Joel Beeke: Difference between revisions

'''Joel Robert Beeke''' (born December 9, 1952) is an American [[Calvinism|Reformed]] [[Christian theology|theologian]] who is a [[pastor]] in the [[Heritage Reformed Congregations]] and the chancellor of [[Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary]]. Under the oversight of the Heritage Reformed Congregations, Beeke helped found Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in 1995, where he served as president until he assumed the chancellorship in 2023. He teaches there as the [[professor]] of [[homiletics]], [[systematic theology]], and [[Pastoral theology|practical theology]]. Beeke has also taught as [[Adjunct professor|adjunct faculty]] at [[Reformed Theological Seminary]] and [[Cornerstone Theological Seminary|Grand Rapids Theological Seminary]] (now Cornerstone Theological Seminary); he was an adjunct professor of theology at [[Westminster Theological Seminary]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], from 1993 to 1998; he lectured in homiletics at [[Westminster Seminary California]] in [[Escondido, California]] from 1995 to 2001; and he has lectured at dozens of [[Seminary|seminaries]] around the world.

Beeke founded Reformation Heritage Books in 1994. He was the president and editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books from 1994 to 2022 and has been the board chairman since 2022. He is the [[Editing|editor]] of the ''Puritan Reformed Journal'' and ''The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth'' magazine, the [[Periodical literature|periodical]] of the Heritage Reformed Congregations; he is the president of Inheritance Publishers, a ministry that republishes [[sermon]]s in the Reformed tradition from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries; and he is the vice president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society.<ref>“Joel R. Beeke,” Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, January 23, 2024, <nowiki>https://prts.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JoelBeeke-CV-2023.pdf</nowiki>, 1–2.</ref>

Beeke has written extensively on systematic and [[historical theology]], particularly on the [[Puritans]], [[Calvinism]], holiness, [[Assurance (theology)|assurance]], and the doctrines of grace, as well as on pastoral ministry, biblical family life, and Christian living. Through his preaching, teaching, speaking, writing, and seminary leadership, Beeke promotes the experiential piety and preaching of the Puritans as well as the [[Protestant Reformers|Reformers]], the seventeenth-century Scottish [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]], and the Dutch divines of the ''[[Nadere Reformatie]]''. In recognition of Beeke’s contributions to the church and the academy, particularly his impact on the renaissance of interest in Puritan theology in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a [[Festschrift]] entitled ''Puritan Piety: Writings in Honor of Joel R. Beeke'' was published in 2018, including contributions from [[Richard Muller (theologian)|Richard A. Muller]], [[Chad Van Dixhoorn]], [[Michael Haykin|Michael A. G. Haykin]], [[Sinclair Ferguson|Sinclair B. Ferguson]], and [[W. Robert Godfrey]].<ref>''Puritan Piety: Writings in Honor of Joel R. Beeke'', ed. Michael A. G. Haykin and Paul M. Smalley (Fearn, UK: Christian Focus, 2018).</ref>

Joel Robert Beeke was the fourth of five children and the third son born to John Beeke (1920–1993) and Johanna (née Van Strien) Beeke (1920–2012) on December 9, 1952, in [[Kalamazoo, Michigan]].<ref>“Church News: John Beeke [Obituary],” ''Banner of Truth'' 59, no. 4 (April 1993): 108; Paul M. Smalley, “Introduction: The Puritan Piety of Joel Beeke,” in ''Puritan Piety: Writings in Honor of Joel R. Beeke'', ed. Michael A. G. Haykin and Paul M. Smalley (Fearn, UK: Christian Focus, 2018), 10.</ref> Beeke’s father, John Beeke, was born in [[Krabbendijke]], the [[Netherlands]], and emigrated to the [[United States]] with his family when he was seven years old.<ref>Smalley, ''Puritan Piety'', 10.</ref> John and Johanna Beeke were devout [[Christians]] and raised their children in the [[Netherlands Reformed Congregations]].<ref>Smalley, ''Puritan Piety'', 10; “Testimony of Dr. Joel Beeke,” SermonAudio, May 5, 2013, <nowiki>https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=55132115396</nowiki>. 7:00–59.</ref> John Beeke worked as a [[Carpentry|carpenter]] and served as a [[Presbyterian polity#Elder|ruling elder]] in the Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Kalamazoo for forty years.<ref>“Testimony of Dr. Joel Beeke.” 28:02–28:04; 34:59–35:01; “Church News: John Beeke [Obituary],” ''Banner of Truth'' 59, no. 4 (April 1993): 108.</ref>