Excerpted from the Bulletin, the quarterly newsletter of Westminster, Winter 2006

Auguring the Future
Westminster Welcomes President Lillback

Peter A. Lillback prepares for his November 29 inauguration as Westminster's fourth president

The word inauguration denotes an “auguring in.” It comes from a Latin root augere, meaning, “to predict the future; to employ soothsayers.” Sooth is at the heart of “to soothe” or “to comfort,” and the Middle English origins of that word demonstrate a surprising connection to the word truth. Thus, our word inaugurate could be said to possess some idea of “comforting by speaking truth that helps us consider the future”!

With this light-hearted philological foray, Dr. Peter A. Lillback began his inaugural address at the November 29 ceremonies to formally induct him as president of Westminster Theological Seminary. The event had been in the works since July 1, when he stepped into his new role as head of the administration. He is the fourth president in the Seminary’s history, following the distinguished services of Samuel T. Logan Jr. (1991-2005); George C. Fuller (1982-1991); and the late Edmund P. Clowney (1966-1982).

The day of the inaugural celebration was uncharacteristically balmy for late November in Philadelphia. After a banquet at The American College in Bryn Mawr, faculty, staff, students, board members, alumni, and friends of the Seminary crossed the street to Proclamation Presbyterian Church (PCA), where Dr. Lillback serves as senior pastor.

The ceremony began at 7:30 p.m. and lasted for nearly three hours. Proclamation’s chancel and handbell choirs joined The Westminster Brass in performing classic anthems and leading in the singing of hymns. Representatives of almost 30 higher educational institutions across the nation wore their school colors in a festive demonstration of academic solidarity. The congregation was visibly moved as the full Westminster faculty restated the faculty pledge in an “oath of covenant renewal.” (You can read the pledge on our website at http://www.wts.edu/faculty/index.html.)

Dr. Jack White, chairman of the Board of Trustees, introduces Dr. Lillback as president

Dr. John H. White, chairman of the Board of Trustees, presided over the investiture of the new president, following Dr. Lillback’s affirmation of the faculty pledge. Dr. Bruce K. Waltke, former professor at Westminster and professor emeritus of Old Testament studies at Regent College, delivered the keynote address: “Test All Things: Hold On To What Is Good.” Dr. Lillback’s inaugural address, “The Very Words of Westminster,” highlighted the Seminary’s core values and outlined a brief vision for the future (see The President’s Page in this issue to read more about his vision).

Remarks were also offered by Dr. William Edgar, moderator of the faculty of Westminster; Rev. George Cottenden, trustee, regarding the Reformed and Presbyterian church tradition and Westminster; and Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr., of the John Templeton Foundation, regarding the local church and Westminster. Additional participants in the ceremony included Dr. Samuel T. Logan Jr., chancellor and former president; Dr. George C. Fuller, former president and professor of practical theology, emeritus; Mr. John Ykema, trustee; and Dr. D. Clair Davis, professor of church history, emeritus.

Following the ceremony, several hundred well-wishers lined up to personally congratulate President Lillback and his family at a dessert reception hosted by Westminster’s Philadelphia President’s Council.

If the attendance and jubilation at this event is any indication, the future “augurs well” for this 76-year-old institution.

Inauguration photos, audio, and a ceremony program are available at http://www.wts.edu/news/inauguration.html.

Who is Peter A. Lillback? A brief biography of the new president

Family
Married since 1973 to Debra (Harris) Lillback

Father of Cara-Beth and Priscilla

Education
B.A., Cedarville College (1974)

Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary (1978)

Ph.D., Westminster Theological Seminary (1985)

Pastoral Ministry
Pastor, Bethany Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Oxford, PA (1982-1988)

Associate Pastor, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Newark, DE (1988-1991)

Senior Pastor, Proclamation Presbyterian Church (PCA), Bryn Mawr, PA (1991-present)

