Joel R. Beeke

Joel Robert Beeke (born December 9, 1952) is an American Reformed theologian who serves as a pastor in the Heritage Reformed Congregations and as chancellor of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He helped found Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in 1995 under the oversight of the Heritage Reformed Congregations, serving as its president until assuming the chancellorship in 2023. He teaches homiletics, systematic theology, and practical theology at the seminary. His father, John Beeke, was born in Krabbendijke, the Netherlands, and immigrated to the United States with his family at age seven. The Beeke family were members of the Netherlands Reformed Congregations, where John Beeke served as a ruling elder for forty years. From 1974 to 1978, Beeke studied under Weststrate in St. Catharines, Ontario, completing studies equivalent to a Master of Divinity degree. For the academic studies he moved with his first wife to Canada, supported by the Netherlands Reformed Congregations Student Support Fund.

In 1982, Beeke enrolled in the doctoral program at Westminster Theological Seminary, focusing on the doctrine of assurance. From 1984 to 1986, he lectured in systematic theology at the Center for Urban Theological Studies in Philadelphia. In 1985 and 1986, he lectured in systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. Beeke received his doctoral candidacy in June 1986. He earned his PhD in Reformation and Post-Reformation historical theology in May 1988. His dissertation was entitled "Personal Assurance of Faith: English Puritanism and the Dutch 'Nadere Reformatie' from Westminster to Alexander Comrie (1640–1760)."

Ministry

Netherlands Reformed Congregations (1978–1993) Upon completing his studies under J. C. Weststrate, Beeke entered the ministry of the Netherlands Reformed Congregations. After passing his candidacy examinations, he became eligible to receive a pastoral call in November 1977. After receiving calls from eleven congregations in December 1977, Beeke accepted a call to serve as pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Sioux Center, Iowa, in January 1978. He was installed on March 29, 1978, by J. C. Weststrate. Beeke was the first minister ordained in the Netherlands Reformed Congregations who was not a native Dutch speaker.

Beeke served as pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Sioux Center until 1981. While there, he helped found the Netherlands Reformed Christian School in Rock Valley, Iowa, serving as board president. From 1980 to 1992, he served as clerk of the Netherlands Reformed synod, and from 1980 to 1993, he was president of the Netherlands Reformed Book and Publishing Committee.

In March 1981, Beeke accepted a call to serve as minister of the Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Church in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. He was installed in August 1981. While pastoring at Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Church, Beeke served as board chairman of the Netherlands Reformed school of Clifton-Franklin Lakes.

From 1984 to 1993, he edited Paul, the Netherlands Reformed Congregations' missions journal, and from 1985 to 1993, he edited The Banner of Truth, the denomination's periodical.

In 1982, Beeke published his first books, Jehovah Shepherding His Sheep and Backsliding: Disease and Cure. The same year, he co-authored the Bible Doctrine Student Workbook with his brother, James W. Beeke.

In October 1986, he accepted a pastoral call to the First Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was installed in December 1986. From 1986 to 1992, Beeke provided theological instruction in systematic theology, ethics, church history, liturgy, and missiology for the Netherlands Reformed Theological School. and Beeke continued serving as pastor. Eight other congregations subsequently joined the new denomination. Following this division, Beeke helped establish a new denominational periodical entitled The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth.

Beeke served as editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books beginning in 1994. In the same year, he became vice chairman of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society, which works to translate the writings of Herman Bavinck and other Dutch Nadere Reformatie authors into English. Between 1994 and 2005, Beeke was a staff editor for Christian Observer.

Personal life In 1989, Beeke married Mary Kamp, a nurse and schoolteacher, and his second wife. His divorce occurred on biblical grounds after he accepted a pastoral call to the First Netherlands Reformed Congregation (NRC) of Grand Rapids in 1986. The controversy that resulted in a schism in the NRC and ultimately led to the forming of the Heritage Reformed Congregations (HRC) centered on the fitness for office of ministers who had been divorced and remarried, specifically concerning Beeke, the pastor of the large First NRC of Grand Rapids. The Dutch sister denomination, the Gereformeerde Gemeenten, expressed sorrow regarding the troubles and urged the NRC to seek unity and act in accordance with Scripture and the Reformed Church Order.

Theological Context Although Beeke's divorce status was the occasion for the separation, there were clearly underlying theological issues that would likely have caused the split regardless. The men who separated were moving to make the Gospel much more central in their ministries. The HRC later sought to adopt the Westminster Standards along with the Three Forms of Unity to oppose theological currents like the New Perspective on Paul and Federal Vision theologies.

The Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) Interchurch Relations Committee (IRC) investigated the HRC and found them to be "well within the mainstream of orthodox Reformed churches" and opposed to New Perspective and Federal Vision theology.

The RCUS subsequently affirmed the HRC's reception into the membership of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC).

Publications Beeke has authored and co-authored over 120 books, edited 120 books, and contributed articles to various publications, journals, and periodicals. His works have been translated into numerous languages including Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Maltese, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, and Urdu.

Beeke has contributed to periodicals such as The Banner of Truth, The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, Christian Observer, Outlook, Reformation and Revival, and Tabletalk. His articles have appeared in theological journals including Calvin Theological Journal, Master's Seminary Journal, Puritan Reformed Journal, Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, Unio Cum Christo, and Westminster Theological Journal. He has also contributed to academic reference works such as The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin, The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation.