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Stick to what matters
A Commencement Challenge for Any Century
It
was a typical Westminster commencement ceremony, in that it was extraordinary.
Newly minted graduates assembled before hundreds of family members and
friends on May 25 to receive their diplomas. Along with seven decades
of graduating classes, they all imbibed from the same academic cup of
Machen, Murray, Van Til, Vos, Hodge, as well as current faculty. And each
graduate will leave a unique imprint on the individuals and churches they
serve, as they invest in the lives of people. Investing in People Investing
in people was what commencement speaker Ed Dobson drove home to this year’s
graduates. Senior pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
Dr. Edward G. Dobson spoke from 1 Thessalonians 2:19 on “Stick to
What Matters.” “For what is our hope or joy or the crown in
which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes?
Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” The learning
that the graduates labored to acquire, Dobson insisted, “is only
important to the degree to which you use it to influence the lives of
people for the cause of Jesus Christ.” “What matters?”
he asked. “People matter.” ... What kind of people matter?
“Most of them are very unlike the people you are seated around today,”
he noted. The people the graduates will be ministering to are part of
“a world of increasing brokenness and pain.” All the institutions
people have put their trust in have failed us. The Tools of Ministry “Westminster
has taught me to think with a holistic and consistent Christian world
and life view,” said 2002 graduate Jim Cassidy. 
Soon
to be pastor of an Orthodox Presbyterian congregation in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,
Cassidy reflected on the theme of Dobson’s speech in relation to
what he received at Westminster. “The tools the seminary gave me
are just that, tools. They are to be put to use. As Dr. Dobson pointed
out, we are to put what we learned here in seminary to use in the lives
of God’s people.” ... By God’s blessing, the ministry
tools provided by Westminster are not confined to a single campus. Students
are acquiring these tools in Texas, New York, London, and Seoul. In fact,
our first graduating class in Seoul was celebrated on June 14. Certificates
in biblical counseling were conferred by Westminster’s executive
vice president, Stafford Carson, ’80, on twelve graduates of our
Korean program, held on the campus of Chongshin University. “I was
most impressed with the quality of those who graduated from our program
this summer,” said Carson. “They are people of high caliber,
who are holding important ministry positions in the Korean church. The
knowledge and skills they have gained from this program will enable them
to minister more effectively as they teach and disciple men and women
in their congregations.” Wounded Healers Students come to be trained
to minister to a world beyond the confines of Westminster Seminary. 
“And
in the real world,” Dobson continued, “there are broken, hurting,
struggling, suffering people. And it is our joy and privilege, called
by God, gifted by God, trained by God, to invest our time and our giftedness
and our energy and our passion into the lives of people.” ... Suffering
is not a stranger to Ed Dobson. A year and a half ago he was diagnosed
with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). In the
merciful providence of God his is a slow-growing form. But Dobson clearly
views his illness, however fast or slow it progresses, as something out
of which he can minister to others. “How do we impact people for
Christ?” he asks. First of all, by bringing them the gospel. But
also by giving them our very selves. “We loved you so much that
we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our
lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (1 Thess. 2:8).
“The world needs to see Jesus incarnated in our lives,” Dobson
added, “not in a theological sense but in a practical sense.”
... Giving our lives for others brings us again to the uniqueness of this
graduating class, and of everyone in it. Each Westminster graduate has
received an awesome set of theological tools for ministry. And each has
the opportunity of imparting the gospel in its fullest, most biblical
Reformed expression as they share their lives with others. That is what
Jim Cassidy, ’02, acknowledges. “Christ is building his church
into a holy temple, and he has equipped me through Westminster with the
tools to do just that.”
To order an audio copy of Ed Dobson’s address, see outside column, this page. To find out more about how to invest in the lives and training of students at Westminster, email Mindy Withrow at mwithrow@wts.edu or call at 800-373-0119.
Academic Center Dedicated and Open!