Other Service
Adjunct professor of historical theology, Westminster Theological Seminary (1981, 1986-2005); now professor of historical theology

Board member, Huguenot Fellowship (1994-present)

Executive director, The Providence Forum (2000-2005); now president

Radio teacher of Proclaiming the Word and The Proclamation Worship Hour (present)

Selected Publications
The Binding of God: Calvin’s Role in the Development of Covenant Theology (author)

The Practical Calvinist: An Introduction to the Presbyterian and Reformed Heritage (editor)

The Practice of Confessional Subscription (contributor)

Pressing Toward the Mark: Essays Commemorating Fifty Years of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (contributor)

The President’s Page
Peter A. Lillback

I have often remarked since I stepped into this new role on July 1 that the job of a seminary president is one for which there is no formal training! So allow me to begin my first column by saying thank you to all of you students, alumni, and friends of Westminster who have so warmly welcomed me. Your calls, letters, and waves across campus greatly encourage me as I begin to know the people, resources, needs, and dreams of this historic institution.

As I continue to grow into this role, I invite you to dream with me of what the future might hold for this community under the continued blessings of our covenant-keeping God. Our dreams might include:

a campus commensurate with our rich heritage, worldwide significance, and growing size;
financial resources sufficient to sustain our ministries, faculty, staff, and facilities;
the blending of academic excellence, spiritual formation, and ministerial professional skills with cutting-edge technology;
undisputed theological leadership marked by prolific writing, insightful teaching, and life-changing preaching and speaking; all of which is deeply committed to the biblical, Reformed truths upon which Westminster was founded, such that our students leave here prepared to serve the Lord with an even greater trust in Scripture than when they arrived;
a deepening partnership with alumni, local churches, institutions, and denominational groups around the world;
the development of a public theology that graciously blends the power of Cornelius Van Til’s critique of unbiblical worldviews with Abraham Kuyper’s statesmanship, without compromising the spirituality of the church.

Could such dreams come to pass? If we are committed to “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27)—so prominently proclaimed on our school seal—should we not also be convinced of the divine promise of Ephesians 3:20? “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

With this promise of Scripture, let us inaugurate the next phase of Westminster’s ministry. May “specialists in the Bible” ever graduate to engage the cultures of the world for the glory of our King. May our dreams for the future be no smaller than those promised in the inerrant Word of God. And may God’s grace enable us to continue to do our part in filling the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God in Christ.

Faculty Inaugurated

On November 16, Westminster inaugurated K. Scott Oliphint, Ph.D., as professor of apologetics and systematic theology; and Carl R. Trueman, Ph.D., as professor of historical theology and church history. The article below is based on Professor Trueman’s inaugural address.

Reformed Theology and Postmodern Evangelicalism: Notes from the Church History Department
by Carl R. Trueman, professor of historical theology and church history and coordinator of the church history department

Claims about postmodernism, and how the church must come to terms with it, abound. The subject is, of course, too complicated to deal with adequately in a brief article, but here are some reflections.

First, we should always beware of claims about “epoch-making significance.” Only time can give proper perspective on the insights of any particular age, and there are many ways in which postmodernism looks very much like modernism merely extended and universalized.

Second, the relativism that postmodernism often brings in its wake leaves those who buy into it unable to offer prophetic criticism of the wider culture. My view is as good as your view. I cannot criticize you; you cannot criticize me.

Therefore, it is surprising that numerous evangelical theologians have recently embraced the philosophies that postmodernism represents. Or is it? Given that modern Western culture loves novelty, evangelicalism’s constant reaching out to new ideas is simply a sign of its emulation of contemporary trends. Further, evangelicalism has tried always to articulate not so much a thoroughgoing orthodoxy as a simple, mere Christianity; and the skeptical philosophies of the postmodern world provide a new idiom for engaging in the time-worn task of arguing for a doctrinally-minimal understanding of the faith. Postmodern evangelicalism looks hip and trendy; but under its rhetoric of radicalism is an agenda as old as the hills and as traditional as an English cricket match.

