“WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT!”

A Report of the Website Subcommittee

by

Dr Gregory Edward Reynolds

 

Electronic Wonders: The Origin of the Web

On May 24 one hundred and sixty years ago (1844) the first electric communication was transmitted by telegraph between Baltimore and Washington , DC . Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872) sent the famous message “What Hath God Wrought!” What we now take for granted had the appearance of a miracle to mid-nineteenth century perceptions. Who would have guessed that a little over a century and a half later the Orthodox Presbyterian Church would have the capability of communicating information about its ministries across an international electronic network, connecting millions of people?

In 1902 the first wireless radio signal was sent across the Atlantic. Half a century later in 1953 IBM delivered its first Defense Calculator, the IBM 701; and by 1970 the first Defense Department network was operational. The January 1975 cover of Popular Electronics announced the first microprocessor-based computer , the Altair 8800 . In 1980 the first internetwork, known as Arpanet , linked a number of scientific and academic networks. The following year the first IBM Personal Computer was marketed . A decade later, in 1990, the first commercial public links made the Internet and World Wide Web household realities.

 

Using the New Medium: Enter the OPC

In 1995 a Special Subcommittee on Technology was established, consisting of G. I. Williamson and Larry Wilson. They pioneered the effort to “help the OPC offices and committees make more full use of modern communications technology.” During that period the OPC Web page was begun, with Clifford Collins as the first Webmaster. Larry Wilson wrote an article for the October 1995 number of Ordained Servant titled “Introducing OPC.ORG” in which he diagrammed the two primary uses of the website: an e-mail network, and an information service. The CCE sponsored a demonstration booth to demonstrate online services at the 63 rd General Assembly (1996).

In March 1996 it was determined by the Committee of Christian Education (CCE) that the three General Secretaries of the program committees and the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly constituted themselves “as an OPC website management team under the leadership of Ross Graham.” In 1997 the 64 th General Assembly mandated the committee to “prepare a statement of purpose and overall plan for the management of the OPC website.” The advisory committee had suggested the following statement of purpose: “to propagate the gospel and provide significant resource and reference material setting forth the position of the OPC by means of official documents and supportive writings.” The 65 th General Assembly (1998) saw an extensive report titled “The Plan and Management of the OPC Website.” The purpose of the Website was clearly stated: “The Orthodox Presbyterian Church shall, through its Committee on Christian Education, maintain an official presence on the World Wide Web through its website known as OPC.ORG, in order to: 1) Provide public information concerning the description, beliefs, structure, ministries and publications of the OPC; 2) Promote the cause of Christ within the OPC; 3) Provide Reformed theological material for consideration by other Reformed churches around the world; 4) Evangelize and teach the gospel to the world.” In August 1998 a three member Website Committee, consisting of G. I. Williamson, Doug Clawson, and John Galbraith, was appointed by the CCE. In September Stephen Pribble was hired as a part-time Website manager. In 2000 John Deliyannides replaced G. I. Williamson on the committee. In the spring of 2002 Barry Travers was hired as a part-time Website Design and Technical Associate. In 2003, after the reorganization of the CCE the present committee was appointed. The work grows apace.

 

A Word of Caution: The Medium Has a Message

What the early history of the Website makes plain is that the Website is a ministry of the “medium of media,” known as the World Wide Web. Morse’s unwittingly prescient exclamation: “What hath God wrought!” summarizes the unbounded enthusiasm with which most Americans, including most Christians, have greeted every advance in electronic communications, especially the Internet. Changing Morse’s exclamation to a question, however, would be a wiser course for the thoughtful Christian. Ever since Adam uttered his first words ecology (responsible management) of communication became essential to fulfill the great purposes of our God. When sin entered the picture communications ecology became a very complex enterprise. Add to that electronic media and the complexity increases.

The Website of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is a ministry serving the whole church through the mandate of the General Assembly: “to maintain an official presence on the World Wide Web.” Hence, the Website Subcommittee understands its role as an exercise of media ecology or stewardship in the household of God. Since every medium of communication has its benefits and liabilities, we are required to ask “What hath God wrought?” In his Providence he has gifted us with the Internet. Its appropriate use means assessing its benefits and liabilities. Understanding how the medium shapes the messages we intend to communicate, as well as the ways it transforms our social and ecclesiastical structures, is essential to this task. Thus, it is as important to know what we must not attempt with this ministry as it is to decide what we must attempt. Not everything we are able to do will necessarily serve the interests of the church and her Lord. For example, the Internet tends toward what Marshall McLuhan calls “disincarnation.” While excellent at disseminating information it tends to isolate us from face-to-face interaction. We must make sure that we do not foster that tendency, but rather encourage commitment to the local body of Christ and the visible church. We must not attempt to replace or undermine the fabric of personal and ecclesiastical relationships which strengthen fellowship with God and each other. We this in mind we believe that our presence on the Web brings glory to God.

