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Harold John Ockenga
1 60607? Chicago, IL 1905(06/06) - 1985(02/08) |
From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism "Among leaders and major figures of the evangelical Protestant movement were John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham, Bill Bright, Harold Ockenga, John Stott and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. "
"hundreds of friends and family gathered ... to bid farewell to Harold John Ockenga.1 There to deliver the eulogy was an old friend, 'He was a giant among giants,' reflected Billy Graham. 'Nobody outside of my family influenced me more then he did. I never made a major decision without first calling and asking his advice and counsel. I thank God for his friendship and for his life.'2" …
17 88 ... "Consequently, the question should not be 'Are we seeking unity?' but 'What is the nature of the unity we seek?' Genuine unity 'can only exist when compat- ible things are joined together.' The cross that 'unites Christians,' Ockenga continued, 'separates them' from all others. 'Christ has no concord with the devil' nor does the true believer have anything to do 'with an infidel.' Yet true believers 'recognize each other across denominational and sectarian lines,' they 'speak the same Biblical language,' and they 'enjoy fellowship with one another.' Their unity is 'organic and spiritual' rather then 'orga- nizational' or 'hierarchical.' A 'cathedral,' to use Ockenga's image, 'is a unity but it is not constructed by identical blocks of stone, nor is the temple of God constructed of uniform specimens of humanity.' Fundamentalists call for 'interdenominationalism.' Modernists call for 'ecumenicity.' Yet 'we must not seek uniformity but the unity of spiritual communication of the saints. The nature of the unity Christ seeks is a vital mystical union of believers in the life of Christ with one another."72 72. Harold John Ockenga, "The Nature of the Unity We Seek," sermon 1673, Ockenga Papers.
Harold John Ockenga and Pastor-Theologians: An Interview with Owen Strachan, Part 2
"Absolutely. Tim Keller has talked about TGC attempting to revive and inhabit what he calls “classic evangelicalism,” which was developed by the three evangelical horsemen you just mentioned, with Ockenga as the statesman, Henry as the theologian, and Graham as the evangelist and public face of the movement."
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Owen's response to a comment to the blogpost
"I don’t think TGC is NAE 2.0. But there is a vision that TGC seeks to embody that has significant resonance with the NAE and other neo-evangelical ventures. TGC wants to be the center of evangelicalism, which is definitely what Ockenga et al wanted for their institutions."
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| Brimstone Corner;: Park Street Church, Boston 1968 | Boston's Historic Park Street Church: The Story of an Evangelical Landmark Paperback 2009(01/22) |
I'm glad to see that has started to change.
A few years ago, I read Garth Rosell's book about Harold Ockenga and began to understand the influence his ministry had on me slightly indirectly.
About once per year before I was around 10 or 12 years old, my family went from Chicago to where my mom grew up and Boston. When there we would worship at my grandparents church "Park Street". I have faint memories of hearing Dr. Ockenga preach at that time(1960s and early 1970s). My uncle went to Westminster Seminary in Philly and I heard Edmund Clowney speak at his graduation in the early 1970s. I tell people have faint memories of Harold Ockenga and Edmund Clowney but all I remember from that time was their funny sounding last names.
More of the influence of Dr. Ockenga's ministry on me was indirectly from my mom, my grandparents, and especially my uncle Doug Kittredge. My uncle, born in the mid 1940s has been a pastor since the early 1970s and was a pastor of New Life PCA in Fredericksburg, VA which he helped plant in 1975. My uncle died on 2024(02/10). Dr. Ockenga was very much a spiritual mentor to my uncle. My uncle in turn has been very much a spiritual mentor to me primarily when I lived in VA for a year after college in the early 1980s and frequent trips there before and since.
See townoak.com/religiousleaders/douglaskittredge
for more on Douglas Kittredge(and Harold Ockenga).
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