In this situation, Reformed Orthodoxy, that system of theology that finds expression in the Westminster Standards, is well-placed to offer a response and an alternative.

For example, the accusation is often made today that the Reformed placed God in a box, reduced him to limits of human language and logic. Not true. The Reformed made a clear distinction between God as infinite and unknowable to any but himself, and God as finite and revealed in Scripture and in the Incarnation. The words of the Bible are true and reliable, but they teach us only what God has condescended to reveal to us. Thus, those who accuse Reformed Orthodoxy of rationalism have misunderstood the natures of both Reformed Orthodoxy and Enlightenment rationalism.

Similarly, the accusation is made that Reformed Orthodoxy ignores other Christian traditions. In fact, a glance at any significant work of seventeenth-century Reformed theology reveals a vast range of sources, from the rabbis to the early church through the Middle Ages to contemporary Protestant and Catholic writers. Reformed Orthodoxy was catholic in the best sense of the word: they drank deeply from the whole Christian tradition in their desire to listen to others and to articulate the faith in the present.

Further, when we remember that Reformed theology spread over the whole of Europe, from Hungary to Scotland, from rich to poor, and that many of the Reformed lived as exiles in foreign lands, it is clear that many of the issues facing us in the so-called postmodern age (those of class, race, gender, nationalism, etc.) had their counterparts in the time of the Reformation. Yet the Reformers’ firm belief in the universality of human nature and of God’s revelation in Scripture and in Christ allowed them to present the gospel consistently across national, ethnic, and economic boundaries, confident that what united the human race in all places and at all times was greater than that which divided it.

In this context, Westminster’s church history department has a role to play in training Christian leaders in the modern world. There is nothing new under the sun, despite what the postmodern pundits claim for themselves and their moment in time; and by intelligently engaging with the past, we can better understand how to proclaim the gospel in the present.

First Person
Pursuing World Peace:
Molly Routson, ’05, supports biblical peacemakers across the globe

I had never heard of Peacemaker Ministries when I enrolled at Westminster in September 2002. I certainly did not imagine that, after I completed the M.Div. program, I would return to my hometown of Billings, Montana, to work in Peacemaker Ministries’ international division. By God’s grace, however, he prepared me to enter this exciting ministry of equipping brothers and sisters in Christ around the world to respond biblically to conflict as ambassadors of reconciliation.

My work consists primarily of communicating with and supporting global contacts; I send them resources, provide strategic support to local ministries, and coach them through specific conflicts. One of my most exciting tasks at the moment is collaborating on the writing of a peacemaking curriculum for seminaries and Bible schools.

Peacemaker Ministries is in many respects a biblical counseling ministry; we have one primary “presenting problem” that gives us an entry point into people’s lives. So my seminary counseling classes have proven invaluable as I learned to apply Scripture to the specific sins of the heart. I saw clearly that systematic and biblical theology could not exist in abstraction from their applications in real life; biblical counseling wisdom emerges directly from the study of Scripture. Although I still feel inadequate to the task, I know that any effectiveness I enjoy as a counselor will be the result of learning and applying God’s Word in my own life and in the lives of others.

The sufficiency of Scripture is an indispensable doctrine as I contemplate my ministry to the international church. It is humbling to admit that I do not have all of the answers for contextualizing materials that were developed in the U.S. I’m learning how biblical counseling and peacemaking can have different expressions in various cultures while still remaining faithful to Scripture. As I venture into this uncertain part of ministry in a changing world, however, I rest on the foundation that I received at Westminster, of believing and studying God’s eternal Word.

The lessons I learned at seminary were not confined to the classroom. At my graduation, my family and friends were amazed by the cultural diversity represented by my fellow graduates, both where they were from and where they were going for ministry. They were particularly surprised that a seminary with a reputation for “dry, stuffy theology” had produced a graduating class heading into groundbreaking international ministries. God used my time at Westminster not only to teach me about himself, but also to introduce me to his people from around the world who gave me a passion for the work God is doing in every tribe, tongue, and nation. Even though I returned to Montana to do my kingdom work, I count myself privileged to be among this number whom God is using to build his church around the world.

