Dr. Troxel has taught at Westminster Seminary California since 2019. In addition, he is currently a part-time associate pastor at Harvest Orthodox Presbyterian Church in nearby San Marcos. Formerly, he served as pastor of Bethel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, Illinois (2007–19) and as pastor of Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Glenside, Pennsylvania (1995–2007). His introduction to the ministry was by itinerating in congregations of the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) in Wasilla and Fairbanks, Alaska. He taught systematic theology as an adjunct at Westminster Theological Seminary and ministerial studies at Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He has also served as a faculty member for the Ministerial Training Institute of the OPC since 2002 and is presently a member of the OPC’s Committee on Christian Education. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.
Dr. Troxel has published numerous articles in publications such as Westminster Theological Journal, Presbyterion, Fides et Historia, Calvin Theological Journal, Trinity Journal, Didaktikos, Unio cum Christo as well as New Horizons, Ordained Servant, Tabletalk, and Modern Reformation. He is the author of With All Your Heart: Orienting Your Mind, Desires, and Will Toward Christ (Crossway, 2020); What is Man? (P&R, 2010); and What is the Priesthood of Believers? (P&R, 2019). His research interests include pastoral theology, Reformed spirituality, the doctrine of the church, and biblical teaching on the heart.
Dr. Troxel and his wife, Carol, have five children and five grandchildren.
BA Anderson University; MATS Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; PhD Westminster Theological Seminary
Evangelical Theological Society
First and foremost, I hope that everything I do encourages the students in their love for the one who bought them, Jesus Christ the Lord, and the Father who sent him and the Spirit who applies him. And that they would know that Christ truly is our “all in all” and is sufficient for whatever we need and do—whether for ourselves or in our service for his name.
Secondly, I wish to inflame in them a love for what Christ loves—particularly his church. For any Christian, but especially for pastors, this needs to be a love that rises above the temptation to become cynical on the one hand and yet avoids the fragile thoughts of idealism on the other. We minister to fellow sinners, but those who are being transformed from glory to glory.
Thirdly, As for preaching, I want to do my part to instill in them a vision to be faithful and effective ambassadors for Christ; which is no small feat in our day. But Christ’s ambassadors never have been and never will be sufficient in themselves for this task—our sufficiency for this is in God.
Fourthly, the above list can only but lead us to one, obvious important conclusion: the indispensable role of prayer.
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With All Your Heart: Orienting Your Mind, Desires and Will Toward Christ (Crossway, 2020)
What is Man? (Presbyterian & Reformed, 2010)
What is the Priesthood of Believers? (Presbyterian & Reformed, 2019)
“Communion of the Saints: Sharing the Spirit-Endowed Riches of Christ’s Gifts and Graces,” in Theology for Ministry: How Doctrine Affects Pastoral Life and Practice (P&R, 2020)
“The World Is Not Enough: The Priority of the Church in Christ’s Cosmic Headship,” in Confident of Better Things: Essays Commemorating Seventy-Five Years of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (The Committee for the Historian of the OPC, 2011)
“Foreword” to Stuart Robinson’s The Church of God (1858; reprint, The Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 2009).
“2002 Preface” to James Bannerman’s Church of Christ (reprint, Westminster Books, 2002).
