Forum Magazine - Summer 2026 - Issue 38

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"The 'and counting' part is vital. It helps us move beyond a recollection of the past to a desire and a vision to keep moving forward as we seek to serve God."
—President Jul Medenblik

Issue Overview

This issue of the FORUM asks what it means to stay faithful through seasons of change. Calvin Theological Seminary is marking 150 years. As President Jul Medenblik puts it, that's "150 years and counting." These essays are grateful for the past and ready for what comes next.

The seminary is in a season of real transition. A new president is on the horizon. A longtime PhD director is handing off to a former student. And there have been honest losses, as colleagues and congregations have departed. Drawing on the Reformed tradition, the contributors return to practices and beliefs that steady a community in uncertain times. They recover the nearly forgotten practice of communal lament. They call for reformation rather than revolution or nostalgia. And they show how an institution can grow by building on what it has been — what one writer calls "traditioned innovation."

Other essays read Scripture straight into the seminary's present. They find a call to trust and faithful work in Israel's wilderness story and in the urgency of the early church. The seminary's global doctoral program comes into focus through its retiring and incoming directors, whose own stories show the fruit of a vision that has always reached out to the world church. One conviction runs through the whole issue, voiced by leaders past and present and by those who have grieved real loss: lament is not the enemy of hope. It is the path into it. A community willing to name its losses is freed to receive what God brings next. 

Together these voices tell the story of a community called, formed, and sustained — grateful for 150 seasons of faithfulness, and still planting.

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT - 150 Years and Counting

I love strawberries. Growing up on a farm in Fulton, Illinois, I asked my parents if I could plant a strawberry patch. They agreed — knowing full well it would be a learning experience for me.

I quickly discovered that planting the patch was the easy part. The area where I planted had thin topsoil, and it dried out easily. The patch failed to thrive, and after one year I moved on to other projects and plans.

Rich soil, abundant fruit

Throughout this issue of FORUM, we celebrate the planting of Calvin Theological Seminary in 1876. The soil in which our school was planted has been rich and well-tilled, and the fruit has been abundant and flourishing for 150 seasons.

"And counting"

In June, Jackie and I will celebrate 44 years of marriage. When people ask how long we've been married, we say something like — "44 years and counting."

The "and counting" part is vital. It moves us beyond a recollection of the past toward a desire and a vision to keep moving forward as we seek to serve God in our lives.

At Calvin Theological Seminary, we are grateful for God's faithfulness to us through these past 150 years — and we are also mindful that we must continue to be faithful stewards for the ongoing work of our school.

This issue of FORUM contains many articles about the past and the future, including words of encouragement from my two predecessors as President — Jim DeJong and Neal Plantinga. Their testimony, and the insights of others, help us reflect deeply on what it means to "plant" for the future — one day at a time, and counting!

In His Service – President Jul Medenblik