On Campus

Early American Imprints Acquired
Westminster’s Montgomery Library and the Craig Center for the Study of the Westminster Standards are pleased to announce the acquisition of Early American Imprints Series I and II, electronic collections of books, pamphlets, and periodicals published in the U.S. between 1639 and 1820. The acquisition of Early American Imprints, along with the acquisition of Early English Books Online in 2003, provides the Seminary with an outstanding early modern library to supplement the library’s print collections, and will attract students and scholars to Westminster.

The recent acquisition has been made possible in part by a generous gift from The Providence Forum, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Professor Emeritus Announced
The Board of Trustees has conferred the title of emeritus to Professor of Practical Theology John Bettler, ’67, effective July 1, 2006. A former pastor, Bettler (B.D., Westminster; D.Min., Chicago Theological Seminary) has been director of The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, Glenside, Pennsylvania, since 1974, and has served the Seminary with distinction since 1976.

Vice President for Academic Affairs Appointed
J. Alan Groves, ’81, ’83 , professor of Old Testament, has been appointed vice president for academic affairs. He is currently serving a one-year appointment as interim vice president for academic affairs, and will move into the permanent post on July 1, 2006.

Groves (M.A.R., Th.M., Westminster; Ph.D. Candidate, Free University, Amsterdam) is also executive director of the Westminster Hebrew Institute and has served on the faculty and administration since 1982.

Ferguson to Become Distinguished Visiting Professor
Sinclair B. Ferguson (M.A., B.D., Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), professor of systematic theology at Westminster’s Texas campus, has accepted a call as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church (ARP), Columbia, S.C. He will become distinguished visiting professor of systematic theology on July 1, 2006.

Ferguson has taught at Westminster in various capacities since 1982.

Classnotes

Harold Commons, ’30, member of Westminster’s first graduating class, celebrated his 100 th birthday on September 29, 2005.

Luder G. Whitlock Jr.,’66, was named interim president of Erskine College and Seminary, Due West, South Carolina.

L. Bruce Miller, ’66, was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta, Canada. Formerly, he was a minister in the United Church of Canada for 27 years.

Lawrence Chan, ’74, is president of Christian Witness Theological Seminary, Concord, California.

Ann (Stratton) Hudson, ’78, is the mother of three children, and an instructor at Messiah College and Dickinson College.

Jimmy Lin, ’82, ’83, was appointed interim administrative director of programs and ministries at the Back to God Hour.

Erika Moore, ’84, ’03, is assistant professor of Old Testament at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, Ambridge, Pennsylvania.

Michael Goheen, ’84, was appointed Geneva Chair in Reformation Worldview Studies and coordinator of the LambLight Lectures at Trinity Western University, British Columbia.

Peter R. Sniffin, ’88, is serving a three-year tour as army chaplain to the Division Support Command of the 1 st Armored Division, Wiesbaden, Germany.

Robert Nay, ’94, is an army brigade chaplain supervising eight chaplains in Iraq.

M. Scot Sherman, ’89, is teacher in residence at City Church of San Francisco.

Scott Kirkland, ’94, is minister at Lucaya Presbyterian Kirk, Freeport, Grand Bahama. He and his wife Anita, ’94, have two daughters.

Brad Mellon, ’96, is director of pastoral care and chair of the ethics committee at the Frederick Mennonite Community, near Philadelphia, and ministry-based professor of New Testament and ethics at Bethel Seminary of the East.

Tae Suk Kim, ’97, is a senior medical technologist with Miller-Keystone Blood Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His wife Alice, ’97, is a parenting coach with Childcare Services of Allentown.

