diary in which he recorded the event.)

A few months later, his uncle, Robert Marsden, an OP minister, encouraged a local OP pastor to invite Eckardt’s family to church.

Nearly eighty years later, Eckardt’s voice breaks when he remembers the day the young pastor visited his home. “It changed my life,” he says.

The teenager and his older brother began attending every meeting at the modest church plant. “Here we were meeting over the top of a grocery store with these old-fashioned folding chairs,” he says. “But as far as I was concerned, I was walking on air because I had finally found the truth. I had found the Lord.”

Although Eckardt’s early fear of public speaking found him vowing to avoid the ministry, he soon relented. At Westminster Theological Seminary, he sat under professors like John Murray, Cornelius Van Til, and R. B. Kuiper.

Eckardt went on to pastor five OP churches during the course of his ministry and served on many denominational committees. When he considers what he enjoyed most about ministry, he immediately mentions the thing he once feared most: preaching. “I can think of a lot of failures, but I also think of the victories the Lord gave us,” he said. “A number of people really came to understand the gospel.”

Robert W. Eckardt

Like Rockey and others, Eckardt continues to preach at Quarryville and sometimes leads Wednesday devotions. He joins a Tuesday morning group of other OP residents at Quarryville to pray for OP missionaries.

Eckardt is also thankful for a gift from the Obadiah Fund. He used some of it for dental work, some for general expenses, and some for traveling to the seventy-fifth anniversary celebration of the OPC.

The Obadiah Fund donor (who desires to remain anonymous) says he felt burdened to help OP ministers who retired with insufficient or no pensions, and that he’s glad “a little bit of money can be a major encouragement.”

The encouragement and deep gratitude are evident in the pile of thank-you notes that pour into the CDM office. One recipient said the gift came just as she faced costly home repairs. One couple said their check came just as they faced an unexpected medical bill for exactly the same amount.

Another said he had just decided to pursue expensive dental work that would help him to continue to preach. He was praying for the Lord’s provision when the gift arrived, and thought of a verse in Isaiah: “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear” (Isa. 65:24).

And another recipient wrote with deep thanks for the heart of the Obadiah Fund that points to the heart of Christ: “The gift reminds me of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, of which I think this is an example.”

The author is a member of Matthews OPC in Matthews, N.C., and news editor of World magazine.

Home Missions

Welcome the New General Secretary

The Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension is pleased to announce the call of their new general secretary, the Rev. John S. Shaw. He is the founding pastor of Mission Orthodox Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he has served since 2006. He has also served as a member of the denominational Committee on Home Missions since 2008, where he is chairman of the Church Planting Subcommittee, which interviews and approves new church planters and reviews church-planting operations. He will replace the Committee’s retiring general secretary, the Rev. Ross W. Graham, who has served in that position since 1990.

The Rev. John S. Shaw

John Shaw, age 40, is a 1995 graduate of Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. He received his M.Div. degree from Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh in 2006. He is married to the former Anne Copeland of Beaver Falls. The Shaws currently reside in St. Paul with their four children, William (age 15), Micah (age 12), Johanna (age 11), and Samuel (age 6). John will begin his service as Home Missions general secretary in March 2013, working from his home in Minnesota to allow their children to complete the school year before the family relocates to the Philadelphia area during the summer months.

The new Home Missions general secretary brings some unique experiences and skills to his work that give the Committee exceptional confidence that he is the right man to take the lead in the work of OP church planting. The son of Bill and Mary Shaw, John and his brothers were born into the OPC. Baptized by Lawrence Eyres at Redeemer OPC in Dayton, Ohio, while that church was still a mission work, John was part of an OP church-planting family. When Bill Shaw’s job soon took the family to Columbus, Ohio, many of the first Bible studies and prayer meetings for the founding of Grace OPC in Columbus took place in the Shaws’ living room. A decade later, John’s dad, now a ruling elder in the OPC, was involved, along with the rest of the family, in the early stages of the planting of Covenant OPC in Mansfield, Ohio. So John can tell boyhood stories about setting up chairs for worship services in rented halls and of meeting for Sunday school classes in the stairwells of borrowed bank buildings.

As John completed his degree in political science at Geneva College in 1995 and married his singing partner, who just happened to be the daughter of Dr. Robert Copeland, director of Geneva’s touring choir, and Mrs. Louise Copeland, director of New Song, even more unique preparations were in store for him. He entered Ohio politics. Serving in every capacity from legislative assistant to campaign manager to district director for a US congressman, John spent the next eight years of his life learning to manage and motivate people. He learned the ins and outs of finances and how to analyze spreadsheets. He managed budgets in excess of four million dollars and learned how to travel, all the time being a devoted Christian husband and father to a growing family. And that is yet another part of the story of how God has prepared the new general secretary for his work.

John and Anne Shaw with their children, William, Micah, Johanna, and Samuel

When his political career required him to live and work in the Dayton, Ohio, area, it happened that a new OP church plant was under way just north of the city in Vandalia. So John and Anne chose to be part of Covenant OPC, where Charles Jackson was the organizing pastor, and where setting up chairs, teaching Sunday school, and playing the piano for worship just came naturally to a church-planting son of the OPC. Soon the church was organized and John, while still in his twenties, was ordained as a deacon, caring for various needs in the church and learning about a life of service. Within a few years, he became a ruling elder in the church, and learned to how to balance the rigors of caring for the flock with the hard work of providing for his family and striving for excellence in his political and managerial work. The pastor and congregation in Vandalia can still recall that through all his years of managing political campaigns and handling constituents’ problems, John never missed an evening service, a prayer meeting, or a session meeting.

But the hope that got John into politics ultimately caused him to pursue the ministry. As he expressed it recently to a group of church planters, “Real solutions to life’s problems cannot be brought about by political change, but only by the gospel of Jesus Christ. And once I came to that conclusion, I knew God was calling me to the ministry.” So it was off to seminary for the Shaw family. John chose the seminary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America in Pittsburgh in order to be close to grandparents, and he poured himself into his three years of studies. But each of the two summers between seminary classes found the Shaws leaving Pittsburgh for summer internships. First it was back to Redeemer OPC in Dayton, where he had been baptized, to work with Pastor Michael Frangipane. Next it was out to Grace OPC in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to polish his ministry skills with Pastor Ivan De Master less than a year before his graduation.

The final and probably most important chapter in the story of the preparation of the new general secretary for his work involved the planting of Mission OPC in St. Paul, Minnesota. Just weeks after graduating from seminary, John Shaw and his family arrived in Minnesota to work with a small but committed core group of fifteen people who had been working for eighteen months to establish an OP presence in the Twin Cities.

