GPTS Staff

The Board of Trustees of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary adopted the following resolution honoring Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr. for his many years of leadership and service as President of the Seminary. Please note that though Dr. Pipa is retiring from the President’s Office, he has but only moved across the hall to a new office in which he will continue to serve the Seminary in a full-time capacity as Professor of Systematic & Applied Theology and President Emeritus.

A Resolution of the Board of Trustees of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary on the Retirement of its President, Joseph A. Pipa, Jr.

ON THE RETIREMENT OF ITS PRESIDENT, JOSEPH A. PIPA, JR.

BE IT KNOWN TO ALL THAT—

WHEREAS, the Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr.—who was inaugurated as the first President of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary on January 1, 1998, and who, during his subsequent tenure displayed singular devotion to the preparation of godly men for gospel ministry—is planning to retire from that post on June 30, 2020, and take up the work of President Emeritus, while continuing to serve as Professor of Systematic and Applied Theology; and

WHEREAS, as President, Dr. Pipa has faithfully and passionately stood for the defense of the system of doctrine contained in the Holy Scriptures known as the Reformed Faith, and has pressed on, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to have these life-giving and life-sustaining doctrines of Christ proclaimed courageously to the ends of the earth; and

WHEREAS, as a pastor and preacher, Dr. Pipa has demonstrated and modeled the power of the Word to transform individuals, families, communities, and churches, employing the best use of an extemporaneous style of preaching that was both experimental in content and readily applicable to whatever circumstances his Lord placed him; and

WHEREAS, as a loving man of God, Dr. Pipa has guided many men and women to a saving relationship with our King, Mediator, and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, promoting the diligent use of the ordinary means of grace—the Word, sacraments, and prayer—whereby Christ communicates to His church the benefits of His mediation; and

WHEREAS, as a seminary professor, Dr. Pipa exhibited the best of the old Puritan brotherhood in his collegiality, in his congeniality, and in his mutual support of his co-laborers in Christ, which manifested itself in his humility, his readiness to listen, and his yearning to bring his own life into ever-increasing conformity to Christ; and

WHEREAS, as a mentor to generations of younger men in various stages of preparing for the gospel ministry, Dr. Pipa expressed genuine concern for how those under his care were prospering in Christ, keen to share their burdens and delights in the Lord; and

WHEREAS, as a life-long student of the Word himself, Dr. Pipa has proven to be a diligent and faithful exegete of the Holy Scriptures in both his teaching and in his writings, and has set a godly and faithful example for those who will follow in his footsteps in the years to come; and

WHEREAS, as an untiring emissary and spokesman for the Seminary in congregations, presbyteries, major assemblies, councils, and other organizations, Dr. Pipa has actively promoted the Seminary as a valuable resource for providing God-centered, Christ-exalting, biblically faithful theological education in our day; and

WHEREAS, as an administrator and educator, Dr. Pipa has capably guided and directed this Board, the faculty, the staff, and the scores of students who, in the academy model, have made the Seminary their home for their theological education; and

WHEREAS, as a husband and Christ’s under-shepherd, Dr. Pipa set a godly example before the many young men at the Seminary in loving and caring for his dear wife Sissy—who was one with him in his labors—as Christ loved the church, and in managing his own household well, especially in extending a kind and generous hospitality to scores of seminarians (and their wives) and visitors over the years; and

WHEREAS, as an author and writer, Dr. Pipa has used his manifold gifts to lay out the riches of the Word of God, including the necessity of the Lord’s Day in all of life for all of mankind; and

WHEREAS, as a national leader among confessional Presbyterians, Dr. Pipa has boldly and publicly stood for the system of doctrine that is at the core of the ministry and work of the Seminary; and

WHEREAS, during the twenty-two years of his presidency, Dr. Pipa led the Seminary through the purchase of the Old Taylors High School in 2003 to be the new campus for the Seminary, the raising of the funds to renovate the building, the actual renovations themselves beginning in 2007, and the moving and dedication in 2008—and, by God’s grace, just this past year, the retirement in full of the mortgage on the Seminary’s facility.

NOW, THEREFORE, we the members of the Board of Trustees of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary do hereby resolve to express our thanks and praise to Almighty God for the gift of the Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr., over his more than twenty-two years of extraordinary dedication and service to the Seminary, its Board of Trustees, its faculty, its staff, and the members of its current and former student body—and to our glorious Savior, who has sovereignly employed His willing servant to such singular effect for the good of His kingdom; and further, we do hereby name and designate the Seminary’s facility at 200 E. Main Street, Taylors, South Carolina, to be henceforth known as “Pipa Hall.”

SO RESOLVED by the Board of Trustees this 22nd day of May, 2020, at Pipa Hall, Taylors, South Carolina.

GREENVILLE PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

C. FREDERIC MARCINAK, Chairman

MARK T. BUBE, Secretary