Byron J. Peters, ’99, is a church planter at Christ Community Church, Durham, North Carolina.

Mark A. Garcia, ’00, completed a Ph.D. in systematic theology at the University of Edinburgh in 2004. He currently serves Lake Sherwood OPC, Orlando, Florida.

David Darwin, ’01, is dean of student affairs at the International School of Theology-Asia, Manila, Philippines.

Richard LePage, ’02, is librarian and adjunct professor of philosophy and biblical theology at New England Baptist College, South Portland, Maine, and an elder at Emmanuel Reformed Presbyterian Church, Auburn.

Sean M. Lucas, ’02, is assistant professor of church history and associate dean of faculty at Covenant Theological Seminary, and assistant pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Missouri.

Ernie Baker, ’03, is assistant professor of biblical counseling at The Master’s College and Seminary, California. Formerly, he was pastor of Harvest Baptist Church, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Brandon Barrett, ’04, was ordained on November 7, 2004, and serves with Reformed University Fellowship at The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.

Joshua Hahne, ’05, is associate pastor at Fellowship of Grace PCA, Peoria, Arizona.

Email updates to alumni@wts.edu.

Deaths

H. Wilson Albright, ’43, on February 2, 2005. A graduate of UCLA and Westminster, he was ordained by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1943. For nearly four decades, he ministered at churches in New Jersey and California, retiring in 1982. Until his death, he was a session member at New Covenant OPC in South San Francisco.

Donald D. Moreland, ’54, ’55, on July 24, 2005. A graduate of New York University, Westminster, and Faculty Libre de Theologie Protestant in Paris, he pastored churches in Maine, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire, and was a board member of the Conservative Baptist Foreign Missions Society (now World Venture). Commissioned by Greater Europe Mission in 1974, he taught at the European Bible Institute and then the Belgian Center for Biblical Education, Leuven. He also served on the Board of the German Theological Seminary, Giesen.

William A. Shell, ’62, on July 15, 2004, at the age of 73. Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, he was detained in a Japanese concentration camp during World War II. He earned degrees from Baylor University, Westminster, Wheaton College, and Fuller Theological Seminary, and was ordained by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1965. A Christian school teacher, editor, and author of numerous books, he was a member of the faculty at Reformed Bible College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, from 1979-1997.

McKendree Langley, ’70, ’95, on October 13, 2005. A graduate of Gordon College, Northeastern University, and Westminster, he taught history for 35 years at the high school, college, and seminary levels, including at Dordt College, Iowa, and since 1989 was an adjunct faculty member at Westminster. He also worked as a journalist and was author of The Practice of Political Spirituality. At the time of his death, he was an elder at Calvary Presbyterian Church (PCA), Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. He was 60.

Michael A. Osborne, ’80, on September 1, 2005. A manufacturing agent by trade, he was killed in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He was 51.

Board Members in Glory

Charles W. Krahe Jr. (1924-2005)
Charles W. Krahe Jr., former board member, died April 18, 2005, after a short illness. Educated at Hamilton College and New Brunswick Theological Seminary, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Westminster in 1997. He was ordained by the Reformed Church in America in 1947, and for over 55 years ministered the gospel of Christ at St. Paul’s Evangelical Reformed Church, Perth Amboy, New Jersey; Sixth Reformed Church, Patterson, New Jersey; and Seventh Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In 1997, the Charles W. Krahe Chair of Biblical and Systematic Theology was established at Westminster. “ Dr. Krahe was a faithful and effective servant of the Lord,” said Dr. Richard B. Gaffin Jr., who currently occupies the chair. “ It remains my privilege to occupy the professorship endowed in his honor.”

Memorial gifts may be given to: The Westminster Educational Foundation, PO Box 27009, Philadelphia, PA 19118, with “Endowed Charles Krahe Chair” in the memo line.

George D. Sinclair (1925-2005)
George D. Sinclair, treasurer of the Board of Trustees for 39 years, died April 20, 2005.

