October 2026 New Horizons

Machen’s Student from Ireland

by Calvin R. Goligher

In the early twentieth century, a rising tide of liberalism swept over churches in Europe and North America, and the Presbyterian churches were not spared. The leading centers of biblical and theological scholarship, especially in Germany, were shaping church leaders according to prevailing modern trends, which on many points were opposed to Christian orthodoxy. This gathering storm broke in the 1920s, and Princeton Seminary professor J. Gresham Machen emerged as a key leader in the high-stakes effort to prevent liberalism from capturing the American Presbyterian church. One of Machen’s students at Princeton, W. J. Grier, led a similar effort in his home country of Northern Ireland. Like Machen, he combined a brilliant mind with a firm commitment to orthodox Reformed doctrine, which he courageously defended at great personal cost. Actually, Grier’s experience in Northern Ireland foreshadowed events in Machen’s ministry. A decade before Machen founded the OPC, Grier joined in establishing the ... Read more

The OPC in the Midwest

by Brian L. De Jong

The American Midwest as a region is simultaneously significant and under-appreciated. Often derided as “flyover country,” the Midwest holds its own against the culture of the coasts. Stretching from Ohio to the Dakotas, from northern Minnesota to the boot heel of Missouri, the Midwest covers 822,000 square miles—roughly 27 percent of the landmass of the lower forty-eight states. The population of the region is around 70 million, which is 20 percent of the entire US population. In this region, 95 percent of the land is rural—mostly farmland and prairies. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the Midwest as an area of religious liberty from its inception. In section 14, article 1, the ordinance explicitly addresses freedom of worship when it says, “No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments, in the said territory.” In his book The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, ... Read more

Where Are the Young Men?

by Everett A. Henes

This year, at Reformed assemblies and synods across the country, we heard a similar concern: There is a shortage of pastors. Churches need men. Presbyteries need men. Mission works need men. Pulpits are opening, congregations are waiting, and the question keeps coming up: Why are young men not choosing the ministry? In Presbyterianism, a man does not simply announce himself as a minister. His gifts and graces are observed, tested, examined, and confirmed by the church. That has gotten me thinking. Before the church asks why fewer young men are becoming pastors, we may need to ask why fewer young men are being formed into men capable of embracing costly, durable, public, spiritual responsibility. One Symptom of a Spreading Sickness In explaining the shortage, some have suggested that the ministry has become too effeminate and that young men who are drawn to masculinity are avoiding the ministry. I think there may be something to consider here, but not quite as it is often stated. Ministry in ... Read more

War and Mercy in Ukraine

by Judith M. Dinsmore

Mark Aharkov directs a food distribution center on behalf of the evangelical and Presbyterian church wher e he is a member in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. Aharkov’s office is about fifteen miles from the Russian border. Last spring, David Nakhla traveled to Kharkiv with three others from the OPC to encourage Aharkov and Kharkiv Presbyterian Church and to observe its distribution center, which receives funding from the OPC’s Committee on Diaconal Ministries through the Ukraine Crisis Fund. Nakhla was amazed. “In this city of 1.5 million people, they’ve become known as the premier ministry—that’s their reputation. There’s a lot of accountability not only for donors, but with the governing authorities,” Nakhla said. “They intentionally seek to dignify the people who are receiving assistance. . . . [and] it’s very connected with the church.” Good Groceries Families can apply for aid once every three months. If accepted, they receive an appointment ... Read more