John was called by a group that had agreed that their focus should be on the central city of St. Paul, rather than the sprawling suburbs of the greater Minneapolis–St. Paul area. They had researched the history of Presbyterianism in St. Paul and found that there was a good record of the establishment of a sound first church called the Presbyterian Mission to St. Paul. So they took the name Mission OPC to carry on the work begun almost 175 years earlier. God then providentially led them to approach an aging PC(USA) congregation about the possibility of sharing meeting space. That congregation enthusiastically took them in, giving them a home in the Como Park neighborhood in the core of the city, where they had already been worshiping for a year and a half.

During the next three years, God did amazing things, adding people to the OP congregation from ten different nations and all walks of life. Some were business professionals and graduate students, and some had little education and struggled to speak English. But God molded them together into a city congregation of his people. Then, in an amazing confirmation of his blessing on this new church, God gave them the building in which they had been meeting—all 17,000 square feet of it! The older congregation asked their presbytery to sell the historic building to their new friends in the OPC for a fraction of its value, and the sale was approved. Today a thriving congregation loves to gather there to worship and to hear God’s Word preached by their loving and faithful pastor.

So now you know something about the man whom God has called to be the new general secretary for the Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension, and why the Committee is so enthusiastic about him. Welcome, John Shaw.

At a Home Missions conference in November 2012, John Shaw (front, third from right) was introduced by Ross Graham (front, second from right) as the man who would succeed him as general secretary for the Committee on Home Missions.

Home Missions Today

For up-to-date Home Missions news and prayer updates, e-mail HomeMissionsToday@opc.org. New editions: January 2, 16, 30.

Christian Education

It Takes a Covenant Community

Donna Dobbs

Early and consistent teaching in a child’s formative years has an enduring effect on the life of a child as the biblical principle of Proverbs 22:6 attests: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (niv).

In Scripture, the church is portrayed as a living, spiritual house with Christ as the foundation and cornerstone, and each believer as a stone. We want children to understand that they are living stones in this particular house of God. Each time they come to this place, they should be reminded that they are a part of the Body of Christ. It is our desire that they will put their trust in Christ at an early age and be equipped so that they, like us, will be built into a living temple where Christ reigns. We are the household of God, and children are very much a part of that household.

Take a look at how our standards define the visible church, children’s place in it, and our responsibility for them as members: “The visible church … consists of all those … that profess the true religion; and of their children.… Unto this catholic visible church Christ hath given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering and perfecting of the saints” (WCF 25.2–3).

It takes a covenant community to minister to children. Children need teachers, guides, coaches, encouragers, motivators, mentors, helpers, and friends to grow in their faith, and the more of these people that are present in the life of the church, the more effective we will be at passing our faith on to the next generation.

Remember what the Westminster Confession of Faith has to say: “All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their Head, … have fellowship with him … and, being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good” (WCF 26.1).

These sections of the Confession teach us that believers have a vital union with Christ and that, as a consequence, they also have communion with each other and in each other’s gifts and graces. This communion entails certain mutual duties and obligations that contribute to the good of all members of the body. Thus, it is appropriate for ministers to exhort the members of the congregation at an infant baptism to “commit yourself before God” to promote the child’s “Christian nurture by godly example, prayer, and encouragement in our most precious faith and in the fellowship of believers” (OPC Directory for Worship).

To incorporate a covenantal approach demands participation from us all. Children need to know all about God and the gospel, and how to apply that knowledge to the difficult things we encounter in this world and in our own flesh. They especially need to see examples of this in their parents, grandparents, fellow church members, and all who profess Christ. They need to know the power of God in word and deed. In covenant theology, the front line of defense begins with covenant families.

What is my covenant responsibility toward the children of the church—not just to my own children, but to all the children of the church?

Covenant keeping requires us to train our children. We should spare no effort to live a life of devotion and obedience as an example before these children, so that everywhere they look in the church there are living pictures of how to live a faithful life before God. We should be purposeful about relating to them and constantly articulating how we and they could apply their faith in everyday situations, and we should remind them of God when they stray. We should live life with them, teaching formally and informally at every opportunity.

Research reinforces one simple but profound truth over and over again: If you want to have a lasting influence on the world, you must invest in people’s lives; and if you want to maximize that investment, you must invest in those people while they are young. The greatest hope for the local church lies in raising godly children.

The author is director of Christian education at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Miss.

2013 OPC Timothy Conference

The 2013 OPC Timothy Conference will be held April 17–20 in the Chicagoland area, hosted by Covenant OPC in Orland Park and New Covenant Community Church in New Lenox. The participants will also visit Mid-America Reformed Seminary to observe classes and meet OPC seminary students.

The speakers at the conference will include Pastors Brian De Jong (Grace OPC in Sheboygan, Wis.), John Hilbelink (Providence OPC in Rockford, Ill.), and Bruce Hollister (New Covenant Community Church in New Lenox, Ill.). The other speakers will be David VanDrunen (seminary professor) and Danny Olinger (CCE general secretary). David and Susan Winslow (Westminster OPC in Westminster, Calif.) are providing travel coordination and overseeing arrangements.

Now in its sixth year, the OPC Timothy Conference is designed to introduce young men between the ages of 16 and 21 to gospel ministry in the OPC. Topics covered at the conference include:

• What does it mean to be a minister of the gospel?

• How do I know if the Lord is calling me to be a teacher, a missionary, or a pastor?

• How do I prepare for the ministry in my personal life, my education, and my church?

• What is the process for becoming a minister in the OPC?

The conference is supported by offerings to Worldwide Outreach, so there is no cost to the participants. Sessions must nominate and write a letter of recommendation for potential participants from their congregations. Applications should be sent to David Winslow (winslow.1@opc.org) or Danny Olinger (olinger.1@opc.org) by January 15, 2013.

For further information on the conference and an application form to be downloaded, please visit “Christian Education” at OPC.org.

Four Favorites

Books by Wendell Berry

1. The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. Sierra Club, 1977.

This book changed the way I think about the economy, our relationship to the land, our dependence on food (and those who grow it), and national politics. Berry is the leading proponent of agrarianism—the notion that farms and farming are crucial to a healthy economy and culture. As much as Berry defends farms and farmers, he uses their way of life to raise challenging questions about the way Americans take industrialism for granted without considering what it does to the environment, physical health, and personal character.

2. A World Lost. Counterpoint, 1996.

Critics often accuse Berry of romanticizing farmers and small-town life. This book should be read by all such critics. The novel, set in Port William, Kentucky, where all of Berry’s characters live, is the story of a nephew’s attempt to discover as an adult the circumstances that in his youth caused his favorite and ne’er-do-well uncle to lose his life to a murderer. Sadness and loss haunt the book and suggest that Berry knows the dark side of human existence, even among the hard-working salt of the earth.

