Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Reformation Men’s Club Travels to Princeton University

The Reformation Men’s Club (RMC) traveled to historic Princeton University April 18-20 with Covenant Seminary Professor, Dr. David Calhoun. The theme of the weekend retreat was "Grace to Eternity: A History and Vision of Service to Christ's Kingdom."

Dr. Calhoun has authored a two- volume history of the University and Seminary. He writes, “From 1812 – 1929, Princeton Theological Seminary presented a coherent, continual effort to teach and practice what the Princetonians believed was historic Reformed Christianity. In this they were, in my opinion, successful. They taught theology as they found it in the Bible and it honored the faith and findings of Augustine, Calvin, and the Westminster Standards. They not only taught it, they lived it. They may have made mistakes, but they stood squarely in the great stream of historic Christianity and orthodox Calvinism.”

The group of 15 men stayed at the historic Nassau Inn in the heart of Palmer’s Square and enjoyed ‘the best spring day of the entire year’ according to a local shop owner. The Cherry trees were in full bloom and showered the campus with snow.

Dr Calhoun began Saturday morning with a history of Princeton before leading the group on a campus tour. This tour included an inspiring lecture in the famous “Oratory” of Alexander Hall. The group also had a pleasant and unscheduled encounter with Dr. Bill Frist, a Princeton Alum and current guest teacher.

After watching Princeton defeat Penn in an afternoon baseball game, the group then joined Dr. Calhoun at the Princeton cemetery often called ‘the Westminster Abbey of America’. Dr Calhoun shared stories of heroes of our faith as the group visited the tombs of Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge, B.B. Warfield, President Grover Cleveland, and others.

Sunday morning included worship at Nassau Inn with Dr. Calhoun preaching a sermon on applying lessons from Princeton to both CPA and Covenant Seminary and concluded with a time of prayer and meditation in Princeton’s beautiful chapel, the 3rd largest on-campus chapel in the world.

In the end, the trip allowed the group to see the fruit of Dr. John Witherspoon’s Vision to “produce consecrated Christian students with an integrated and thoroughly Biblical world view”. This vision produced 114 clergy, the founders of ten colleges, 13 college presidents, 1 president of US (James Madison), 1 VP, 9 cabinet officers, 21 US senators, 3 supreme court justices, 12 state governors and 39 judges during his administration of 26 years.

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