Why I Chose Westminster
by Walter Henegar, M.Div. ‘02

What drew me to Westminster was what I now know as its explicit mission statement: “to extend the knowledge of the glory of God in Christ until that knowledge covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.” I hardly knew what that meant at the time, but I knew I wanted that passion for God’s glory to characterize my life. My time at Westminster worked to that end in at least three ways.

First of all, Westminster has been the most significant sanctifying force in my life, second only to my family. Contrary to all of the stereotypes that characterize Westminster as lopsidedly intellectual, I found it to be a deeply nurturing environment where I was daily called to pursue my living relationship with the God who was the subject of all my studies. The counseling classes probably overhauled my life more than anything else. Selfishly, I could sit at the feet of professors David Powlison, Winston Smith, or Ed Welch till Jesus comes back! From Dean Jerry McFarland’s tireless work with chapel (and his constant pastoral presence in the halls) and my weekly prayer group with Dr. Davis, to Professor Sibley’s lessons on praying with the Psalms and my countless interactions with godly and often brilliant fellow students, Westminster fed my soul. Perhaps it’s indicative that my first published work is not a treatise on the five points of Calvinism, but a confessional narrative about my personal struggle with the sin of procrastination and the victories God has granted me over it.

Secondly, Westminster gave me a love for the church that my years of growing up in it never did. I am so grateful that Jesus doesn’t just leave us with the Great Commission to figure out on our own, but he gives us churches, elders, deacons, church discipline (!), and a rich history of faithful scholarship and confessions, all to conform us into his likeness. I never thought I would devour a book like Dr. Clowney’s Doctrine of the Church, but I had a hard time putting it down. Studying at Westminster stirred my passion to be a pastor of at least one small extension of the “glorious body of Christ,” as R.B. Kuiper says.

Thirdly, Westminster gave me a wonder for the Word of God that I pray I will never lose. The Seminary’s founder J. Gresham Machen said he wanted to train “specialists in the Bible.” I don’t know if I’d call myself a “specialist,” but I definitely gained tools to “rightly divide it,” and with every class I was more blown away by the wisdom and beauty and practicality and richness of the Bible. It’s amazing to think that I’ll be mining this book for the rest of my life, and yet I’ll never cease to unearth its treasures, new and old.

The best way I can sum up all of this is that Westminster has profoundly changed the way I see the world. Everything that passes through these eyes and this brain and this heart, I now process through the system, the story, and the Person of the Word of God. Of course, I don’t do that very well, and the cancer of sin runs through my veins. I’m not even that good of a student, academically speaking. But I got the best foundation I can imagine and a clear trajectory for a future of serving God’s kingdom.

I am grateful to the faculty and administration for making Westminster what it is, and I hope that those of you who are considering seminary will take a serious look at what Westminster might do for your life and your ministry.