3. Hannah Coulter. Shoemaker & Hoard, 2004.

This is another novel set in Port William. It is based on the reflections of Hannah Coulter, a women in her seventies, twice widowed, who looks back sadly but gratefully on changes in her life, family, place, and townsfolk. The book explores the powerful ties that develop when people live and work together. Hannah also wonders about how those ties carry forward beyond death. The novel has a genuine spiritual temper, even if it is not explicitly Christian. (Berry himself worships regularly at a Southern Baptist church.)

4. What Are People For? Northpoint Press, 1990.

This book was my introduction to Berry, and reading it is still one of the best ways to gain a feel for his arguments and perspective. It is a collection of essays on everything from literature to coal mining. His essays on feminism are particularly effective in illustrating the wisdom that belongs to an agrarian outlook.

Darryl Hart

Out of the Mouth …

Our daughter Malena, nearly two years old, was evidently listening carefully to the Apostles’ Creed when it was recited in church. So when I asked her who the persons of the Godhead are, she replied, “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Catholic Church.”

—Chandra Mininger

Crown Point, Ind.

Note: If you have an example of the humorous “wisdom” that can come from children, please send it to the editor.

Enroll Today

Before registration closes January 25, pastors, elders, licentiates, and men under care are urged to enroll to take a course from the Ministerial Training Institute of the OPC. The Spring 2013 courses are Ecclesiology, Westminster Standards, OPC History, and Form of Government.

Applications, course descriptions, and instructor biographies are available at www.OPC.org/cce/MTI.html.

Foreign Missions

For Generations to Come

Bernard Westerveld, Jr.

On Sunday, October 28, 2012, we celebrated the baptism of Élaine Japke Légaré, covenant daughter of Marc-André and Jacquelyn Légaré. Every baptism is a wonderful reminder of God’s covenantal promise to believing parents and to their children.

This baptism is a testimony to the communion of the saints in our missionary endeavor. Élaine’s father, Marc-André, was baptized in our congregation many years before I came. Her mother, Jacquelyn (née Campbell), is of OP stock. Jacquelyn came to Quebec City from Carson, North Dakota, during the summer of 2008 in order to assist our summer camps and to learn French. By the end of the summer, she was dating Marc-André. They married on May 28, 2010, at Bethel OPC in Carson, North Dakota, before taking up residence in Quebec City. As others can testify, the OPC contributes more than just preachers to its mission fields!

The baptism of Élaine Légaré

This baptism is also a testimony to the rising new generation at the Église réformée St-Marc. We are witnessing the birth of the third generation of believers. To better appreciate the mission work in Quebec City, I would like to describe the three generations of believers in our congregation. I’ll focus particularly on the Quebecers, those who were born and raised in the province of Quebec.

The First Generation

Among the five congregations of the Église réformée du Québec (ERQ—the Reformed Church of Quebec), virtually all the Quebecers are first-generation believers. Multiple-generation believers have joined our churches from Europe, Africa, or English-speaking North America. I am not aware of any Quebecer member raised in a family where the faith was passed down for three or more generations.

The first generation of Quebecer believers converted during the late 1970s and early 1980s. During this “revival,” numerous young adults who had left the Roman Catholic Church were invited to Bible studies led by evangelical campus ministries or pastors. Their conversions were rapid and often intense.

During this revival, many evangelical churches were planted throughout the province. While the percentage of evangelical French-speaking believers remained below 1 percent of the population, we give thanks to the Lord for this outpouring of his Spirit. We thank him for this first generation of young believers who joined together and formed the five congregations of the ERQ. Today many of these converts form the pillars of our congregations as they study the Word of God, grow in the knowledge of Reformed doctrine, and serve the churches as volunteers, teachers, and elders.

However, there is also much sadness. Too many converts from that first generation left their churches and abandoned the faith. This past summer, as I watched my eldest son’s soccer game, I began speaking to another father, Yves. He asked me about my work, and I mentioned that I was the pastor of the Église réformée St-Marc. To my surprise, Yves knew the church. In fact, he had been a member and even a deacon. A traumatic experience in his personal life had led him to abandon the church and the Christian faith. During my eleven years in Quebec City, I’ve met dozens of former church members like Yves.

Yet the Lord preserves a faithful remnant, like Élaine’s paternal grandfather. A former biker, André Légaré experienced a radical conversion during the early 1980s. After working with Youth with a Mission in Haiti, he married Anne-Marie and settled down as a member of the St-Marc congregation. A few years before I came as pastor in 2001, André had been dabbling in liberal theology. His faith had become lukewarm. He renounced his church membership. The Lord drew him back, however, through the faithful preaching of his Word. André made a new profession of faith. He was eventually called and ordained as an elder of the congregation. Today he does a wonderful job leading our Sunday evening teaching of the Heidelberg Catechism.

Pray that the Good Shepherd would find and bring back other lost sheep from the first generation.

The Second Generation

In his gracious providence, the Lord led many first-generation believers to find a spouse and to receive covenant children. They raised their children in the fear and love of the Lord by instructing them in the Word, praying with them, and bringing them to worship the Lord God.

For this first generation of Quebecer believers, raising covenant children was a challenge. They had no previous experience. Their Roman Catholic family background did not provide a model to follow. They sought out wisdom and parenting skills from missionary pastors, from Christian literature, and from the multigenerational Reformed family that they had the privilege to meet on occasion.

The St-Marc congregation also assisted these parents with a Sunday school program and catechetical instruction, as well as an active teen group. We recently received Josiane into our congregation from a sister ERQ church. Josiane is a second-generation believer. As Josiane reaffirmed her faith before the St-Marc congregation, she testified how the youth group was a vital part of her Christian pilgrimage.

Josiane has put her conviction into action. She, along with her husband, Pierre, and Catherine, a mutual friend, lead our teen group. All three are second-generation Quebecer believers. We thank our heavenly Father for their vibrant faith and for their desire to come alongside younger second-generation believers as they grow in the faith.

Once again, the story is not always so rosy. While some hesitate to profess their faith, others have completely abandoned the church. Last year, when the elders and I sought to reconnect with four young adults, all from the same family, each of them refused to meet us. They all requested that their names be removed from the roles of baptized members of the church. We keep praying that these prodigal sons will one day return to their heavenly Father.

The Third Generation

And the second generation gets married. On occasion they have married other second-generation believers. Some have tied the knot with new converts. Still others have married believers from sister Reformed or Presbyterian churches. We give thanks to our heavenly Father for these marriages “in the Lord.” We also intercede for those who are still seeking a godly spouse.

