February 2026 Ordained Servant

From the Editor. Many of the conflicts which threaten the peace and harmony of the visible church could be avoided if our eyes were turned heavenward. John Fesko’s “Unity in Our Great High Priest” was a sermon preached at the last general assembly (91st, 2025). Fesko reminds us that the Spirit who impresses this unity on Christ’s church works through, not around, the cross. Unity and peace are never to be sought at the expense of truth, but in our circles we are in danger of following our own paths beyond the unity that our confession provides. The cross humbles us and puts our differences in perspective. One of Machen’s favorite verses should help us to keep our vows as officers to maintain the purity, peace, and unity of the church. “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died” (2 Cor. 5:14).

Many of us struggle with the volume of electronic mail we receive. Christian McShaffrey understands the demands of pastoral ministry and of being a clerk. So, in his article, “Email Management: The DURSA Method,” he provides wise guidance based on his own management of email to help us keep the inbox empty.

Shane Lems reviews Elaine Pagels’s latest book, Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus. Lems’s title tells it all, “No Miracles, No Wonder: Review of a Recent Rationalist Critique of the New Testament.” “How Jesus Became God” is out there in many forms from the Great Courses to movies and books. Lems’s review provides a nice template for critiquing these popular forms of this great error, which Pagels presents in an academic form.

The Baby Boom generation, born from 1946 to 1964, is retiring in large numbers. Generation X is not far behind. While the world tells us to save our money and maintain good health so we can indulge ourselves in retirement, Gordon Cook reviews Finishing Our Course with Joy, by J. I. Packer—his last book (2014)— which gives us a very different perspective on our latter years. Our Committee on Ministerial Care has tremendous resources for ministers. For all of us retirement can offer greater freedom to serve the Lord in a variety of capacities.

Cynthia Rowland reviews Thomas Boston: Christian Biographies for Young Readers, by Simonetta Carr. Her years of homeschooling have heightened her appreciation of Carr’s series designed to acquaint young readers with important people in church history.

Our poem this month is by George Herbert (1593–1633), “Aaron.” “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron” (Ps. 133:1–2). Aaron is a type of our great high priest Jesus Christ, who is the foundation and life of the unity of his church.

The cover photo is one I took with my first digital camera, a point and shoot Canon. It was taken at a winter sunset in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. It reminds me that photographic technology is not the most important aspect of creativity.

Blessings in the Lamb,
Gregory Edward Reynolds

FROM THE ARCHIVES “CHURCH UNITY”
https://opc.org/OS/pdf/Subject_Index.pdf

• “Biblical Principles of the Unity of the Church: A Reformed (Continental) Perspective – Part 1.” (James de Jong) 11:1 (Jan. 2002): 2–9.
• “Biblical Principles of the Unity of the Church: A Reformed (Continental) Perspective – Part 2.” (James de Jong) 11:2 (Apr. 2002): 27–32.
• “The Biblical View of Church Unity.” (Archibald A. Allison) 10:3 (Jul. 2001): 60–64.
• “On the Unity and Diversity of the Church.” (Herman Bavinck) 11:3 (Jul. 2002): 65–66.
• “True Church Unity: What It Is.” (Benjamin B. Warfield) 11:3 (Jul. 2002): 56–59.
• “The Unity of the Church in the Westminster Tradition – Part 1.” (W. D. J. McKay) 11:3 (Jul. 2002): 46–54.
• “The Unity of the Church in the Westminster Tradition – Part 2.” (W. D. J. McKay) 11:4 (Oct. 2002): 82–88.

Ordained Servant exists to help encourage, inform, and equip church officers for faithful, effective, and God-glorifying ministry in the visible church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Its primary audience is ministers, elders, and deacons of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, as well as interested officers from other Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Through high-quality editorials, articles, and book reviews, we will endeavor to stimulate clear thinking and the consistent practice of historic, confessional Presbyterianism.