News about Alumni Worldwide
We want to know what is NEW in your family, life, work and/or ministry. If you have moved recently, please send us your new contact information. Check back frequently and pray for one another. Please send your submissions to Communications@wts.edu.
Sincerely yours, in Christ,
Rev. John Currie
Director of Student Development and Alumni Relations
Recent Updates
Full Confidence for a Generation to Come
Dear Fellow Alumni,
At a recent Monday gathering of pastors, we were considering the contemporary implications of
2 Timothy 4:3-5. The challenge of doing ministry in a time that will not endure truth that comes from above, from outside our community and confronts the autonomy of people’s passions. We were encouraged by the simplicity and challenged by the weight of the inspired, apostolic, strategy in response to the time. "Preach the Word!"
Someone asked where the current, cultural trends against trust for divine truth began. Our conclusion was that, besides the postmodern approach to knowledge and truth, which has shaped the education and hearts of the current generation of culture makers, the church itself cleared the way for the reception of a provisional, contextual, perspective on truth among its children. By confessing the authority of Scripture on the one hand yet embracing pragmatism in ministry methodology on the other hand, the emerging generation was taught, by conduct if not by creed, that Scripture is not the final authority for all matters of faith and practice. When the current generation of the church embraces a provisional view of Scripture’s authority they are, in part, simply living the fruit of their forefathers’ approach to Scripture’s functional sufficiency.
What is needed in our time are churches and pastors who equip the next generation of culture makers to have full confidence in God’s Word. That equipping can only come from churches and pastors who themselves have full confidence in the Bible as the very word of God, who trust it not just for proclamation but also for the practice of life and ministry.
Westminster is committed to meeting this need by forming pastors and Christian leaders with the kind of trust for the Scriptures that equips them to equip the next generation of leaders who will love and live the truth. Through our faculty conference series we want to help meet the need by influencing a movement for culture shaping fidelity to the Word of God.
We hope you will encourage your church to join us at one of the Full Confidence conferences in your region this coming year and be renewed in your vision and ability to live and minister in our time.
Partnering with you for kingdom purposes,
Rev. John Currie, MAR, Director of Student Development and Alumni Relations jcurrie@wts.edu
2010 Honored Alumni
2010 Honored Alumni
[left to right] Rev. and Mrs. Thomas Tyson ('60), Rev. and Mrs. Carl Dirk ('60),
and Mrs. and Rev. Dr. Wayne Brauning; [seated] Rev. Paul Sito (’50)
Newest Westminster Alumni
"It is a great pleasure to congratulate our graduates...I would simply pray that you will all remember that you go out into the world not to be life coaches, or to teach people how to live better, but to proclaim the good news that Jesus Christ has died but is risen and now calls on all men and women everywhere to acknowledge this with their mouths and believe it in their hearts..."
- Rev. Dr. Carl R. Trueman, vice president for academic affairs
FULL STORY
Dr. Kim Returning Home
April 09, 2010
Koowon, Thank you for your encouraging letter. Would you please answer the following questions to help those outside Westminster know more about the Distinctives of a Westminster education?
1. How did God use Westminster to prepare you for becoming a professor yourself?
Westminter provided me with the theological foundation on which my ongoing reflection on the Bible is grounded. Specifically, Westminster hermeneutics has helped me a lot to interact with ancient Near Eastern literatures in a responsible manner as a Reformed christian (SEE "What Is Reformed Theology?").
Also, I should mention the kindness and generosity shown to me by the WTS faculty and friends. This is one of my dearest memories about WTS.
2. Why would you recommend Westminster to other International students?
WTS provides the best theological curriculum, introducing you to the rich tradition of Reformed theology.
It is my personal conviction that the WTS version of Reformed theology will equip both pastors and laymen to serve faithfully and powerfully for His kingdom building worldwide.