With joy we are beginning to witness the birth of the third generation of covenant children. Élaine Légaré is but one example. Our worship service, which begins with all the children present, is often “disturbed” by the noises of young children. Our nursery is bustling, which requires photos of each child in order to identify them. Our Sunday school program is blessed by full classrooms. While our youth group is smaller today, we foresee a new wave of growth.

As this second generation raises their covenant children, the parents have the advantage of looking to their childhood education as a model to follow. At the same time, they still need more training. We’re thankful for the Christian parenting literature that exists, such as Ted Tripp’s Shepherding a Child’s Heart, which has been translated into French. An association of parents for Christian education has been meeting to provide instruction and encouragement. Like Abraham, we feel the call to direct our children to keep the way of the Lord, so that he will bring about for us what he has promised (Gen. 18:19).

Sunday school class at St-Marc

Future Generations

We’re thankful for this third generation, as well as the first and second generations, of Quebecer believers. But we need to look beyond to future generations.

About three years ago, I read an article in a Protestant historical review about the Église réformée St-Jean, the first Presbyterian church plant in Quebec City. Begun as a mission work in 1868, the church eventually closed in 1924. The membership had always remained below thirty souls, and worship attendance had varied from a high of 120 to a handful. While the article did not give details on the passing on of the faith within families, it seems that fifty-six years barely gave enough time to raise up a third generation of believers and to witness the birth of the fourth.

Reading that article reminded me of the challenge of establishing a solid, flourishing Reformed church in Quebec City. We need to be much in prayer for the work of the Spirit in each generation. We need to preach and teach the Word of truth faithfully to each generation. We need to persevere in this kingdom work for generations to come.

Stewardship

Casting Bread upon the Waters

Zachary R. Keele

When the topic of stewardship comes up, budgets, frugality, and receipts come to minds. A good steward wisely plans every last dime. He efficiently controls his money; he has conquered waste, and if something is not in his budget, it does not exist.

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes, however, would smirk at this image of stewardship, especially when it comes to charity and liberality. He cautions against such confidence in wise planning. The Preacher is not against wisdom, nor planning or budgeting. He has shown how life benefits from wisdom. But he has also impressed upon us the certainty, yet unpredictability, of death. The future is out of our control. Tomorrow does not belong to us.

The Preacher gives us a little proverb on giving: “Cast your bread upon the waters” (Eccl. 11:1). This is an image of liberality. To cast one’s bread upon the waters means to be generous without expectation of return. Do you remember when you were a kid out in a boat and dropped something into the water? As it sank into the deep, the sense of losing it for good filled you. Giving often feels like that. Throwing a dollar in a cup along the street, or putting a check in the plate as it passes, can feel like dropping a ring in the ocean. In line with this is the next verse: “Give a portion to seven, or even to eight.” These numbers are not to be taken literality; they indicate an indefinitely larger number. The Preacher is telling us to be generous, to give with liberality, and to do good to others.

The Preacher gives this advice particularly in light of the unknown ahead. The second half of the first verse is best read, “After many days you may find it.” This is not a motivational promise that “you will find it,” but a reflection that often good deeds return benefits. Yet the other side of this is, “You know not what disaster may happen on earth” (verse 2). Evil and disaster may also come. The Preacher refers to this evil in general terms, so it likely includes evil to you, to your gift, or to the other person. Your gift may be wasted or used for evil. Death might strike. The point is that we should be generous, irrespective of the possibility of good or evil coming.

This point is brought out in the next few verses. The person who is always watching the weather will never sow or reap. If you wait for the perfect, risk-free time to act, you never will. The outcome of things is a mystery. Just as the breath of life mysteriously comes to the fetus, so we do not know the work of God who does everything. God can work evil for good, as he did in the life of Joseph—and, at other times, our good work has bad results. But this should not hinder us from giving generously.

Wise planning and budgeting is vital, but when giving is surrendered to the accountants, we start to think we are in control, that we can remove all the risk. Isn’t this why so much giving is done at the end of the year? We give when we know we have the money or need the deduction. But there is something risky, something spontaneous, about Christian giving and love. Isn’t that why Paul marveled at the Macedonians? They gave beyond their means, outside their budgets. Christ gave his all so that we might be rich in generosity, so that we might freely love him and one another. May our giving be refreshed with this riskiness! For even though our giving may sink to the bottom of the sea, Christ has assured us that his love for us will never fail.

The author is pastor of Escondido OPC in Escondido, Calif.

Prayer Calendar

January

1. Pray that Mark and Jeni Richline, Uruguay, will be able to reach out to their neighbors in the community. / Stephen and Catalina Payson, Mifflinburg, Pa. Pray that the Lord would raise up additional officers for Providence OPC. / Jan Gregson, office manager and assistant to the director of finance.

2. Home Missions general secretary Ross Graham. / Missionary associates E. C. and T. L. L., Asia. Pray for their witness through the English Corner program during the school break this month. / Short-term missions coordinator David Nakhla. Pray for the Lord’s blessing on the Committee on Diaconal Ministries as it plans for our future disaster response efforts.

3. Missionary associates Mr. and Mrs. C., Asia. Pray that those attending outreach activities will come to know Christ. / Drew and Sonya Adcock, Williamsport, Pa. Pray that the congregation of Omega OPC will find new outreach opportunities. / Doug Watson, staff accountant.

4. Todd and Julie Wagenmaker, St. Louis, Mo. Pray for the continued growth and spiritual development of Gateway OPC’s congregation. / Mr. and Mrs. M., Asia. Pray that they will have good health during this bitterly cold time of year. / Pray that students will register for the Spring 2013 courses offered by the Ministerial Training Institute of the OPC.

5. Pray for the labors of missionary associates T. D. and E. H., Asia. / Jonathan and Kristin Moersch, Capistrano Beach, Calif. Pray for Trinity Presbyterian Church and their organizing pastor as they begin receiving denominational field support. / Air Force chaplain C. Phillip (and Melanie) Hollstein III.

6. Brad Hertzog, Queens, N.Y. Pray that leaders will be brought into Reformation Presbyterian Church. / Mr. and Mrs. F., Asia. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of unbelieving members of the Russian-speaking group. / Pat Clawson, Christian Education office secretary and MTIOPC coordinator.

7. Ben and Melanie Westerveld, Quebec, Canada. Pray for the development of the men in St-Marc’s officer-training programs. / Ben and Sarah Miller, Huntington, N.Y. Pray for peace, joy, and a fresh commitment at Trinity Church as it moves toward particularization. / Sarah Pederson, New Horizons proofreader.