A dedication service for the opening of the Andreas Academic Center was held on May 22. Mr. Lowell Andreas, for whom the center is named,
cut the ribbon at the main entrance from the Montgomery Library
into the Andreas Center. ... This new wing houses the Craig Center
for the Study of the Westminster Standards, in honor of Samuel G.
and Charles H. Craig, founders of Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Company, Phillipsburg, NJ; the Edward Joseph Young Seminar Room,
in honor of late professor of Old Testament E. J. Young, provided
through the generosity of the Huizenga family; and The SaRang Missions
Study Center, dedicated to the work of world missions and evangelism
and provided by SaRang Community Church of Seoul, South Korea. ...
The Reverend Dr. Peter A. Lillback, pastor of Proclamation Presbyterian
Church, Bryn Mawr, Pa., spoke on “Searching to Find Just the
Right Words” (to order, see outside column, page two). Special
music was provided by the Westminster Brass, the Korean Student
Ensemble, and Melissa Craig, soloist. For more information on how to support the work of the seminary, email Alan White, vice president for institutional advancement, at awhite@wts.edu. |
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Also
present were Ruth Conn, Beth Neukirk with her husband Bert, and
Andrew Conn, children of Dr. Harvie Conn, a world-renowned leader
in urban missions and former Westminster professor. Their father’s
library is housed in the SaRang Missions Study Center. Connie Stonehouse
and Bertha Kinnaird, daughters of Bruce Hunt, were also present.
Many of the photos in the SaRang Center are from the Hunt archives.
The Reverend Samuel Ko and Mr. Young Pyo Lee represented SaRang
Community Church, Seoul, South Korea. They presented Dr. Logan with
two framed photos that are now hanging outside the SaRang Center.
F I R S T P E R S O N
Westminster
Meets London
Andrew Jones, ’91, Ministers in Heart of Financial District
I was raised in a reformed Baptist family in South Wales. My father, a
pastor until his retirement a few years ago, encouraged me to begin reading
theological books in my late teens, starting with Murray’s Redemption:
Accomplished and Applied. Soon he was pushing volumes by Stonehouse, Young,
and Van Til in my direction. I decided at this stage that if ever I trained
for the ministry I wanted to do it at Westminster. ... For three years
I studied philosophy at York University, where I met my wife, Sarah. After
graduation I worked for a couple of churches for a few years (including
two years on the staff of a church pastored by David Jackman, who is speaking
at the Westminster conference on preaching this fall). I began to see
the need for a solid, formal theological education, if I were going to
be ordained, so I turned to Westminster. It seemed to provide a combination
of reformed orthodoxy (in both theology and piety), academic rigor, and
a desire to see those realities interact with the contemporary world.
... Westminster changed the direction of our lives and continues to shape
our ministry today. At Westminster I was given the tools to maintain a
Christ-centered Bible teaching ministry over a lifetime. The biggest change
for us involved seeing the city as central in God’s purposes for
his world. This change happened initially in the classroom, as we listened
to Harvie Conn exegete the Scriptures and the world. Slowly we explored
Philadelphia, eventually moved into the city, and began attending Refuge
Evangelical Church, a predominantly African-American church pastored by
Wilbert Richardson. ... We left Westminster committed to spending a lifetime
of ministry in the city. In 1994 I was ordained in the Church of England,
and in God’s grace I have been able to minister in the heart of
London. St Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate (www.sthelens.org.uk)
is located in the City of London, the financial center of London (similar
to Wall Street). For the past forty years, under the leadership of Dick
Lucas, the church has developed a ministry to the hundreds of thousands
of people who come into the city to work each day. I am the equivalent
of an associate minister, with particular responsibility for our Sunday
morning congregation and a couple of small group networks that revolve
around it. We are committed to a team approach in our preaching, and therefore
I am involved with a number of other colleagues in preaching on Sundays
and in our five midweek satellite lunchtime congregations in different
parts of the city. Our desire is to see men and women come to love Jesus
as Lord and then be trained to serve him as Lord in his world. Rarely
a week goes by where I do not consult a book or a lecture by a Westminster
faculty member, as I prepare to preach and train. The theological worldview
given to me at Westminster constantly shapes my ministry as we proclaim
Christ in the city. ... The Proclamation Trust (www.proctrust.org.uk),
an organization committed to encouraging ministers to develop and maintain
a biblical teaching ministry, is closely associated with St Helen’s.
