The Psalm is not a reflection focused on the pre-fall position of humanity in God’s creation but on God’s continued use of mankind in redemptive history.

Like me, many seminary graduates wish they could return to seminary and do it all over again. The time spent exploring the Bible, history, and theology while in conversation with professors and classmates is difficult to recapture once you graduate.

College freshman, you are about to step onto a bustling campus. Your heart will be tugged in different directions as excitement and anxiety rush through your veins. You will have new subjects to learn, events to attend, and friends to meet.

“This world is no friend to grace.” With these words, Eugene Peterson begins his book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society.

“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.

How do I know if I am called to ministry? What is the pathway to becoming a pastor? How can I grow and explore my gifts? These are some of the most common questions and considerations of those contemplating seminary. As Christians, our primary calling is to follow Jesus. First and foremost, we are made followers by him and for him.

In the last year, we also have all been reminded about the fragility of life and the uncertainties that can come with disease and death: COVID, a plummeting economy, violence in the streets almost unparalleled in history. Often in such times, we turn to the Psalter for comfort. Today, I’d like to take the reader on a brief survey of a familiar Psalm: Psalm 91.

That same vision to prepare Bible specialists was taken out West with the original WSC faculty, and it continues to guide the school today.

Undoubtedly this Synod and its Canons were vital to seventeenth century Calvinism theologically and ecclesiastically. But beyond providing a four-hundredth anniversary about which church historians can write, are the Canons actually valuable for Christians today? Not surprisingly, I answer that question with a resounding, Yes!

“It has been my pleasure to serve the church as a minister and, on loan, as a professor at Westminster Seminary California (WSC) for two decades. Many reasons come to mind when I consider why I feel so privileged to be a part of this institution. But one that stands out is its identity as an old school in a new age.”

Now, cultivating wisdom in hearts and minds is a daunting enterprise. It cannot be produced merely by classroom lectures, research papers, and final exams. Rather, wisdom thrives at the intersection of divinely-revealed truth and life’s confusing experience. And we can only grow in wisdom as a community.

UPDATE sat down with Rev. Kim in order to learn more about his life, career, and vision for WSC.

As a young Californian many things in Pennsylvania were a little strange. One oddity for me was that the lunch break at seminary began at 1:00 p.m. That seemed late to me (and I was hungry by then). So I asked someone why lunch was so late. The shocked reply was “because that was the way they did it at old Princeton.” In time I would discover that that was the answer to many questions, and, for me as a historian, it was a very satisfying answer. 

You are pioneers about to plunge into new territory. However long you’ve been a Christian, you have an exhilarating, challenging, terrifying adventure before you. This adventure will bring discoveries not only about God’s Word but also about yourself. It will change you from the inside out.

“The context of community is vital to seminary education because education is more than listening to a lecture.”

Professor Joel E. Kim reflects on the global reach of the Gospel through his own visits, as well as through the faithful labors of our WSC alumni

“These days, it seems, one sure-fire way to instigate a vigorous discussion in Reformed circles—whether around the Sunday dinner table or in the blogosphere—is to bring up the topic of “application” in sermons.”

This article does not analyze recent cultural shifts, but reflects more broadly on how Christians should understand their identity in the world.