FULL STORY
Dr. Ryken Praying with Dr. Poythress at
Drs. Jue and Tipton Ordination
Martyred In Jos
"This picture is our pastor's house that was burned down. We continue to crave your prayers for us in the city of Jos, Nigeria. Our school has been reopened but things are just dull.
"Two members of our community were killed, a student and a husband of one of our staff. Many people have left Jos permanantly, because Islamic terrorism is unbearable.
"The end is not in sight. It's difficult to love Muslims but, by the grace of Christ, I still went to look for Mohammed - the Muslim I had picked up in my car and to whom I started sharing the gospel.
"I couldn't find him. I may not find out what happened to him since some Muslims lost their lives in the mayhem too."
- identity concealed for security
The Task of the Preacher
Rev. John Currie, WTS MAR, lecturer in practical theology, discusses the challenges involved in the task of preaching. He is also director of alumni relations and educational advancement at Westminster and formerly pastored Cornerstone Orthodox Presbtyerian Church in Ambler, PA. This episode is valuable for listeners of sermons too. The task of the preacher and the characteristics of a faithful sermon are things of which every believer ought to be familiar.
Click to hear Rev. Currie's interview on Christ the Center by MDiv student, Camden Bucey.
Visiting Haiti
"Last November, I had the privilege of spending a week in Haiti, serving alongside Westminster alumnus and OPC missionary, Rev. Ben Hopp (on right with Max). My mission for the week was to encourage the Hopps and assist Ben in training church leaders in the ministry of the word. We traveled to the Island of Lagonav and spent two days teaching 20 men...on the nature and process of Christ-centered, expository preaching," - Rev. John Currie
FULL STORY
Endorsement of The Shepherd Leader - "Here exegesis and exposition provide a solid biblical foundation. So this is also a wonderfully practical, as well as instructive book. It underlines principles that ministers and leaders can employ in the specifics of their own church context, and provides workable suggestions about how to put them into practice. We need this desperately today when so many are 'like sheep without a shepherd.' These pages have the potential to transform the way undershepherds together lead their flocks.” - Sinclair B. Ferguson, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC
Rev. Van Meerbeke, WTS MDiv 1994, and Rev. Witmer, WTS MDiv 1979, striking a pose at Crossroads...
Lilly Endowment
Rev. Dave Tate, MDiv 1992, senior pastor
at Manor Presbyterian Church, Cochranville, PA
Manor Presbyterian Church has been awarded a $49,700 grant from the Lilly Endowment so that David E. Tate (MDiv, 1992) can pursue a Clergy Renewal sabbatical in 2011. During the sabbatical Pastor Tate will visit various ministries that serve families with disabilities, researching best practices for Manor PCA to follow as it serves families impacted by physical disability. If you would like to learn more about this grant, please go to Lilly Endowment for Clergy Renewal.
Rev. Tate shares, "I am passionate about how the gospel changes people forever. When people really start to understand God's love for them expressed through Jesus Christ they start to think and act in totally new ways! I am amazed and grateful that I get a front-row seat in what God's doing in so many people's lives."
David has been the senior pastor since 2001. Before that he served as pastor of adult discipleship and youth pastor at New Life Presbyterian Church in Glenside, PA.
Dear Steve,
You asked for news from alumni. Here we are on July 1, 2009, celebrating Calvin's 500th in Geneva! My wife, Marina, took the photo.
Blessings,
John R. Hamilton, WTS PhD 1972
Dear Steve,
In May, 2009, I received the DMin degree from Erskine Theological Seminary with a concentration in preaching.
Sincerely,
R. J. Gore Jr., DMin, WTS PhD 1988
Professor of Systematic Theology, Erskine Theolological Seminary
"Between the paws of the True Aslan"
Paul Wells receiving his honorary doctorate from Dr. Lillback
.jpg "Paul Wells receiving his honorary doctorate from Dr. Lillback.")
Drs. Trueman and Lillback Flank Honorary Doctorate's Paul Wells and Alistair Begg
Common Ground Alumni Dinner, King of Prussia, PA - Spring 2009
