Word

Standing on the Word. The phrase reminds me of the church I grew up in. I heard it preached from the pulpit. I heard it sung from the choir loft. I saw it lived in the courageous faith of my parents. I hear it and I think back. With joy. In much that has happened in my vocational life, I reconsider it. And I am filled with gratitude. For Ted Wardlaw. Because the phrase also reminds me of him.

One of the offerings Ted brought to the presidency of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary was the gift of proclamation. He is a master at using human words to interpret God’s Word. He is a great preacher. His textual insights comfort and challenge, provoke and calm. Most of all, they teach. Many are the times that I have heard or read one of Ted’s sermons and, through the lens of his incisive, faithful, even witty insights, been opened to Scripture’s words in a fascinating, novel way.

Ted’s articles and lectures are equally engaging. Several years ago, Ted and I were invited to draft lectures that would ultimately be published for the 200th anniversary of the Presbyterian Outlook. As we conferred together about how to approach the task in a complementary fashion, I delighted in Ted’s dedication to copious research on the topic he chose, his engagement of impactful contextual issues, and his collegial conversations with me as we together shaped our efforts for public presentation. Whether scriptural and historical or popular and contemporary, he values the words people past and present have used to witness to their faith and identity. He demonstrates how much he values their words by how vigorously he interrogates them, seeking, as scholar, to understand, and, if necessary, contest the truths their words confess, aspiring as preacher, lecturer, and teacher to engage those truths for his hearers and readers in meaningful, constructive, and transformational ways. I remember with thanksgiving how, standing firmly on God’s Word of liberation for all God’s people, he issued a call for repentance from a church that too often stands less upon the Word than at a safe distance from it. A church that, too often, seeks equilibrium when prophetic action is required. “The gospel is about more than balance,” he writes. “To put it more strongly, it’s not about balance at all. I believe that, in these days as we are busy creating the history of our reunited Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)—some portion of which was born out of the heresies of the Confederacy, we are being called to venture beyond the safety of balance. We are being called to strive to be more faithful, thank God, than the church we grew up in.”

I grew up in a church that fostered good, strong leadership by modeling and mentoring it. One didn’t just stand on the Word; one stood on the shoulders of those who strode the path before them. I am also filled with gratitude because Ted was both such a model and mentor to me. Already a seminary president for five years when I was called to the presidency of his theological alma mater, (now) Union Presbyterian Seminary, Ted was willing to share his wisdom about the opportunities and challenges of being a theological administrator. Ted invited me to reach out whenever I might need advice and if ever I just needed the listening ears and friendly voice of someone who was journeying the road a few years ahead of me. I accepted his offer often. True to his word, he, his counsel, and his friendship have always been readily available.

Standing on the Word. Standing by his word. The phrases will always remind me of President Ted Wardlaw.

– The Reverend Dr. Brian Blount President of Union Presbyterian Seminary

It is no secret that Ted Wardlaw is a high church Presbyterian. In an earlier day, his love of neo-Gothic architecture, formal liturgy, organ music, and choral singing might have been labelled “Presbypalian,” and his allegiance to the Reformed worship traditions of plain décor, unscripted prayers, and psalm-singing only would have been called into question. Suspicions might have been heightened by his wardrobe. Though on state occasions he does break out his Stetson and cowboy boots, his signature business attire—bow tie and navy blazer—has a distinctly Anglican flair.

Today Ted’s worship predilections are uncontroversial. In fact, in a culture that privileges pictures over words, 280-character tweets over lengthier commentary, and brief punchy blogs over carefully crafted essays, many would say that he is helping to rescue the Reformed tradition from such major defects as verbosity and lack of visual appeal. Anyone who observes Ted over time, however, knows that his respect for words is profound and his skill in using them the most notable of his many gifts for ministry.

Ted’s verbal acuity is evident in his institutional leadership. His style is marked as much by what he doesn’t say as by what he does. He is privy to a lot of information, including personal details about staff, faculty, and students, but he keeps confidences and does not gossip. When he speaks as president, whether in ceremonial settings or policy debates, he uses relatively few words, choosing them carefully for accuracy and clarity. And although Ted has never asked me for money—he probably figured out that I don’t have enough to make it worth his time—I strongly suspect that it is his considerate listening and sensitive speaking that have made him a successful fund raiser.

Ted’s deep Reformed convictions and his deft use of words in their service are most evident in his preaching. In our tradition, as Thomas Torrance put it, the truth is a person, and faith entails a relationship with that person. Words bring us closer to the living Word. We have no idea—the Shroud of Turin and Sallman’s Head of Christ notwithstanding—what Jesus looked like. We don’t know—red letter Bibles and the Jesus Seminar notwithstanding—exactly what he said. But we do have Spirit-infused accounts of what his disciples heard him teach and saw him do—and then handed on to others who wrote down what they heard. Ted finds the contemporary language to keep these accounts inspirited and lively for contemporary listeners. He uses relatable illustrations but keeps them in their place, never permitting the illustration to supplant the scripture. His discourses have shape and come to a point. They are, as southerners like Ted would say, “winsome,” and also compelling and full of gospel truth. Whatever Ted chooses to do next, let us hope that we who would see and love Jesus can benefit from his gracefully worded and powerfully Reformed sermons for many years to come.

– Barbara G. Wheeler President of Auburn Seminary (1979-2009)