“Is Love Ever Wrong?” Ligonier website (February 27, 2025)
“Loving God with our Whole Being,” Tabletalk (December, 2024)
“The Habits of the Heart,” New Horizons (June 2024)
“What Does the Bible Mean by ‘the Heart?’” Ligonier website (June 28, 2024)
“God’s Image: Two in One, Two Become One,” Tabletalk (June, 2024)
“Heady Thoughts on Your Heart,” Modern Reformation (April, 2024)
“Your Heavenly Mindset,” New Horizons (June, 2023)
“Image of God,” Tabletalk (September, 2022)
“The Church’s Power: James Bannerman,” New Horizons (October, 2021)
“Three Ways to Surrender Your Will to Christ” Crossway (September, 2021)
“The Cure for Hypocrisy,” TableTalk (March 10, 2021)
“Not Afraid of Bad News,” New Horizons (September, 2020), 8-9
“Help! I Can’t Get Control Over My Tongue,” Crossway (2019)
“Why You Shouldn’t Follow Your Heart,” Crossway (2019)
“The Witness of the Communion of Saints,” TableTalk (June, 2020), 10-11
“Ideal Is Not Ideal,” Didaktikos 4:1 (September 2020) 6
“The Heart Undivided: How Believers Struggle with Doubt” OPC Website
“The Heart Divided: When Believers Struggle with Doubt” OPC Website
“The Devourer Devoured,” New Horizons 34:4 (April, 2013), 3-5
“Presbyterian Salsa: Westminster’s Recipe for the ‘Communion of the Saints,’” New Horizons 32:3 (March, 2011), 3-5
“The Prodigal Son,” Modern Reformation 19:5 (September-October, 2010) 37
“Sincerely Yours: The Marks of the True Authentic Church,” New Horizons 30:1 (January, 2009) 3-5
“Why Preachers Should Read Fiction,” Ordained Servant (March, 2007)
“Communion with the Triune God,” New Horizons 27:5 (2006) 3-5
“Communion with God the Father,” New Horizons 27:6 (2006) 21-22
“Communion with God the Son,” New Horizons 27:7 (2006) 10-11
“Communion with God the Spirit,” New Horizons 27:8 (2006) 10-11
“iReformanda,” Reformation21(2006)
“The Lord’s Supper vs. the Corinthians’ Supper,” New Horizons 26:6 (2005) 5-6, 21
“Christ, Our Substitute,” New Horizons 25:2 (February, 2004) 6-8, 11.
“Pilgrims of Providence: Does God Have a Wonderful Plan for My Life?” Modern Reformation 13:1 (January-February, 2004) 17-21, 29.
“A Passion for Purity,” God’s Word Today 35:2 (February, 2002) 8-9.
“Amour Adulterine: The Myriad Flirtations of the Soul,” Modern Reformation 10:6 (November-December, 2001) 28-31.
“People Who Say and Do Strange Things,” New Horizons 23:2 (February, 2002).
Review of Calvin’s Ecclesiology: A Study in the History of Doctrine by Tadataka Maruyama, Westminster Theological Journal Vol. 85, No. 2 (Fall, 2023) 355-359.
Review of The Heart is the Target by Murray Capell Ordained Servant 25 (2016): 120-123.
“Facing the Idol Factory: A Review Article” (Review of Counterfeit Gods, by Tim Keller) Ordained Servant 19 (2010): 136-138.
“Defining the Human: Personal Identity in Theological Perspective: A Review Article,” Ordained Servant 17 (2008): 138-141.
“Church and Kingdom: Not Putting Asunder What Christ Brought Together,” Unio Cum Christo Vol. 9, No. 2 (October, 2023) 23-43.
“Preaching to All the Heart,” Unio cum Christo 7.2 (October, 2021) 155-170.
“Men in Combat over the Civil Law: WCF 19:4 and General Equity,” Co-author with Peter J. Wallace, Westminster Theological Journal 64:2 (Spring, 2002) 307-318.
“‘Cleansed Once For All’: John Owen on the Glory of Gospel Worship in Hebrews,” Calvin Theological Journal 32:2 (November, 1997) 468-479.
“Charles Hodge on Church Boards: A Case-Study in Ecclesiology,” Westminster Theological Journal 58 (1996) 183-207.
“Amyraut ‘at’ the Assembly: The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Extent of the Atonement,” Presbyterion 22:1 (Spring, 1996) 43-55.
“All Things to All People: Justin Martyr’s Apologetical Method,” Fides et Historia 27:2 (Summer, 1995) 23-43.
“What did Augustine ‘Confess’ in his Confessions?” Trinity Journal 15NS (1994) 163-79.
