Why a Westminster PhD?

September 07, 2010

Camden Bucey (MDiv candidate), president of Reformed Forum, and Jared Oliphint (MAR, '05), director of admissions, interviewed several PhD candidates on the topic of getting a PhD after seminary on the Reformed Forum podcast, "Philosophy for Theologians."

Gabe Fluhrer (MDiv, Greenville) and Carlton Wynne (MDiv, RTS - Charlotte) are incoming PhD candidates at Westminster. Nate Shannon (MAR '06, ThM '09, Westminster) is a PhD candidate at the Free University of Amsterdam.

"That pastor-scholar model (not that I’m anywhere near being called a scholar) drew me to Westminster.  It seemed like a seamless path, from serving in the Church, to coming and getting a more rigorous academic training at Westminster.  [I did this] in hopes of going back and serving in the local church; trying to draw the arena of church and the academy closer together, and hopefully, in some kind of a leadership role or pastoral role, being able to engage with some of the academics that comes down the pike and really tend to inflict the church in a negative way.  I would love to be able to critically engage with some of that stuff in service to the local church."
Carlton Wynne

To listen to the complete interview, click here.