It holds a number of residential conferences each year for younger ministers,
senior ministers, ministers’ wives, theological students, etc. Each
June, St Helen’s hosts the Evangelical Ministry Assembly, an interdenominational
gathering of about 800-900 preachers/teachers, mainly from the U.K. but
increasingly from around the world. In recent years both Tim Keller and
Sinclair Ferguson have spoken at this conference and many find it encourages
them to persevere in their ministries.
Westminster Alums Gather in
London
On June 28, six Westminster alums from the U.K. and their spouses attended
a reunion dinner in London. Andrew and Sarah Jones, Clare and Steve Hendry,
Charles and Anne Clayton, Michael and Kathy Peat, Lawrence and Joyce Ovenden,
and Austin and Mai Walker gathered at the St. Ermin’s Hotel to hear
Sam Logan address them on recent developments at the seminary, including
the new academic center and the facilities it offers for research. Also
present were Susan Logan, church history professor Carl Trueman, and Alan
and Cheryl White. Alan, the new vice president for institutional advancement,
spoke about his hopes and vision for Westminster’s future. ... For
more information about Westminster’s London-based Th.M. program
in concert with the John Owen Centre of London Theological Seminary, log
onto our web site at www.wts.edu/london. ... For more information about
alumni dinners and reunions, email John Marshall at jmarshall@wts.edu
or call him at 800-373-0119
T H E P R E S I D E N T ’ S P A G E
Over
the summer I had the privilege to meet with Westminster alumni in the
United Kingdom and to see firsthand how God is blessing their ministries.
... In London, I spent time with Andrew, ’91, and Sarah Jones. Andrew
is the main preacher at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, one of the largest
and most influential evangelical Church of England congregations in all
of Britain. I attended a session of a major preaching conference, the
Evangelical Ministry Assembly, held at St. Helen’s, with over 800
ministers present from all over Britain. Andrew is a member of the organizing
staff. ... Two weeks later, I was worshiping in the congregation pastored
by Ivor MacDonald, ’90-’91, on the northeast coast of the
Isle of Skye, in Scotland. It was remarkable to see folks arriving to
worship since there just do not seem to be many folks around. But they
were streaming in to Ivor’s church. In addition to the solid and
clear exposition of Scripture at the worship service, I was impressed
with the commitment of that small congregation to a specific missionary
work in Thailand. For years, that church has sent Ivor and others to Thailand
to work with refugees there (see article in the spring 2002 issue). In
November, Ivor and members of his congregation will be joined on a return
trip by Graham Stockdale, ’90, from Northern Ireland. ... Two weeks
later, I was back in the “big city,” this time Edinburgh.
We worshiped at the Free Church of Scotland congregation pastored by Alasdair
MacLeod, ’81. We were there at the time of the annual International
Festival, which brings 500,000 people to the city each August. Much of
what goes on during the Festival is aggressively anti-Christian and often
anti-American. It can be spiritually oppressive to walk the streets of
Edinburgh during this time. But walking into Alasdair’s church was
like walking into a lighthouse, the sense of the gospel is that clear.
... All in all, it was remarkable, encouraging, and humbling to see how
God is using Westminster alumni in the U.K. to impart the riches of God’s
grace.
Westminster
Alum Named PCA Moderator
The
Reverend Joseph F. (Skip) Ryan, ’76, was elected moderator
of the Presbyterian Church in America’s thirtieth General Assembly
on June 18, 2002, succeeding retiring moderator Steve Fox. Senior pastor
of Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, since 1992, Ryan
was chosen on the first ballot to preside over the 1,600 delegates representing
the 300,000-member denomination. 