8. Mark and Michele Winder, Collierville, Tenn. Pray that the Lord would provide Wolf River Presbyterian Church with a more adequate meeting facility. / Missionary associate Debra Blair, Quebec, Canada, is thankful for new opportunities to share the gospel. / Kathy Bube, Loan Fund administrator.

9. Affiliated missionaries Jerry and Marilyn Farnik, Prague, Czech Republic. Pray that children attending the Bible club will understand their need for Christ. / Home Missions staff administrator Sean Gregg. / Pray for safe travel as Danny Olinger, Christian Education general secretary, visits churches and seminaries.

10. Tom and Martha Albaugh, Pittsburgh, Pa. Pray that visitors to Redeemer OP Mission will desire to join in communicant fellowship. / Ethiopian Reformed Presbyterian Church. Pray that God would protect the church and its leaders from those seeking to harm Christians. / Pray for the Subcommittee on Internet Ministries as they oversee OPC.org.

11. Pray for Foreign Missions general secretary Mark Bube, speaking at a conference in Florida. / David and Rashel Robbins, Huntington, W.Va. Pray that the community will know Trinity Presbyterian Church for its love for people and the Scriptures. / Justin (and Hannah) Rosser, yearlong intern at Matthews OPC in Matthews, N.C.

Missionary Ben Hopp assists PCA missionary Octavius Delfils with the infant baptism of Olivier Pétion at Reformed Presbyterian Church of Delmas in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Please pray that our Lord would bring many new believers and their children to his church there. Also pray that the Lord would bring Olivier’s father to saving faith.

12. Ken and Cressid Golden, Davenport, Iowa. Pray that God would use Sovereign Grace OPC’s relocation to Davenport and recent media attention to attract more people. / Foreign Missions administrative assistant Linda Posthuma and secretary Janet Birkmann. / Army chaplain Paul (and Mary) Berghaus.

13. Al and Laurie Tricarico, Nakaale, Uganda. Pray for safe travel as they conclude their furlough and return to Uganda tomorrow. / John and Wenny Ro, Chicago, Ill. (downtown). Pray that the Lord would bless Gospel Life Presbyterian Church’s weekly outreach efforts. / David (and Karen) Koenig, yearlong intern at Covenant OPC in Orland Park, Ill.

14. John and Lois Hilbelink, Rockford, Ill. Pray for the gospel to be clearly proclaimed at Providence OPC. / Missionary associates Leah Hopp and Jesse Van Gorkom, Nakaale, Uganda. Pray for their health as they labor in a tropical climate. / Army chaplain Chris (and Virginia) Wisdom.

15. Eric and Dianna Tuininga, Mbale, Uganda. Pray for a missionary associate to come to assist with their children’s schooling. / Doug and Kristi Bylsma, Beamsville, Ontario. Pray for Spirit-empowered preaching that transforms lives at Living Hope Presbyterian Church. / Mark (and Karissa) Soud, yearlong intern at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Phoenix, Ariz.

16. Sacha and Martina Walicord, Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Pray that visitors to Knox Presbyterian Church will pursue membership. / David and Sunshine Okken, Nakaale, Uganda. Pray that God would raise up faithful, teachable men who can be trained as future leaders of the church in Karamoja.

17. Bob and Martha Wright, Nakaale, Uganda. Pray for the witness in the villages where Bob and his crew drill wells. / Andrew and Billie Moody, San Antonio, Tex. Pray that the preaching at San Antonio Reformed Church will bring edification and conversion.

18. Home Missions associate general secretary Dick Gerber. / Pray for James and Jenny Knox, M.D. and R.N., Nakaale, Uganda, and the clinic staff as they provide medical treatment in Karamoja. / Pray for George Cottenden, stated clerk of the General Assembly, as he distributes the 2013 Directory.

19. Missionary associates Christopher and Chloe Verdick, Nakaale, Uganda. / Roberto and Marieta Laranjo, Lowell, Mass. Pray that the people of Igreja Presbiteriana Brasileira will keep growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. / Camden (and Erica) Bucey, yearlong intern at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, Ill.

20. Kent and Laurie Harding, Doniphan, Mo. Pray that Sovereign Grace OPC will be prepared for officer nominations in February. / Pray for Foreign Missions associate general secretary Douglas Clawson, in Haiti leading a seminar for church leaders.

21. Ben and Heather Hopp, Haiti. Pray for spiritual growth among Christian families in the churches on Lagonav. / Tim and Joanne Beauchamp, Bridgton, Maine. Pray for steady growth and unity at Pleasant Mountain Presbyterian Church. / Alan Strange, president of Great Commission Publications’ Board of Trustees.

22. Geoffrey and Sharon Willour, Mayfield Village, Ohio. Pray for more visitors and effective outreach at Lake OPC. / Missionary associates Erika Bulthuis and Emily Pihl, Nakaale, Uganda. Pray for their teaching of our missionary children.

23. Retired missionaries Betty Andrews, Greet Rietkerk, Young and Mary Lou Son, and Fumi Uomoto. Pray for their continued good health. / Jeremiah and Elizabeth Montgomery, State College, Pa. Pray for new contacts and visitors at Resurrection OPC.

24. Everett and Kimberly Henes, Hillsdale, Mich. Pray that the new members of Hillsdale OPC will be well received and loved. / Heero and Anya Hacquebord, L’viv, Ukraine. Pray for wisdom as Heero seeks to reach the lost and minister to the young church. / David (and Jenna) DeRienzo, yearlong intern at Second Parish OPC in Portland, Maine.

25. Woody and Laurie Lauer, Numazu, Japan. Pray for their fellowship with believers in a local nursing home. / Carlos and Diana Cruz, San Juan, P.R. Pray for new visitors to Iglesia Presbiteriana Reformada. / Pray for Tim Shafer, a member of the Psalter-Hymnal Composition Subcommittee, as he recovers from a broken leg.

26. Brandon and Laurie Wilkins, Crystal Lake, Ill. Pray that the Lord would bring new growth to Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church. / Pray for missionary associates Adam and Sarah Thompson, Sendai, Japan, as they assist in the outreach programs of the Japan Mission. / Jim Scott, managing editor of New Horizons.

27. Cal and Edie Cummings, Sendai, Japan. Pray for the pastors and churches in the RCJ Tohoku Presbytery. / Robert and Christy Arendale, Houston, Tex. Pray for increased love for the brethren and that the core of Cornerstone OPC will continue to develop. / Carson Ryan, yearlong intern at Lake Sherwood OPC in Orlando, Fla.