Former colleague Robert G. Den Dulk recalls: “For nearly seventy years, Westminster has had only two treasurers, one of them George . Under his direction, great advances were made in the overall financial management of the Seminary. He served Christ until he drew his last breath, and now serves him in the glory of eternity.”

A memorial service was held at Proclamation Presbyterian Church (PCA), Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he was an elder.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Seminary at PO Box 27009, Philadelphia, PA 19118.

Program News

“Westminster in the City” Program Launched
Westminster in the City launched last fall, offering a Certificate in Biblical and Urban Studies or a Master of Arts (Urban Mission emphasis) in the evenings on North Broad Street in Philadelphia. The Certificate is designed to assist church leaders in being more effective in their ministries in ever-changing urban communities; the M.A. combines the Seminary’s academic curriculum with personal involvement in, and guided reflection on, urban community and church life in the Philadelphia area.

Seoul Certificate Program Now Offered by IBCK
Last June, the Institute for Biblical Counseling in Korea (IBCK) took over Westminster’s non-degreed Certificate program in Biblical Counseling, which had been offered at the Asian Center for Theological Studies and Missions (ACTS) in Seoul, Korea. Certificate students who wish to enter Westminster’s D.Min. in Pastoral Counseling program in Philadelphia are eligible, upon admission, to transfer up to two modules from the IBCK program.

London Program Celebrates First Graduating Class
Chancellor Samuel T. Logan Jr., with London Program Director and Professor Carl R. Trueman, presided over the first London Program commencement ceremonies on September 3 in London. Moga Dinu, Robert Paul Benjamin Strivens, and Ian S. McNaughton received the Th.M. in Historical Theology. The London-based Th.M. is offered in association with the John Owen Centre for Theological Studies of London Theological Seminary.

Texas Campus Offers M.A.R.
Westminster’s Texas Campus recently received authorization from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to offer the M.A.R. (General Studies emphasis), as well as to continue offering the M.Div. (General Studies emphasis). The Seminary is also accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, and the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

Help us stay in touch!
For the most up-to-date Seminary news, events, audio downloads, faculty articles, and more, subscribe to our monthly eNews. Visit www.wts.edu and enter your email address.

Booknotes

The Heart of A Servant Leader: Letters of Jack Miller (P&R, 2005), edited by Barbara Miller Juliani. Though he passed away in 1996, the influence of Jack Miller, who taught practical theology at Westminster from 1966 to 1982, continues to reverberate through the organizations he served and the ministries of individuals he mentored. This collection of letters edited by his daughter is particularly intended as counsel to pastors and missionaries, but it gently and biblically challenges all believers to prayer, confession of sin, repentance, and living by faith. As in his life and ministry, Miller calls us to prayerfully focus upon the glorious good news of a glorious Savior.

Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament (Baker, 2005), by Peter Enns, ’89, professor of Old Testament and biblical hermeneutics. “ Enns has done the evangelical church a great service,” says Bruce K. Waltke, professor emeritus of Old Testament studies at Regent College . “By basing this book on data that is backed by excellent annotated bibliographies, by reflecting cogently on the material, and by writing in a clear style with unflinching honesty, Enns has given impetus to evangelicals to discuss the doctrines of inspiration and hermeneutics, and he offers an excellent base on which to develop their understanding of these most important doctrines in the twenty-first century.”

Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community (CCEF, 2005), by David Powlison, ’80, adjunct professor of practical theology. Most of us struggle to incorporate biblical truth in our relationships. Powlison’s follow-up to Seeing with New Eyes instructs how to demonstrate the person of Christ to those we seek to help. By wisely connecting Scripture with practical living, he teaches how to ask questions that communicate care, how to examine our listening, and how to be prepared to help others in need. Written primarily for professional counselors, the book will benefit anyone interested in applying biblical truth to relationships.

To order, visit www.wtsbooks.com or call 888-WTS-BOOK.