“The
world is watching our common union, a family in the Lord Jesus,”
said Ryan on accepting the position. “Let me urge us to express
our common union by the way we talk to one another, and in this way to
express that we are brothers.” ... Another alumnus, Dr. Anees Zaka,
’85, was also nominated as moderator. Dr. Zaka is founder and director
of Church Without Walls, an evangelistic outreach to Muslims. He is also
founder and president of Biblical Institute for Islamic Studies.
(Photos used with permission from PCANews, the Web magazine
of the Presbyterian Church in America)
CLASSNOTES
Richard Hodgson, ’66, retired after thirtythree
years as professor of astronomy at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa.
Larry Mininger, ’69, recently celebrated thirty
years as pastor of Lake Sherwood Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Orlando,
Fla.
Andy Fincke, ’70-’83, has enrolled in the
Dead Sea Scroll Institute of Trinity Western University, British Columbia,
for a masters degree in Bible. His published work on the Dead Sea Scrolls
was noted in the spring issue.
Kim Batteau, ’72, in November 2001 became pastor
of the Gereformeerd Kerk (vrijgemaakt) (Liberated Reformed Church) in
The Hague-Center, and Scheveningen.
Victor Gill, ’81, suffered a heart attack on August
4 while working in his yard. Tests revealed five arterial blocks, which
were opened via angioplasty. He and his family
would appreciate prayer for recovery.
Darryl Hart, ’81, was inaugurated on November 2,
2001, as professor of church history at Westminster Theological Seminary
in California.
Bob Marsh, ’84, U.S. Army chaplain, has been promoted
to Lieutenant Colonel and is being transferred from Fort Dix, N. J. to
the 99th Regional Support Command near Pittsburgh, Pa., where he will
oversee chaplains in five states.
Christopher Ribaudo, ’91, is assistant pastor of
Trinity Presbyterian Church, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Harold Carl, ’92, on July 1 became University Chaplain
at LeTourneau University, Longview, Tex.
David Tate, ’92, is pastor of Faggs Manor Presbyterian
Church, Cochranville, Pa.
Craig Troxel, ’98, pastor of Calvary OPC, Glenside,
Pa., delivered the Den Dulk Lectures at Westminster Theological Seminary
in California, on April 9-11, 2002.
Guy Waters, ’98, completed a Ph.D. in religion
at Duke University in the spring. He will be serving as assistant professor
of biblical studies at Belhaven College, Jackson, Miss.
John Haralson, ’98-’99, is associate pastor
of City Church of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif.
Reed DePace, ’99, is pastor of Reformed Presbyterian
Church of Slate Lick, Kittanning, Pa.
Andrew Webb, ’02, is assistant pastor of Cross
Creek Presbyterian Church, Fayetteville, N.C.
DEATHS
H. Evan Runner, ’39, on March 14, 2002, of cancer.
Professor of philosophy at Calvin College from 1951 - 1981, in 1993 he
was given the prestigious “Faith and Learning Award” by the
Calvin Alumni Association for successfully and consistently integrating
faith and learning in the classroom. He helped establish the Institute
for Christian Studies (ICS), a
Christian graduate school in Toronto where faculty and students explore
Runner’s vision of an integral, interdisciplinary philosophy as
a key component to a thorough Christian contribution to education and
culture. In April 2001, the ICS created the H. Evan Runner Chair in the
History of Philosophy. Calvin’s president, Gaylen Byker, honored
Runner’s vision for a thoroughly Christian approach to philosophy
and stated that Calvin College is
still shaped by his influence. He was 86.