28. Jim and Tricia Stevenson, Tulsa, Okla. Pray for faithfulness to minister to each family that God brings to Providence OPC. / Pray for Brian and Dorothy Wingard, South Africa, as they prepare for a new teaching term at Mukhanyo Theological College. / Army chaplain Earl (and Susan) Vanderhoff.

29. Kaz and Katie Yaegashi, Yamagata, Japan. Pray that the children attending Sunday school will respond in faith and follow Christ. / Jay and Andrea Bennett, Neon, Ky. Pray that God would save local families and bring them to worship at Neon Reformed Presbyterian Church.

30. Bill and Sessie Welzien, Key West, Fla. Pray for God’s Spirit to empower Keys Presbyterian Church’s witness. / Affiliated missionaries Craig and Ree Coulbourne, Urayasu, Japan. Pray that God would draw newcomers to the church’s outreach activities. / Geoff (and Heather) Downey, yearlong intern at Trinity OPC in Hatboro, Pa.

31. Philip and Jenny Dharmawirya, Philadelphia, Pa. Pray for wisdom for the leadership committee of Emmanuel Indonesian Protestant Church as they discuss the future of the congregation. / Pray for the ministry of the Church in the Horn of Africa. / David Haney, director of finance and planned giving for the Committee on Coordination.

News

Steve Brown Ordained

On October 5, the Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic ordained and installed Stephen M. Brown to serve as an associate pastor at Grace OPC in Vienna, Virginia. Steve recently graduated from Westminster Seminary and served a yearlong internship at Grace before being called. He originally hails from Lancaster, Pennsylvania; three pastors from his home church in Lancaster (Westminster Presbyterian, PCA) travelled to Vienna to participate in the service. The congregation has joyfully received Steve as a pastor and is looking forward to benefiting from his labors.

At the ordination service for Steve Brown: John Light (Lancaster, Pa., PCA), Tucker York (Lancaster, Pa., PCA), identical twins Chris Brown (Springfield, Va., PCA) and Steve Brown, Michael Rogers (Lancaster, Pa., PCA), Dan Clifford (pastor, Grace OPC, Vienna, Va.), and Chad Van Dixhoorn (assoc. pastor, Grace OPC, Vienna, Va.); not pictured: Stuart Jones (OPC) and Francis VanDelden (OPC)

Paul Mourreale Ordained

On October 19, the Presbytery of the Midwest ordained Paul A. Mourreale as a minister and installed him as associate pastor of New Hope OPC in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Participating in the service were OP pastors John Hilbelink, Jim Ferguson (pastor, New Hope OPC), Brian De Jong, and John Hartley, and PCA pastor Stanley Armes.

Jim Stevenson Ordained

On November 2, Jim G. Stevenson was ordained as a minister and installed as an evangelist, to serve as the organizing pastor of Providence OPC in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jim is a graduate of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Tricia, have four children. Providence OPC is a small group that is dedicated to the Reformed faith and eager to spread it. As the home of Oral Roberts University, Tulsa presents unique challenges and opportunities.

Participants in the ordination of Jim Stevenson: Tony Curto, Jerold Barnett, Joe Auksela, Jim Stevenson, and Peter Van Doodewaard

Jonathan Moersch Installed

Jonathan B. Moersch, from the United Reformed Churches, was installed on November 18 to serve as the church planter at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Capistrano Beach, California. John Fesko presided over the service of installation, and David VanDrunen, David Crum, and Zach Keele also participated in it.

Attendees at the installation of Jonathan Moersch (in the middle with his family)

Women’s Bible Conference at Ada, Michigan

Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Ada, Michigan, held their first-ever Women’s Bible Conference on October 26–27. Over 170 women from OP and other churches attended.

Kathleen Nielson was the guest speaker. Her talks focused on the book of Proverbs. Many women commented that they could have listened to her all day!

There were times for fellowship after the Friday evening session and between the two sessions on Saturday.

The opening of the Women’s Bible Conference in Ada, Michigan

Update

Churches

• Covenant Reformed OPC in Evansville, Ind., was dissolved by the Presbytery of Ohio on October 19.

• Providence Presbyterian Church in Aiken, S.C., has been dissolved by the Presbytery of the Southeast, effective November 30, as requested by the congregation.

Ministers

• On October 19, the Presbytery of Ohio dissolved the call of Sam M. Allison to be associate pastor at Covenant Reformed OPC in Evansville, Ind.; he remains a minister (retired) in the presbytery.

• Robert S. Arendale, formerly an ARPC evangelist, was installed on November 16 as an evangelist to serve at Cornerstone OPC in Jersey Village, Tex.

• M. Austin Britton was ordained as a minister and installed as pastor of Calvary OPC in La Mirada, Calif., on November 11.

• Todd P. Dole was installed as pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Norman, Okla., on November 9.

• The Presbytery of the Dakotas has dissolved the pastoral relationship between Kenny R. Honken and Bethlehem Reformed Church in Freeman, S.D., effective October 31; on November 5, he began work as a chaplain at the Federal Correctional Institution in Oxford, Wis.

• Rodney T. King, formerly pastor of Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church in Des Moines, Iowa, was installed as pastor of Garst Mill OPC in Roanoke, Va., on November 30.

• Jason C. Kirklin was ordained as a minister and installed as associate pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio, on November 2.

• The Presbytery of the Southeast, meeting October 19–20, dissolved the pastoral relationship between teacher George W. Knight III and Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C., at his request, because of age and health considerations.

• Chester H. Lanious, who retired as a US Army chaplain in October 2010, was received as a retired minister by the Catawba Presbytery of the ARPC on June 5, 2012; the Presbytery of the Central United States has removed him from its rolls as of that date.

• Ryan M. McGraw, formerly a minister in the PCA, was installed as pastor of First OPC in Sunnyvale, Calif., on November 9.

• Jonathan B. Moersch, formerly a URC minister, was installed as an evangelist of the Presbytery of Southern California on November 18, to serve as church planter at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Capistrano Beach, Calif.

• On November 2, Jim G. Stevenson was ordained as a minister and installed as an evangelist by the Presbytery of the Central United States to serve as organizing pastor of Providence OPC in Tulsa, Okla., a mission work under the oversight of the session of Westminster OPC in Bartlesville, Okla.

• On September 28, the Presbytery of Southern California installed Charles K. Telfer as a teacher at Westminster Seminary California.

Reviews

Popologetics: Popular Culture in Christian Perspective, by Ted Turnau. Published by P&R, 2012. Paperback, 368 pages, list price $19.99. Reviewed by OP minister Allen D. Curry.

There is a touch of irony in a retired grandfather reviewing a book on popular culture—especially one who needs his grandchildren to explain much of it. Ted Turnau’s thesis in Popologetics is that all Christians should be ready to engage popular culture critically. Perhaps a grandfather is the ideal reader to test his thesis.

