In our public communications, Westminster seeks to honor those inside and outside our community. Our aim is to foster peace and purity in the church. We are aware that speculation and, at times, even false allegations and misrepresentation of facts will occur. In this online age, this will unfortunately always be the case. A public response to each communication would generate endless, defensive, and unfruitful actions, and could, in fact, interfere with the church processes mentioned above. We remain committed to a policy of circumspect transparency as wisdom dictates.

Because Westminster Theological Seminary exists for the sake of the church, we respect and defend the jurisdiction of each church, denomination, and presbytery in all ecclesiastical matters, including those of a doctrinal nature. Each voting faculty member and many other staff at Westminster are ordained in North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) churches. These ordained men all have ecclesial privileges, responsibilities, and remain accountable to their respective presbyteries and denominations. Accordingly, Westminster does not interfere with ecclesiastical processes, nor does Westminster leadership promote or penalize any employee on the basis of involvement in ecclesiastical business, including an ecclesiastical trial.

In our public communications, Westminster seeks to honor those inside and outside our community. Our aim is to foster peace and purity in the church. We are aware that speculation and, at times, even false allegations and misrepresentation of facts will occur. In this online age, this will unfortunately always be the case. A public response to each communication would generate endless, defensive, and unfruitful actions, and could, in fact, interfere with the church processes mentioned above. We remain committed to a policy of circumspect transparency as wisdom dictates. Just as elders must keep certain information private to protect the members of their churches, the seminary protects its community by guarding confidential information. Because of this institutional necessity, we ask for prayerful discernment when reading and sharing public opinion pieces, blogs and social media.

Please continue to pray for Westminster Theological Seminary in our mission to train specialists in the Bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church. We invite you to follow us on social media and on our News & Events page to trace the pursuit of that mission.

To learn more about the seminary’s position in relation to the recent charges against Dr. K. Scott Oliphint, you can watch the president’s oral presentation to the seminary here, read a seminary statement concerning the matter here, and hear directly from Dr. Oliphint here.

Dr. David B. Garner

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