Joel Beeke: Difference between revisions

As a junior in high school, Beeke relinquished his ambitions of obtaining a [[basketball]] [[scholarship]], determining instead to devote himself to preparing for the Christian ministry.<ref>“Testimony of Dr. Joel Beeke.” 31:22–34:46.</ref> After briefly serving in the [[United States Army Reserve]], Beeke studied religion and history at [[Western Michigan University]] from 1971 to 1973 and later transferred to [[Thomas Edison State University|Thomas Edison State College]], where he graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree with a specialization in religious studies.<ref name="auto4">Smalley, ''Puritan Piety'', 11.</ref>

In 1974, Beeke was accepted as a theological student to the Netherlands Reformed Theological School under the tutelage of J. C. Weststrate, a minister from the Netherlands.<ref>“Church News: The Inaugural Sermon of Rev. Joel Beeke,” ''Banner of Truth'' 44, no. 5 (May 1978): 7; “Testimony of Dr. Joel Beeke.” 37:59–38:10.</ref> At the age of twenty-one, Beeke was unusually young to be accepted as a ministerial student in the Netherlands Reformed Congregations, as the youngest pastor in the denomination at the time was over twice his age.<ref>“Testimony of Dr. Joel Beeke.” 38:16–27.</ref> For the academic studies he moved with his first wife to Canada, supported by the Netherlands Reformed Congregations Student Support Fund.<ref name="auto1"> The Banner of Truth (US), 10/1/1974, p. 2.</ref>

From 1974 to 1978, Beeke studied under Weststrate in [[St. Catharines]], [[Ontario]], earning the equivalent of a [[Master of Divinity]] degree.<ref name="auto4"/> For the academic studies he moved to Canada, supported by the Netherlands Reformed Congregations Student Support Fund.<ref name="auto1"/> Beeke began preaching after completing his first year of studies. Between August 1975 and January 1976, he traveled by car for over four months to preach in every Netherlands Reformed church in the western half of the United States and Canada. During his years as a student, he preached about two hundred sermons.<ref>“Testimony of Dr. Joel Beeke.” 38:33–55.</ref>

Upon completing his studies under J. C. Weststrate, Beeke entered the ministry of the Netherlands Reformed Congregations. After successfully passing his candidacy examinations, he became eligible to receive a pastoral call in November 1977.<ref>“Church News: Joel Beeke: Candidate for the Ministry,” ''Banner of Truth'' 43, no. 11 (November 1977): 3.</ref> After receiving calls from eleven congregations in December 1977, Beeke felt led to accept a call to serve as the pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation in [[Sioux Center, Iowa]], in January 1978.<ref>“Church News: Calls Extended,” ''Banner of Truth'' 44, no. 1 (January 1978): 3.</ref> The church consisted of about seven hundred congregants.<ref name="auto">“Joel R. Beeke,” 1.</ref> Having completed his final examination for ministry in February 1978, Beeke was installed by J. C. Weststrate, his theological instructor, on March 29, 1978, and preached his first sermon as an ordained minister from Zechariah 4:6 on March 30, 1978. <ref>“Church News: Candidate Joel Beeke Passes Final Examination,” ''Banner of Truth'' 44, no. 3 (March 1978): 6; “Church News: The Inaugural Sermon of Rev. Joel Beeke,” ''Banner of Truth'' 44, no. 5 (May 1978): 5–7.</ref> Beeke was the first minister ordained in the Netherlands Reformed Congregations who was not a native [[Dutch language|Dutch]] speaker.<ref>“Testimony of Dr. Joel Beeke.” 37:01–07; “Church News: Ordination of Candidate J. Beeke as Minister of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation at Sioux Center Iowa U.S.A.: March 29, 1978,” ''Banner of Truth'' 44, no. 5 (May 1978): 3.</ref>

Beeke ministered as the sole pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Sioux Center until 1981. While pastoring there, he helped found the Netherlands Reformed Christian School in [[Rock Valley, Iowa]], serving as board president. Between 1978 and 1981, Beeke served as the moderator for vacant Netherlands Reformed churches in Rock Valley, Iowa; [[Corsica, South Dakota]]; and [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]].<ref name="auto"/> From 1980 to 1992, he was the clerk of the Netherlands Reformed [[synod]], and from 1980 to 1993, he was the president of the Netherlands Reformed Book and Publishing Committee.<ref name="auto4"/>

In March 1981, Beeke accepted a call to serve as the minister of the Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Church in [[Franklin Lakes, New Jersey]], a church of about seven hundred congregants.<ref>“Church News: Calls Accepted,” ''Banner of Truth'' 47, no. 3 (March 1981): 3; “Joel R. Beeke,” 1.</ref> Beeke became assured of his call to Franklin Lakes after reading Luke 5:4.<ref>“Church News: Rev. Beeke Installed at Franklin Lakes,” ''Banner of Truth'' 47, no. 10 (October 1981): 5.</ref> He preached his farewell sermon to the Netherlands Reformed congregation in Sioux Center on April 21, 1981.<ref>“Church News: Rev. J. R. Beeke.” ''Banner of Truth'' 47, no. 4 (April 1981): 5.</ref> In August 1981, Beeke was installed as the minister of Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Church and preached his inaugural sermon from Matthew 17:8, entitled “The Experiential Goal of the Ministry.”<ref>“Church News: Rev. Beeke Installed at Franklin Lakes.” ''Banner of Truth'' 47, no. 10 (October 1981): 4–6.</ref> While pastoring at Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Church, Beeke was the board chairman of the Netherlands Reformed school of Clifton-Franklin Lakes.<ref>“School News: Clifton-Franklin Lakes,” ''Banner of Truth'' 48, no. 6 (June 1982): 7.</ref>