Douglas L. Lattimer, ’49-’50,
on March 23, 2002. A native of Canada, he served in World War II as a
navigator in bomber aircraft before studying briefly at Westminster, finally
earning his B.D. at Knox College. He was ordained in the Anglican Church
of Canada and served several parishes in that communion. He also earned
credentials in English and history
and was head of the English department at Quinte Secondary School, Belleville,
Ontario, for fifteen years, besides his duties as associate priest at
the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Picton. In the eulogy at his memorial
service, the Reverend Canon David J. Ward described Lattimer as a man
whose center was Jesus Christ, whose “belief in the life, death,
and resurrection of Christ were fundamental to his life and he would even
now encourage
you to believe in Christ.” He was 79.
Young Kyu Cha, ’87,
founder of East Asia Mission, died in a traffic accident in Beijing on
April 13, 2002. In 1990 he was commissioned as a missionary to China,
where he served until his death. His first few years were spent as a professor-missionary
in Beijing to the non-Christian academic community. Then, in 1994, he
became pastor of a house church and
devoted himself to training house church leaders by establishing a seminary
on the mainland for that purpose, many graduates of which went on to pursue
advanced training abroad. Founded to help mobilize workers and support
from abroad, EAM has a study center in Korea that has become a main source
of information for understanding China and missions strategies to that
country. Mrs. Cha is devoted to continuing the work of her late husband
in China.
EMAIL FROM NIGERIA
Sid Garland, ’77, writes: “Returning to Ireland
after getting my M.Div., I was ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian
Church and served as pastor in Belfast for nine years. My wife and I were
also active in various pro-life and pro-family organizations. For the
past fifteen years we have been serving the Lord in Nigeria. I lecture
in practical theology at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria.
One of the few Nigerian seminaries offering both bachelors and masters
degrees, TCNN serves twelve churches, of which six have reformed or presbyterian
affiliation. I am also the founder and executive director of Africa Christian
Textbooks, a literature ministry to more than 300 seminaries and missions
training institutions in Nigeria (part of my inspiration has come from
the Westminster bookstore). My wife, Jean, is involved in AIDS awareness
ministry. She was a speaker at the recent Samaritan’s Purse conference
in Washington, D.C. Warmest greetings to my many friends, both teachers
and fellow students. I’d love to hear from any of them on SidGarland@aol.com
Faculty Books
The Urban Face of Mission: Ministering the Gospel in a Diverse and Changing World, edited by Manuel Ortiz and Susan S. Baker (P&R, 2002). Festschrift in honor of the late Harvie Conn, with articles by former colleagues in missions from different parts of the world: Paul Hiebert, Roger Greenway, Samuel Escobar, William Dyrness, and others. $16.99.
Luther’s Legacy: Salvation
and English Reformers 1525-1556, by Carl R. Trueman (Oxford, 2002).
The first major and exclusive study of the Christian idea of salvation
as seen
through the eyes of five sixteenthcentury English reformers: John Frith,
John Hooper, Robert Barnes, John Bradford, and William Tyndale. Clear
and helpful. $25.00.
Order online at www.wts.edu.
Audio Tapes
“Stick to What Matters,” by Ed Dobson, senior pastor, Calvary Church, Grand Rapids, Mich. Address at Westminster’s seventythird commencement on May 25, 2002. A challenge to the graduating class from 1 Thess. 2:19 to regard investing in the lives of people as what really matters. Tape # CS02.
“Church Planting Models in North America and Overseas,” by Dr. Roger Greenway, emeritus professor of missiology, Calvin Theological Seminary. One of two commencement-day seminars on May 25. Tape # CS021.
“Westminster’s Apologetics and the Inner City,” by Dr. Wesley Roberts, senior pastor, People’s Baptist Church, Boston, Mass. The second of the two commencement-day seminars. Tape # CS022.
“Searching to Find Just the Right Words,” by Pete Lillback, senior pastor, Proclamation Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, Pa. Dedication sermon for the Andreas Academic Center on May 22, 2002. Stresses indispensability of libraries such as Westminster’s to advancements in theology over the centuries. Tape # PL02F.
