"Faith seeking understanding"
– Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm was an 11th century theologian and churchman in the theological heritage of Augustine. Anselm wrote, “I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but rather, I believe in order that I may understand." This became the motto of many Christian scholars: Credo ut intelligam—“I believe that I might understand.” For Anselm, the basis of understanding began with God himself. This is the goal of The Anselm Institute at Westview: by faith in the God of the Bible, we are following Christ in all of life, striving for greater and deeper understanding. However, the end goal is not merely accruing more knowledge. The goal is the joyful mission of making disciples.
The Anselm Institute is comprised of five fellowships:
1. THE ANTIOCH FELLOWSHIP
DEPLOYING DISCIPLE-MAKERS
Acts 11:19-30 describes nameless and forgotten men of Cyprus and Cyrene who nevertheless joyfully advanced the mission by sharing the good news about Jesus Christ with people culturally and linguistically different from themselves. That group of Christians gathered in Antioch and established a new local church that would go on to have a global impact for the cause of Christ in sending Paul and Barnabas in their missionary endeavors. The aim of this fellowship is to equip men and women to know the Scriptures, to be trained in sound doctrine, and to grow in observance of all that Jesus commanded. Such faithful followers of Christ may be forgotten but advance the Greatest Cause.
2. THE CHURCHMAN FELLOWSHIP
DEVELOPING TEACHERS
"Churchman" is a label that has fallen out of use yet conveys the calling of Christians to be committed to the good of their local church. This fellowship aims to foster a renewal of this role among the men of Westview by equipping them to think about how not only to benefit personally from reading and studying the Bible, but how to share from Scripture with others. Whether it is a coworker, spouse, Discipleship Group, or family worship, how do you take a passage and convey its meaning and application?
3. THE COLSON FELLOWSHIP
CULTIVATING WORLDVIEW
Implementing this fellowship produced by the Colson Center, Colson Fellows from across the globe complete a rigorous course of study that begins each July and concludes with their commissioning in May of the following year. In this ten month program, candidates follow a daily curriculum that is carefully curated and updated each year to equip men and women to engage in our cultural context with a robust Christian worldview.
4. THE PARACLETE FELLOWSHIP
STRENGTHENING COUNSELORS
The word "paraclete" is from a Greek word that means comforter or helper. It's a word often used to refer to the Holy Spirit. God is a "paraclete" who comforts us that we might turn to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-7). This fellowship leverages the courses developed by the Christian Counseling & Education Foundation (CCEF) to strengthen men and women in their ability to bring God's Word to bear on the sin and suffering others experience. That is the task of biblical counseling.
5. THE TIMOTHY FELLOWSHIP
RAISING PASTORS
The Apostle Paul exhorted his pastoral apprentice to take "what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2). The goal of the Timothy Fellowship is to do this very thing, raising up faithful men who will be able to to teach others also as they carry out the duties and responsibilities of the office of pastor-elder. Given that objective, this fellowship is limited to men and by invitation only.
Given the objective of The Anselm Institute to advance the mission of making disciples, each fellowship will conclude with a final project where participants will develop a plan for how they will take the understanding they have gained and implement it in some form in making disciples. Upon successful completion of a fellowship, participants will not "graduate" but be "commissioned" to move forward to fulfill that final project.