Turnau argues that “Christians who want to reach out to their non-Christian friends and neighbors need a worldview-oriented approach, an approach that deals with popular culture in all its complicated, messed up glory” (p. xvii). He provides a resource for understanding and reaching contemporary non-Christians steeped in popular culture.

The author first offers some basis or grounding for understanding pop culture. He then proceeds to analyze some opposing approaches to the subject. He concludes with a workshop designed to provide tools to grasp and engage popular culture.

Turnau contends that one cannot live in contemporary society and avoid the influences of pop culture. It is pervasive and represents a worldview that clearly does not conform to a Christian view of the world.

Culture, including popular culture, should be understood “in terms of three categories of creation, fall, and redemption” (p. 44). Turnau explains how theological concepts like general revelation, the image of God, and common grace play a role in a Christian understanding of culture. The author does a good job of introducing how a social scientist integrates the Christian religion into an analysis of a contemporary worldview.

In presenting his disagreements with those who take a different view of pop culture, Turnau sees much more positive in it than I do. For example, in addressing those who uncritically embrace pop culture, Turnau cautions about its idolatrous character. Yet he encourages more than a cautious look at what the unbelieving world adopts. I wish he had examined how the Bible not only condemns idolatry but also warns against any engagement with it. In my mind, he must do more with Deuteronomy 13 than suggest that words as well as images can lead one astray. I grant it is difficult to critically engage while ignorant. Yet I fear the consequences of the type of appreciation for modern culture that Turnau encourages. I wish he had shown the same kind of insightful sensitivity he did in treating the question of holiness and the temptations to sin that are prevalent in pop culture.

The book ends with a series of examples of how to apply the material in it. Although he uses concrete examples to show how to implement his approach, I fear some readers will be unfamiliar with his examples.

Turnau does a good job of critically examining pop culture for those who are unaware or even antagonistic to it. I benefited from his analysis and critique. Yet I am not ready to embrace it in the same way he does. If he wants to change the mind of this grandfather, he should address the role of Christian liberty in appreciating different cultural expressions.

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William the Baptist: A Classic Story of a Man’s Journey to Understanding Baptism, by James M. Chaney. Updated by Ronald Evans. Published by P&R, 2011. Paperback, 147 pages, list price $9.99. Reviewed by OP Pastor David Harr.

If a Christian is new to the Reformed faith, the most difficult doctrine to accept is typically the Presbyterian understanding of baptism. In an evangelical world that is largely baptistic, most find it hard to understand how a minister could claim to believe the Bible and yet stand at the front of the church and sprinkle a baby. Ronald Evans has therefore done the church a great service by updating James Chaney’s classic, nineteenth-century book on baptism.

William the Baptist is presented in the form of a dialogue between William, a passionate Baptist, and Rev. Cowan, a Presbyterian pastor. The result is a readable and appealing book that is very instructive.

The dialogue begins with the issue of the proper mode of baptism. William insists that in order to be baptized, one must be fully immersed in water; anything less is not a baptism. Rev. Cowan takes William to the Scriptures. He begins by showing that in the Bible the Greek word baptizo (“to baptize”) does not mean “to immerse.” He shows his friend how baptism is a sign of the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, work that the Scriptures describe as both pouring and sprinkling. The actual baptisms recorded in the New Testament are examined.

Later in the book, the discussion turns to the subject of infant baptism. Rev. Cowan instructs William on the unity of the covenant of grace and the biblical command for children of believers to receive the sign of the covenant.

But there are some aspects of Chaney’s work that are problematic. For example, he presents a truncated view of baptism by connecting it exclusively to the work of the Spirit. In trying to combat the burial theory of our baptistic brothers, he dismisses and downplays any connection of baptism to the believer’s union with Christ (contrary to Romans 6, Colossians 2, and WCF 28.1).

Chaney argues that sprinkling (which he considers virtually synonymous with pouring) and sprinkling alone is the biblical mode of baptism. This view goes beyond historic Reformed belief as represented by its prominent theologians and confessions. The Reformed tradition has historically held that all three modes are acceptable, while often giving preference to sprinkling or pouring.

Despite these flaws, the book retains value as a readable source of biblical teaching on a topic that is misunderstood by many Christians.

In order to give the book a final test, this reviewer passed it along to a Baptist friend. After reading the book along with his wife, he described how their old assumptions about baptism were challenged from the ground up. They are now preparing to have their younger children sprinkled with the sign of the covenant!

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Did God Really Say? edited by David B. Garner. Published by P&R, 2012. Paperback, 208 pages, list price $17.99. Reviewed by managing editor James W. Scott.

In response to the growing numbers of those emerging from evangelical and Reformed circles who “project creaturely limitations onto the Scriptures” (p. ix)—often called “progressive evangelicals”—seven professors at three Reformed seminaries (Westminster [Philadelphia], Reformed, and Covenant) have collaborated to produce a volume, as its subtitle puts it, “Affirming the Truthfulness and Trustworthiness of Scripture.” Judging by the foreword signed by the three leaders of these schools, this book seeks to assure their constituencies that their institutions are standing firm on the Westminster Confession’s doctrine of Scripture in a relativistic, postmodern age. The seven essays are informative and insightful, presenting “a fresh articulation of the vital truthfulness and reliability of Scripture” (p. xvi). Six of the seven essays are written versions of seminar lectures delivered at the 2011 General Assembly of the PCA.

After a pointed and stirring introduction by the editor (David Garner), Scott Oliphint leads off by discussing the foundational (principial) character of the Scriptures as the revealed, self-attesting word of God. A section on the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit would have strengthened this essay.

Next Michael Williams argues that B. B. Warfield, a champion of orthodoxy from a century ago, had “a covenantal understanding of Scripture,” involving both a divine speaker and a believing community of hearers.

Michael Kruger’s essay responds to recent challenges to the New Testament canon and roots it firmly in the apostolic church. This is a valuable survey; for much more, see his new book, Canon Revisited (Crossway, 2012).

Robert Yarbrough defends the evangelical doctrine of inerrancy (i.e., the Chicago Statement of 1978) as the historic doctrine of the church and urges a sanctified advocacy of it.

Vern Poythress defends the idea that the human language of Scripture can convey truth about the transcendent God to us, over against the skepticism of modern and postmodern thought. For much more, see his recent book, In the Beginning Was the Word (Crossway, 2009).

John Frame examines the views of the prominent Anglican scholar N. T. Wright concerning the truth and authority of Scripture. Frame finds important areas of agreement with Wright’s views, but also shows their inadequacies. This is a notably gracious critique.

