Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection Honours Rev. Dr. Victor Shepherd
"Victor is a rare gem, who exemplifies a life of significance as pastor-preacher, professor, author and theologian," says Dr. Dennis Ngien, Professor of Systematic Theology at Tyndale Seminary and co-editor of Between the Lectern and the Pulpit: Essays in Honour of Victor A. Shepherd (Regent College Publishing, 2014).
Dr. Ngien is the founder of the Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection. On June 7, 2014 – in front of an audience of over 700 people at Bayview Glen Church in Thornhill, Ontario – the Centre named Rev. Dr. Victor Shepherd, Professor of Theology at Tyndale Seminary, its Distinguished Fellow.
The highlight of the occasion was when a festschrift was presented to Dr. Shepherd – a collection of Celebration Writings in honour of his service as one of Canada’s most prominent preachers and theologians.
In Between the Lectern and the Pulpit: Essays in Honour of Victor A. Shepherd, twenty-one chapters – almost half of which are authored by Tyndale professors – are devoted to the wide range of theological fields that Dr. Shepherd has spent decades studying, writing and teaching on.
Dr. Shepherd earned a Doctor of Theology [ThD] from Emmanuel College, University of Toronto in 1978. He joined the Tyndale faculty in 1993. In 1995, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Theology [Hon. STD] from Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York, and in 2005, he was made Professor Ordinarius of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. He has been invited twice to the International Calvin Studies Colloquium, those deemed to be the world’s best one hundred Calvin scholars.
Dr. Shepherd is the author of 11 books and more than 300 journal articles. Over the years, he has lectured at multiple universities and theological graduate schools both in Canada and around the world.
Dr. Shepherd is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church of Canada, and has served four pastorates in New Brunswick and Ontario. He is a long-time advocate of the mentally ill and under-housed, revealing a life devoted not only to academics, but to discipleship and Christ-like compassion.
With his wife Maureen – who was also honoured on this occasion – and daughters Mary and Catherine by his side, Dr. Shepherd received the honour with joy and a humble heart. This is not surprising of the man known and loved by countless people, many of them students.
“Tyndale has been a wonderful gift to me – a gift of many facets,” says Dr. Shepherd. “But the single most moving aspect of Tyndale’s gift, however, has been students. The students have always struck me as younger venturers on the kingdom journey who I trust will profit from us who are older venturers on that same journey.”
For many students, taking a course with Dr. Shepherd is an adventurous journey in itself, one rich with the benefits of Dr. Shepherd’s vast ministry experience, academic insight and disarming honesty.
It’s no wonder students are so quick to get back to class when Dr. Shepherd is at the helm. When you hear that familiar shout from down the hall, “All aboard!” you know something special is about to happen.
Please join with the Tyndale community in honouring Dr. Shepherd for his vibrant and faithful service to God.