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by Arie Van Weelden
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5). The apostle Paul, in one of the most informative biblical books on pastoral ministry, gives this charge to his beloved child of the faith, Timothy. While written nearly 2,000 years ago, the charge and goal of this verse has not changed. I fondly remember examining this verse in my first practical theology class with Dr. Troxel. Through studying the various components of the verse, the goal for students of Westminster Seminary California who are preparing for pastoral ministry became clear: ordinary, faithful ministry.
As I prepare to graduate from seminary and enter into pastoral ministry, I am profoundly grateful for, not only the education I received at WSC, but the emphasis on pastoral ministry to the local church. Even outside of my practical theology classes, I observed the focus on ordinary, faithful ministry from each of my professors in their various disciplines. It was sweet to see all the curricula and professors work together in harmony as they sought to instill the same mission in their students.
In the preaching classes, the focus was being faithful to the text and proclaiming Christ and the beauty of his gospel—a stark contrast to popular preaching today, in which the focus and importance is on the preacher, not Christ. Dr. Troxel frequently tells us that the best sermons are the ones where the preacher gets out of the way and where the beauty of Christ and his benefits becomes the shining centerpiece. The prominence of this idea has shaped the way I think about preparing and delivering sermons.
Additionally, I am grateful for the Practical Theology department’s emphasis on internships at the local church. Through service to the church, interns gain not only more experience, but also have a chance to practically apply what they have learned about preaching, discipleship, and counseling as they minister to God’s people.
In my biblical studies classes, our professors have equipped us by teaching us the original languages, enabling us to become deeper and better students of God’s Word. Understanding the various genres in both the Old and New Testament has been helpful in giving me paradigms for how to better interpret each unique book in its own context. In particular, I am grateful to Dr. Estelle who introduced me to and had me read the likes of Geerhardus Vos and Meredith G. Kline. Both of these biblical theologians helped me understand my Bible better and were hugely influential in helping me read Scripture as one organically united story focused on Jesus Christ. In an age where many Christians are becoming less and less familiar with their Bibles, I hope to use the tools I’ve been given to help me teach the Scriptures faithfully to God’s people.
I am deeply indebted to my systematic theology professors for the way that they have helped me understand biblically and theologically not only what the Reformed tradition has believed, but why they have believed those doctrines. This has allowed me to engage and dialogue with church members from youths to adults who have good, practical questions about doctrine and its impact on the Christian life and our worship.
My church history professors and classes gave me traceable narratives throughout history and incredibly helpful frameworks to better understand historical theology. Through all the councils, events, and theologians studied, these professors helped cultivate a deeper sense of appreciation for all the brothers and sisters that have gone before us. Furthermore, they instilled in me a humility in seeing God’s faithfulness to the church, even in the midst of some very bleak moments. Ultimately, the lessons from church history taught me that Christ is the head of the church, and, like all the other faithful ministers of the past, we are merely servants of the great King.
While there is nothing fancy or flashy about what I have received in my education at WSC, it is more than I could have hoped for. In the current climate of the church, there is a great need for well-trained and faithful ministers of the Word. Ordinary ministry should still be equipped ministry. In a church culture that emphasizes book deals, conference gigs, podcast downloads, and sermon bites, members in the local church long for ministers who feed their flock from the Word, walk with them through the joys and sorrows of living in a sin-cursed world, and serve them faithfully every week.
While ordinary faithful ministry is unlikely to spark biographies or create pastors of great renown, that is the beauty of this approach: honoring and glorifying the name of Christ rather than his servants. As I prepare to graduate seminary and move into pastoral ministry, I look back on my education at WSC with great fondness. Thinking about the focus of my education—this ordinary faithful ministry—I remember that seminary is not an end in and of itself. Rather, the education here is seeking to equip pastors for a lifetime of everyday faithfulness to their churches.
For this reason, I am increasingly thankful for my time as a student here. My seminary education has given me a foundation and tools to build upon for a lifetime of learning, but also a good posture and attitude for ministry. Far from pushing their students to write books or start new podcasts, my professors, above all, encouraged us to preach Christ, love our people well, die and then be forgotten. Dr. Troxel once painted a beautiful hypothetical scenario where two older church ladies remark on the faithful ministry of a pastor they had, but are not able to remember his name.
This disposition is my hope as I enter into pastoral ministry: a love for the local church, love for Christ and his gospel, and not spurning the privilege of having ordinary moments where a minister gets to hold up the beauty and glory of Christ to weary pilgrims. The focus and treasure of ministry is not our successes in ministry, but bringing glory to Christ and loving his Bride, the church, faithfully. A minister’s true reward for faithful ministry is the joy of standing before our beautiful Savior one day and hearing from his lips, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:23). Until that day comes, I pray and give thanks for WSC, and hope that the Lord continues to bless this institution that values ordinary faithful gospel ministry and seeks to instill that value in each student.
This article is from our Summer 2024 edition of UPDATE Magazine, Grateful & Hopeful: Faithfully Stewarding God’s Gifts to the Seminary.
