I wish every pastor presently serving had the privilege of being taught preaching by the professors I had at WSC. I wish everyone could know what it was like to preach for the first time, humbly offering to your fellow students, to your professor, and to God your best efforts. Meager, but sincerely given. To preach and receive the loving smile of Dennis Johnson and hear the kind, “Thank you, brother.” Before being warmed as he explained what you did well, how you blessed him. How you honored God. Before being encouraged as he lovingly pointed out places you may have misstepped or texts that you could have brought in to strengthen the flow of your sermon. I wish they could have had the experience I had after preaching Mark 7 in Dr. Julius Kim’s class. “Derek, your biblical exposition was great. Your delivery was excellent, and I appreciated your application, but I feel like you missed something big in this sermon.” “What was that?” “The cross, Derek. You forgot to tell us about the cross.” “Yeah, that’s a big miss, Dr. Kim. I’m sorry about that.” “I understand. Next time you preach it, make sure you don’t miss the cross. And every time after that.” I wish every preacher had been able to sit under the preaching instruction of my grandpa. By the time I got to his class, he had long been retired. He was 84. And as a professor emeritus, he was still teaching one section of preaching at WSC for seniors – our last preaching class. The last preaching class he would teach. Grandpa taught mostly through stories. He had a bunch of them. Each mined from the wealth of experience he had as a pastor, first in rural South Dakota, then in urban Chicago, last in suburban Michigan. After a student would preach, grandpa would rarely give direct feedback, but instead respond by telling a story. More than once a student would ask me during the break “so…did he like my sermon? Did that story mean it was bad?” I would shrug and encourage them to just take the story for what it was, an experienced minister sharing his wisdom. When I preached in his class, grandwscal .e d u
pa didn’t offer any feedback. He dismissed us for a longer break than usual. As the students exited and I looked back at him sitting at the back of the classroom, I understood it was because he was overcome with emotion that his grandson was about to become a minister of the gospel. He had been praying throughout my life that I would become a pastor. And so at that time he was bowed low with tears of gratitude. At my ordination my grandpa gave the charge to preach Christ. And then he wept. More tears of gratitude. Bob Godfrey preached the sermon – a Psalm! And he conveyed to Orland Park Christian Reformed Church, where I serve as lead pastor, the fullness of faithfulness, humor, and love for Jesus, which characterizes the best of Westminster Seminary California. I was ordained and installed to lead a precious group of Christians. I have served them for 8 years now. And I have sought to make the motto of my alma matter my own – for Christ, His Gospel, & His Church. Last November I had the privilege of preaching the sermon at my grandfather’s funeral. I told a lot of stories. I received messages from my professors who cared for him and reached out to care for me. And I heard several comments from other ministers who had themselves been encouraged to come to Westminster by my grandfather, who had sat under his instruction, who had been charged by my grandpa to preach Christ. This time the tears were my own. Tears of sorrow and loss, certainly. But also tears of gratitude. For the prayers grandpa had prayed, the world of Christ-centered exposition he had first opened to me. And the mentors I had met because of his direction. And so, strengthened by the faithful instruction I’ve received from my grandfather and my alma mater, I continue on in the power of the Holy Spirit for the cause of Christ Jesus, endeavoring to invite people into the beautiful world of the text of Scripture. Calling them to meet the Jesus we find in every part of the Bible. To take up their cross and follow him in obedience and love. And, Dr. Kim, I don’t believe I’ve ever forgotten the cross again.
ALUMNI NEWS 1988 John Vermeer is currently serving as
pastor of the Doon United Reformed Church in Doon, Iowa. I have served there for nearly three years, and the Doon URC congregation just recently helped me celebrate 30 years in the gospel ministry. My ministerial anniversary is September 30, 1990. Tom Carter retired in 2020 after 44 years of ministry as a pastor. For 38 years he served as the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dinuba, California. He is the author of more than ten Christian books. 1990 Bruce C. Mawhinney retired from the
pastorate December 31, 2017. He serves on the Ministry Relations Committee of the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery of the PCA and resides in Lancaster, PA, with his wife, Carol. Bruce recently contributed a chapter to a Festschrift for Jay Adams, entitled Whole Counsel:The Public and Private Ministries of the Word, Essays in Honor of Jay E. Adams, Donn R. Arms and Dave Swavely, Editors (2020. Institute for Nouthetic Studies). 2000 Matt Holst serves as pastor at High Plains
Fellowship (PCA) in Falcon, CO. The Lord blessed the congregation with their first building in the Spring of 2020 after the school they had been meeting in could no longer accommodate them due to COVID restrictions. 2001 Rev. Stephen Donovan who served the
congregation at Escondido United Reformed Church for over 19 years, retired on December 1, 2020, and was granted emeritation by the EURC Council. Rev. Donovan and his wife, Suzzonne, continue to live in Escondido and worship as members of the EURC. 2002 Jason Kim is in his first year as senior
pastor of La Habra Christian Church. Due to the pandemic, the church is doing outdoor worship in the parking lot. 17