All individual tapes are $4.50 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. If ordering more than one tape, please add 50 cents to the $3.00 shipping for each additional tape ordered.
To order, call 800-WTS-TAPE
Join a New Monthly Support Team!
Send a gift of $25 or more each month and we will send you a new tape
each month. Messages will include lectures and conference material from
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help the seminary train the next generation of pastors and church leaders.
Send your first gift with a note, “Add me to the tape of the month
list,” and we will send your first tape right away.
Address:
Westminster Theological Seminary
P.O. Box 27009
Philadelphia, PA 19118
BOOKNOTES
First Theology: God, Scripture & Hermeneutics,
by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, ’82 (Intervarsity Press, 2002) . Research
professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School,
Vanhoozer constructs a theological framework that integrates the doctrines
of God and Scripture in a hermeneutically satisfactory and self-conscious
manner. This work, a prequel of sorts to Vanhoozer’s earlier Is
There Meaning in This Text?, focuses on theological prolegomena, or the
theological and philosophical assumptions that inform all theological
inquiry. Helpful for those seeking a means to integrate God and Scripture
in a hermeneutically coherent way.
Divine
Discourse: The Theological Methodology of John Owen, by
Sebastian Rehnman (Baker Academic, 2002). Another addition to the Texts
& Studies in Reformation & Post-Reformation Thought series, edited
by Richard Muller, this is a discussion of a Latin work of Owen’s,
recently translated into English, titled Biblical Theology. Rehnman shows
that, while using the loci method of doing theology, Owen expressed preference
for an incipient form of the redemptive-historical method developed later
by Geerhardus Vos. Owen’s unique contribution to federal theology
was to stress the organic and gradational growth of supernatural revelation.
Rehnman’s study reminds that Reformed scholasticism, while not perfect,
was not the arid rationalism it has been accused of being.
Disputations on Holy Scripture, by William Whitaker (Soli Deo Gloria, 2000 reprint). This was first printed in 1588 to clarify the Protestant argument for sola scriptura after Whitaker had multiple debates with Roman Catholic apologists. It is an invaluable compilation of arguments vindicating the Protestant faith in light of the criticisms of Robert Bellarmine, an articulate upholder of Roman Catholic doctrine during the Catholic Counter-Reformation, and others.
The
Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel,
by James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken, ’92 (Crossway
Books, 2002). Begun as a collaboration and completed by Ryken after Boice’s
death, this is intended to vindicate the need for Calvinism in the twenty-first
century church. The central thesis is that Calvinism alone avoids the
exaltation of human autonomy and is the only hope for evangelicalism.
Calvinism alone expresses the heart of the gospel of grace, in which salvation
is the work of God in its entirety. At the same time a true Calvinist
should be marked by a Godcentered, humble, charitable, and loving lifestyle.
A fine theological and practical exposition of Calvinism, both as system
and as a theological safeguard against deviations from the gospel of sovereign
grace.
Longer reviews may be found on Westminster’s web
site under Bookstore Newsletter.
All books here may be purchased through Westminster’s Bookstore
(888-WTS-BOOK
or www.wts.edu).
ON CAMPUS
MAJOR
BEQUEST BENEFITS WESTMINSTER
Westminster is honored to announce receipt of a generous bequest from
the estate of the late Dorothy A. Hay of West Chester, Pa. Miss Hay bequeathed
in excess of $700,000 to Westminster for the establishment of a scholarship
fund in memory of her parents, Arthur M. and Mary E. Hay. A member of
the First Presbyterian Church of West Chester, Miss Hay always had a strong
interest in religious education. A former teacher, she returned to West
Chester University after retiring to take religion and other courses.
Her generous gift will benefit Westminster students for generations to
come. In the providence of God, the lives these students will touch after
leaving seminary will have her generosity to thank. Soli Deo Gloria!
For information on how to include Westminster in your estate planning, contact John Marshall at jmarshall@wts.edu or 215-572-3802.
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