In the final and most substantial essay, David Garner defends the clarity (perspicuity) of Scripture, particularly against those who exalt humanity (whether the reader, the community of readers, or the academic guild) as the source of meaning and understanding, not the Word working with the Spirit in the heart of the believer.

As a solid reaffirmation of Reformed positions and a clear rejection of progressive evangelical views, this is a good book. However, one should not suppose that this book is, or that it is a substitute for, a thorough refutation of the detailed and sophisticated arguments upon which the rejected views are based.

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Unity and Diversity: The Founders of the Free Church of Scotland, by Sandy Finlayson. Published by Christian Focus Publications, 2010. Paperback, 310 pages, list price $15.99. Reviewed by OP minister Michael L. Babcock.

Presbyterianism has the ability to create a strong bond of unity around its ideals and confessions, yet it is flexible enough to allow for a certain level of diversity of thought on how those ideals and standards are to be understood and carried out. Sandy Finlayson nicely describes how that Presbyterian principle of unity and diversity gave steel to the Free Church of Scotland in its early years.

The opening chapter surveys the ecclesiastical, political, and social issues that created tension in the Church of Scotland during the early nineteenth century. By 1843, the evangelicals were so discontent with civil interference in ecclesiastical matters that 470 ministers withdrew from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland, losing all their benefits in the established church. There were similar experiences when the OPC was formed in 1936. Both in 1843 and in 1936, properties were confiscated by the parent denomination through legal claims, forcing congregants of the new denominations to meet anywhere they could for worship.

The next ten chapters introduce readers to Thomas Chalmers, Robert Candlish, William Cunningham, Hugh Miller, Thomas Guthrie, James Begg, Andrew Bonar, John Duncan, Alexander Duff, and John Kennedy. Other devout and influential men could have been added to this list; nonetheless, readers will appreciate Finlayson’s choice of these ten, whose commitment to orthodoxy, evangelism, and social action made them key figures in building a new denomination. But however unified they were around the Reformed faith, they also had diverse opinions that resulted in intense debates. Of particular interest is Kennedy’s dispute over Bonar’s support of D. L. Moody’s evangelistic methods. Seeing how the Lord used these imperfect men who held Christ as their sufficiency was encouraging to me.

The final chapter draws lessons for us from this history. Finlayson shows how diversity can become a weakness if the church strays from the historic message of the gospel. God honors faithfulness. The author also argues that while the church is a spiritual institution, “it is her duty to educate her members to think wisely and biblically about the issues of the day” (p. 293). He may not be exactly where I am on the subject, but there is nothing extreme in his views. Unity and diversity!

I hope many will read this fine book. Finlayson has brought a light to bear on the lives and works of a noble group of faithful ministers, and he manages to go beyond a mere factual presentation of their lives and motivations. I found myself moved by the courage and convictions of these Scots, who worked so hard and sacrificed so much to bring about and maintain the Free Church of Scotland.

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Annie Henry (Adventures in the American Revolution), by Susan Olasky. Published by P&R, 2011. Each book: paperback, 100–128 pages, list price $7.99 (four-volume set, $27.99). Reviewed by OP member Joanie Doe.

Susan Olasky, a professor at Patrick Henry College and a writer for World magazine, chose one of the daughters of Patrick Henry to be the focus of the Adventures in the American Revolution series of four novels she wrote for preteen girls. The first book begins in 1775, when Annie was ten, living in Scotchtown, near Richmond, Virginia, on a large plantation with her many siblings. In the fourth book, which ends six years later, we are introduced to the young man who later becomes her husband.

So often history books provide us with a very limited perspective. We see the story only in terms of the main players and often only in relationship to other notable historical figures. We forget about their spouses, their children, and the more mundane aspects of life.

When the first book in the series begins, Patrick Henry is not even present. Annie spies a fire that could threaten the harvest. Her warning to her future brother-in-law, as well as her labor in the field, leads to a harvest celebration.

This is just one of many incidents in which Annie finds it difficult to be ladylike and obedient to those in authority. Often Patrick Henry is away dealing with the political concerns of the Colonies. Since her mother is ill, her oversight has been left to her older sister.

Throughout all four books, Annie’s living arrangements change as she goes to a city school in Williamsburg, lives with her family on the edge of the wilderness, and lives with a relative and tends to her mischievous boys. Whenever possible, Annie warns the patriots of Tory activities, even when she is putting herself in danger. Often Annie needs people like her father and stepmother to remind her of God’s perspective on her life.

Students often find it difficult to become excited about history, since it seems very distant. Olasky does a good job of bringing history up close and making it personal.

Since it has been a long time since my girls were homeschooled, I asked Jackie Reynolds, a twelve-year-old from my church to review the first book in this series. She wrote: “The book was well written and provided a nice cliff-hanger at the end. In the book, Annie does struggle with disobedience and listening to those wiser than her. The historical facts in the book are very true. Overall it was a delightful book to read and brought me much enjoyment.”

Olasky gives us a realistic portrayal of a difficult time in our history. In her novels, readers will see that the struggles young people have as they mature are common to us all, no matter what our circumstances may be. And just as God deals graciously with them, so he continues to deal graciously with the rest of us.

Announcements

Men’s Retreat

April 19–21 • Hammonton, N.J.

The Mid-Atlantic OPC Men’s Retreat will be held April 19–21 at Haluwasa Christian Camp in Hammonton, N.J. There will be great fellowship and Reformed teaching. Free-time activities will include fishing competitions, softball, and clay bird and small bore rifle shooting. Only 45 minutes east of Philadelphia, Haluwasa offers 100 acres of wooded area with 60 acres of placid lakes. For more information, contact Rev. David Harr at harr.1@opc.org or 609/417-4570. See the Haluwasa website at www.haluwasa.org.

Positions Available

Pastor: Immanuel OPC in West Collingswood, N.J., is seeking a pastor. We desire a shepherd who loves Christ-centered preaching, ministering to the flock, and seeking church growth. Interested candidates should send their Ministerial Information Form (MIF) to iopc.pulpit@verizon.net.

Pastor: Mission OPC in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is searching for a pastor. Mission was established seven years ago and strives to be a witness in its urban context. Membership is growing at about 20 percent per year. Our regular attendance is around 80, with a mix of ages and backgrounds. We seek a pastor who has a heart for urban evangelism, is comfortable reaching out to the community, and is gifted at preaching and discipleship. For more information: search@missionopc.org or 651/300-9725.

OPC.org

Almost a time machine!

Even if you weren’t at
the 2010 Diaconal Summit,
you can still view the lectures.

www.opc.org/CDM/summit/index.html