Machen told this seminary community (Princeton) of soon-to-become Presbyterian ministers. “This church is now in a period of deadly conflict with a totally alien type of religion. As always, the enemy conceals his most dangerous assault under pious phrases and half-truths. Increasingly it is becoming necessary for a man to decide if he will stand or not stand for the Lord Jesus Christ as he is presented to us in the Word of God. If you decide to stand for Christ, you will not have an easy life in the ministry

September 14 was a banner day for Reformed Theological Seminary, a school that has soared onto the top echelon of theological education in the US. On that day, the seminary community welcomed scholars from across the country for its inauguration of Dr. Michael Milton as Chancellor.

Joining Milton on the podium were Drs. Robert Canada and Luder Whitlock whose entrepreneurial adventures grew RTS from a single campus in Jackson, Ms, to campuses in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Memphis, Orlando, Washington, DC, and an expansive Virtual campus that attracts thousands of students online. In contrast to mainline denominational seminaries that show dwindling enrollments and precarious balance sheets, RTS has blossomed.

RTS students who come from mainline denominations pay a two-fold price if they choose this school. Many Presbyterian Church (USA) presbyteries will not accept an RTS graduate until he or she has completed at least one additional year’s study at one of the denomination’s official seminaries. Despite the additional cost and deferred income that this institutional featherbedding imposes on them, students have flocked to RTS, resulting in a full house on all of its campuses.

For the site of Milton’s inauguration RTS chose Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, NC, a 2,500-member congregation of the conservative Presbyterian Church in America. Dr. Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky, flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the world’s largest seminaries, gave the inaugural sermon.

A call for character

Preaching from I Timothy: 6: 11-16, Mohler said that the Apostle Paul’s advice to young Timothy “begins with gravity and ends with glory.” The text begins in verse 11 with a warning to young Christians to flee from cultural influences that would corrupt and debase their character, said Mohler. “Note that this text begins not with doctrine, but with morality,” he said. Paul’s counsel to those who would lead Christ’s church starts with a focus on moral character.

Pointing to immoral influences imbedded in American culture, some of which are tolerated if not celebrated by acculturated religious institutions, Mohler said that those who train church leaders must inculcate “the inherent moral dimension” of their call. Paul’s counsel to Timothy begins with that moral dimension, urging Timothy to embrace godly virtues and to flee lifestyle temptations that would undermine his ministry. Mohler said that he follows the careers of his seminary graduates and is exceptionally pleased with the work that most of them pursue.“But my heart breaks for those few who have wrecked their ministry by immorality,” said Mohler.

Mohler’s words resonated with Presbyterians in his audience who left the PCUSA after it voted to remove from its constitution sexual behavior standards for its ordained leaders. Christ Covenant Church has welcomed into its membership scores of Presbyterians who have fled from Charlotte area PCUSA churches due to the denomination’s abandonment of godly discipline.

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