A Look at the Website

Let’s look at some of the major components of this ministry as it is developing today. First, the architecture of the Website itself has a message we might easily miss: accessibility. We are not seeking to impress people with complex graphic interfaces, but rather to make our entire site easy to open and navigate for the largest number of people.

The worldwide reach of the Website is truly remarkable. By 2002 we reported that 120 different countries has accessed the Website. While the anonymity of the Internet, particularly email, can be a liability, the “reach” of the Internet is a blessing. No other means of communication could reach many third world countries, some of which we have never heard of, like Burkina Faso. From Canada to Cuba, from Haiti to the United Arab Emirates, we have people accessing the site. The average successful requests per day has over doubled in the past year: 6,373 (2003), 13,696 (2004). Our target audiences of OPC officers, members, other Reformed people, the larger church, and the world, seem to be finding us on the Web.

One of the great strengths of the Internet is accessibility to documentary information. Along with a straightforward introductory statement our site offers an accessible but detailed answer to the questions “What is the OPC?” and “What is the Reformed Faith?” The standing committees of the General Assembly are represented under “Ministries at Home and Abroad”. The Home and Foreign Missions, and Christian Education sections of this page provide material useful in promoting Worldwide Outreach, along with sections for diaconal, chaplain, historian, and pension matters.

The Website aids the church in using documents we already possess in hard copy form. The “Directory of Churches” is updated more frequently than the annual hard copy. It also connects inquirers with our churches and pastors throughout the country. Maps for the state and city of each OP church are being provided along with links to each church’s website. A fully searchable Bible is available in nine languages. All of our secondary standards, The Westminster Standards and the Book of Church Order are available.

Other documents of use to the church and her officers are “General Assembly” Papers, including the latest GA report, along with selected reports of study committees going back to 1936. Recently the Website has been able to assist pastors and elders in assessing proposed changes to our Directory for Public Worship by making the proposal(s) available online.

Our two serial publications, New Horizons and Ordained Servant post the major articles of current and back issues. New Horizons articles go back to December 1998, with “Favorites from the Past.” Ordained Servant has a cumulative index with archives going back to the first issue in 1992.

“This Week in (Orthodox) Presbyterian History” has provided a growing resource to help increase our awareness of our Presbyterian roots. Topical and Chronological indexes are available. We plan to add pictures in the future.

A variety of helpful books, articles, tracts and pamphlets on subjects ranging from Churchill’s Lest We Forget (entire book) to a tract “Why Orthodox Presbyterians Baptize Infants,” are available on the “Resources” page.

One of the most popular resources is the “Trinity Hymnal” page. A series of indexes allow people to access hymns by first lines, numbers, and tunes. Tunes can listened to on line. This has helped many to learn new hymns from our rich tradition of congregational singing. We are in the process of making the same information available for the New Trinity Hymnal.

The “Questions and Answers” page is among the most frequently visited. Eighteen links connect the inquirer to various parts of the Webpage to help locate information. The most interactive aspect of the Website, found on this page, is “Questions about biblical and theological matters.” Up to ten questions a week are now coming in. The original respondent, the late Lawrence Eyres, answered questions with great doctrinal wisdom and pastoral care. Now seven respondents have graciously taken up the challenge. Each week a germane question is posted with the answer. Topical and chronological indexes are available.

The Internet is at its best when it helps to bring people together in space and time. The OPC Website is at its best when it helps connect people to the visible church. Several examples remind us of the value of this ministry. A man, who was excommunicated from one of our churches, went on the Internet several years ago, found our Website, and out of curiosity began to read what the Book of Discipline says about excommunication. He was so convicted that he repented, and was joyfully restored to the church.

About a year ago a retired fire fighter, Jack Howe, from Manchester called me with questions about Amoskeag Presbyterian Church. Jack had done a Google search under “orthodox Christian” hoping to find conservative churches in Manchester. By the time he called me he had read dozens of documents, and found the Q&A especially helpful. He and his wife began attending that Sunday, and several months later they joined.

 

Some Future Plans

In the near future we plan to post: a daily devotional message beginning with John Skilton’s Think on These Things; evangelistic messages in both audio and text. We also plan to send a Website newsletter to subscribers. In the more distant future we are considering a children’s page; post links to Reformed Bible study material; and develop a serialized doctrine course.

 

If you have never visited opc.org please do so today. You will be impressed with the rich resource the Lord is enabling us to provide.