Between 1981 and 1986, Beeke served as the moderator for vacant Netherlands Reformed churches in [[Clifton, New Jersey]]; St. Catharines, Ontario; and [[Unionville, Ontario]].<ref name="auto"/> From 1984 to 1993, he was the editor of ''Paul'', the Netherlands Reformed Congregations’ missions journal, and from 1985 to 1993, he was the editor of ''The Banner of Truth'', the Netherlands Reformed Congregations’ denominational periodical.<ref>Smalley, ''Puritan Piety'', 11–12.</ref>

In 1982, Beeke published his first books, ''Jehovah Shepherding His Sheep'' and ''Backsliding: Disease and Cure''. The same year, he coauthored the ''Bible Doctrine Student Workbook'' with his brother, James W. Beeke, the principal of Timothy Christian School in [[Chilliwack]], [[British Columbia]].<ref>“Church News: Teacher Needs,” ''Banner of Truth'' 44, no. 3 (March 1978): 7.</ref>

In 1982, Beeke enrolled in the [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctoral]] program of Westminster Theological Seminary, where, according to his [[research assistant]], Paul M. Smalley, “he became a student of and partner with members of the broader Reformed and Presbyterian tradition.”<ref name="auto3">Smalley, ''Puritan Piety'', 12.</ref> Initially, Beeke studied the doctrine of [[predestination]], but after reflecting on the needs of his denomination, he changed his research focus to the doctrine of assurance.<ref name="auto3"/> From 1984 to 1986, Beeke lectured in systematic theology at the Center for Urban Theological Studies in Philadelphia, teaching alongside Sinclair B. Ferguson, who would become a close friend throughout Beeke’s ministry. In 1985 and 1986, he lectured in systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary.

Beeke received his [[All but dissertation|doctoral candidacy]] in June 1986.<ref>“Church Announcements: PhD Candidate,” ''Banner of Truth'' 52, no. 6 (June 1986): 167.</ref> In October 1986, he accepted a pastoral call to the First Netherlands Reformed Congregation in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], and was installed in December 1986, preaching his inaugural sermon on 2 Corinthians 4:5.<ref>“Church Announcements: Synopsis of Classis East Minutes,” ''Banner of Truth'' 52, no. 6 (June 1987): 165.</ref>  

From 1986 to 1992, Beeke provided theological instruction in systematic theology, [[Christian ethics|ethics]], [[church history]], [[Christian liturgy|liturgy]], and [[missiology]] for the Netherlands Reformed Theological School.<ref name="auto2">“Joel R. Beeke,” 2.</ref> He also became the president of Inheritance Publishers, a global distributor of historic sermons in booklet form.<ref name="auto3"/> Between 1986 and 1994, Beeke served as the moderator for vacant Netherlands Reformed churches in Grand Rapids, Michigan (Covell Avenue Netherlands Reformed Church); Kalamazoo, Michigan; [[South Holland, Illinois]]; [[Woodstock, Ontario]]; and St. Catharines, Ontario.<ref name="auto2"/> In May 1988, Beeke earned his PhD in Reformation and Post-Reformation historical theology.<ref>“Church Announcements: Doctoral Degree Conferred,” ''Banner of Truth'' 54, no. 6 (June 1988): 165.</ref> His dissertation was entitled “Personal Assurance of Faith: English Puritanism and the Dutch ‘Nadere Reformatie’ from Westminster to Alexander Comrie (1640–1760)”.

In 1993, the [[synod]] of the [[Netherlands Reformed Congregations]] deposed the [[Session (Presbyterianism)|consistory]] of the [[First Netherlands Reformed Congregation]] of Grand Rapids. The background was, that Beeke had been divorced from his first wife in 1988 and remarried one year later; that leads to the question if he was able to hold offices in the church, which a majority of the synod possibly denied. <ref>“Decker, Troubles among the Netherland Reformed Congregations,” https://sb.rfpa.org/1-troubles-among-the-netherlands-reformed-congregations-2-pca-general-assembly-rebukes-crc-for-departure-from-the-scriptures/ ; The unfailing faithfulness of God (2019), p. 162. </ref> A letter of the Dutch sister church - the Gereformeerde Gemeenten – stated: „Our representatives, who visited your December-meeting, informed us that the discussions during your meeting appeared to have come to a deadlock. In light of that situations they raised a proposal to take a vote to see whether the Synod still had confidence in Rev. J.R. Beeke. They told us that they came to this proposal because they really did not know what could be done in this situation and that they hoped that their proposal might open a way out of an impossible situation.“ <ref> „The Banner of Truth (US) 7/1/1993, p. 5 ff.“ https://www.digibron.nl/viewer/collectie/Digibron/offset/1/zoekwoord/Joel+Beeke/id/tag:BannerOfTruth,19930701:newsml_63433b5980eee21cecd6870cc6e1e348 </ref> However, 780 of the one thousand members of the church could not accept the deposition of their pastor, elders, and deacons. The consistory felt compelled to form a new [[Christian denomination|denomination]] named the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation (renamed the Heritage Reformed Congregations in 2003),<ref>“Church News: Announcement,” ''Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth'' 11, no. 10 (December 2003): 276.</ref> while Beeke continued ministering to the church. Eight other churches soon joined the Grand Rapids congregation to form a new denomination, bringing the denominational membership to about two thousand.<ref>“Testimony of Dr. Joel Beeke.” 40:24–42:41.</ref> Following the division, Beeke helped establish a new denominational periodical entitled ''The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth''. He also provided pulpit supply for congregations in the Heritage Reformed Congregations.