Category Archives: Pastoral Ministry

  1. Spring 2025 WSA Convocation

    “The Non-Insistent Pastor: Conscience and Submission in History, Theology, and Churchmanship” Dr. Harrison Perkins April 10-11, 2025 For the spring 2025 term, the Westminster Student Association has invited Dr. Harrison Perkins to speak to the student body on “The Non-Insistent Pastor”. In two lectures (taking place Thursday, April 10th, and Friday, April 11th), Dr. Perkins…

  2. 2025 Annual den Dulk Lecture Videos

    Robert G. and Nellie B. den Dulk Lectures on Pastoral Ministry 2025 DAY ONE VIDEOS The Needed Eyesight of a Church Planting Pastor: 2 Corinthians 5:16  DAY TWO VIDEOS The Rearview Mirror of a Church Planting Pastor: Philippians 4:9 

  3. 2025 den Dulk Lectures: Oh Lord, Open My Eyes

    Annual Robert G. and Nellie B. den Dulk Lectures on Pastoral Ministry The Robert G. and Nellie B. den Dulk Lectures on Pastoral Ministry were endowed by friends of WSC and the den Dulks in 1993. In appreciation for the den Dulks’ 30-year service to the Westminster Seminaries in Pennsylvania and California and in recognition…

  4. Upcoming Event: Engaging the House Churches in China and their Theology

    November 19, 2024 at 6:30 PM WSC Student Lounge Join us  November 19, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. for a Panel Discussion and Refreshments, on the topic of “Engaging the House Churches in China and their Theology” hosted by the Center for House Church Theology. Hear directly from a panel of those who have worked with the…

  5. Upcoming Event: Marriage & Family Matters in Ministry

    September 26, 2024 at 6:30–8:00 PM WSC Student Lounge WSC is pleased to welcome Mrs. Karen Hodge, coordinator for PCA Women’s Ministry, and Rev. Chris Hodge, pastor of Village Seven Presbyterian Church, for an evening of engagement regarding calling, ministry, marriage, family, and boundaries. How often do you hear or say, “I’m so busy?” This…

  6. A Pastor’s Reflections: My Heroes

    When I was a kid I had a number of heroes—people I looked up to, admired, and wanted to emulate. I wanted to have the calm and cool mind of Joe Montana, who could run the two-minute drill without breaking a sweat. 

  7. A Pastor’s Reflections: Taking Notes

    One of the biggest weekly challenges I face is getting my children to pay attention in church. My kids are probably no worse than any other. And, let me be clear, they are generally very well behaved in church.

  8. A Pastor’s Reflections: Funerals and Sinners

    I was once asked to do a funeral for the grandmother of one of my younger church members. This young man told me that his grandmother was a believer, so I was a bit relieved. It’s difficult enough to do a funeral for a Christian, let alone an unbeliever who died in an unrepentant state.

  9. A Pastor’s Reflections: Corporal Punishment and the Means of Grace

    In the church many godly Christians have well-intended but nevertheless misguided notions about the doctrine of sanctification, especially when it comes to their children.

  10. A Pastor’s Reflections: Important Reading

    I can remember sitting in various classes in seminary (not WSC) and hearing all about the supposed composition of the Bible. Moses didn’t write the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) but was instead written by at least four different authors spread over several hundred years long after Moses lived, if he lived at all.

  11. A Pastor’s Reflections: Playing with Fire

    “If you play with fire, you’re bound to get burned,” is an adage that conveys both great wisdom and warning for would-be pyromaniacs. But the warning is equally apt for theologians in the church. Sometimes they find ideas that they believe are useful, especially in theological debate.

  12. A Pastor’s Reflections: Christianity and Islam–a View from the Past

    One of the most pressing issues in our day is the growth of Islam. Some statistics claim that Islam is the fastest growing religion and that if current growth rates continue that Muslims will surpass the world’s Christian population by the end of the century.

  13. A Pastor’s Reflections: When Friends Turn On You

    John Calvin had many friends in his life, but some of his friendships did not stand the test of time and the stress of ministry. One friend in particular, Sebastian Castellio, embraced the Reformation and joined Calvin in Strasbourg to work alongside of him.

  14. A Pastor’s Reflections: The Gospel Comes with a House Key

    We live in a day and age when activism of all kinds is on display on the internet, cable news broadcasts, and print media. The world’s mentality is, if you want to get something done, you have to protest, march, boycott, or do something to wield power and influence to promote your agenda

  15. A Pastor’s Reflections: Pray before you Study

    One of the casualties of the modern theological curriculum is the division of the different theological disciplines. In the nineteenth-century theologians created the fourfold division of theology: biblical studies, church history, theology, and practical theology.

  16. A Pastor’s Reflections: Intangibles

    A retired football player recently made headlines when he was flummoxed by the fact that he was not nominated to the pro football hall of fame. On the one hand, the player has a point. He was one of the NFL’s top players and has the statistics to prove it.

  17. A Pastor’s Reflections: Divine Pruning

    I can remember that over the course of 24 months I had more than ten families tell me that they were re-locating due to job transfers. When I received the first intimations of these moves, I thought, “Well, that’s ok. God willing we can find some other families to fill the space.”

  18. A Pastor’s Reflections: Dealing with Burnout

    I regularly run across statistics that say that thousands of pastors each year leave the ministry and cite burn out as a chief reason. While some have challenged the accuracy of these statistics, it doesn’t change the fact that burn out is a real problem for many pastors.

  19. A Pastor’s Reflections: The Psychology of Atheism and Fathers

    Sigmund Freud once famously opined that religion was merely the wishful projection of weak people who were looking for their lost father figure. Freud was echoing the earlier theory of Ludwig Feurbach, who made the same claim.

  20. A Pastor’s Reflections: The Case for Christ (the Movie)

    I was recently was perusing the newly added movies to Netflix and amidst the usual collection of never-heard-of movies was a title that caught my attention, The Case for Christ. I knew of the book, written by Lee Strobel, but was unaware that there was a movie.