View source for W. Robert Godfrey

{{Infobox theologian
| image              = File:Robert-Godfrey.jpg
| name               = W. Robert Godfrey
| birth_date         = 1945
| occupation         = Professor, seminary president, author, minister
| nationality        = American
| theology           = [[Reformed theology]]
| affiliations       = [[Ligonier Ministries]], [[Westminster Seminary California]]
| notable_works      = [[An Unexpected Journey (book)|An Unexpected Journey]], [[God's Pattern for Creation (book)|God's Pattern for Creation]], [[Pleasing God in Our Worship (book)|Pleasing God in Our Worship]]
| spouse             = [[Mary Ellen Godfrey]]
| education = [[Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary]], [[Stanford University]]}}

'''W. Robert Godfrey''' is a minister in the [[United Reformed Churches in North America]] and formerly served as the third president of [[Westminster Seminary California]]. As of 2017 he is president emeritus and [[professor emeritus]] of [[church history]]. He currently is chairman of [[Ligonier Ministries]], located in [[Sanford, Florida]], a position he took over from the late Dr. [[R. C. Sproul]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ligonier.org/learn/teachers/w-robert-godfrey/|title=W. Robert Godfrey &#124; Resources from Ligonier Ministries}}</ref>

He has taught at Westminster Seminary California since 1981 and previously taught at [[Westminster Theological Seminary]] in [[Philadelphia]], as well as [[Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary]] and [[Stanford University]]. He is a council member of the [[Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals]], an organization of pastors and theologians from the [[Baptist]], [[Presbyterian]], [[Reformed church|Reformed]], [[Anglican]], [[Congregational church|Congregational]], and [[Lutheran]] church communities. He has been a speaker at many theological conferences, including those sponsored by the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, Ligonier Ministries, and the [[Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://wscal.edu/academics/faculty-bio/w-robert-godfrey|title=Dr. W. Robert Godfrey|access-date=November 29, 2012}}</ref>

Godfrey earned his Master of Divinity from [[Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary]] and a Master of Arts and PhD from [[Stanford University]].

Godfrey grew up in [[Alameda, California]], where his father and grandfather each served as mayor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wscal.edu/academics/faculty/w.-robert-godfrey|title=An interview with W. Robert Godfrey|access-date=May 22, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2004/11/08/island-mourns-the-death-of-mr-alameda/|title=Island mourns the death of 'Mr. Alameda'|last=McDonough|first=Susan|date=August 11, 2004|work=East Bay Times|access-date=May 22, 2018}}</ref> He was introduced to Calvinism when he was a teenager.<ref name=journey/> He lives in California with his wife Mary Ellen, with whom he has three grown children, who also reside in California.<ref>{{citation|url=https://wscal.edu/media/docs/WSC_facBio_godfrey_2017.pdf|title=W. Robert Godfrey Biography|access-date=May 22, 2018}}</ref>

In 2010 a ''[[Festschrift]]'' was published in his honor. ''Always Reformed: Essays in Honor of W. Robert Godfrey'' included contributions from [[R. Scott Clark]], [[Sinclair B. Ferguson]], [[D. G. Hart]], [[Michael S. Horton]], [[Richard A. Muller]], [[R. C. Sproul]], and [[David VanDrunen]].

==Published works==
Books written by Godfrey include the following:
*''Pleasing God in Our Worship'' (1999)
*''God's Pattern for Creation: A Covenantal Reading of '' (2003)
*''Reformation Sketches: Insights into Luther, Calvin, and the Confessions'' (2003)
*''An Unexpected Journey: Discovering Reformed Christianity'' (2004, autobiographical)<ref name=journey/>
*''John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor'' (2009)
*''Westminster Seminary California: A New Old School'' (2012, co-written with [[D. G. Hart]])
*''Learning to Love the Psalms'' (2017)
*''Saving the Reformation: The Pastoral Theology of the Canons of Dort'' (2019)

He has written chapters or articles for the following books:
*''John Calvin: His Influence in the Western World'' (1982)
*''Through Christ's Word: A Festschrift for [[Philip Edgcumbe Hughes|Dr. Philip E. Hughes]]'' (1985)
*''Theonomy: A Reformed Critique'' (1990, editor, along with [[William S. Barker]])
*''The Agony of Deceit: What Some TV Preachers are Really Teaching'' (1990)
*''Roman Catholicism''
*''Sola Scriptura!: The Protestant Position on the Bible'' (1995)
*''The Practice of Confessional Subscription'' (1995)
*''The Coming Evangelical Crisis: Current Challenges to Authority of Scripture and the Gospel'' (1996)
 
Godfrey has also written articles for [[Academic journal|journals]] such as the ''[[Westminster Theological Journal]]'', ''[[Archive for Reformation History]]'', and ''[[Sixteenth-Century Journal]]''.

==References==

[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American Calvinist and Reformed theologians]]
[[Category:Christians from California]]
[[Category:Westminster Theological Seminary faculty]]
[[Category:Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary faculty]]
[[Category:Stanford University faculty]]
[[Category:Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries]]
[[Category:Stanford University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians]]
[[Category:21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians]]
[[Category:Westminster Seminary California faculty]]
[[Category:1945 births]]