Opening Ceremony
Prospective parents, welcome to Westminster Academy’s website.
It is my hope and prayer that as you investigate our website you will quickly find what so powerfully captured my heart, mind and soul as I considered the privilege of leading this school. As one who truly loves to learn, who loves children and who loves seeing children educated well, it was a great surprise and delight to find a school whose mission is to educate children through a proven model of education that historically produced some of the greatest thinkers, theologians, scientists, inventors, writers, composers and men and women of deep and abiding faith prepared, equipped and motivated to defend it.
I am old enough to have observed far too many new ideas in education that are guaranteed to revolutionize the way our children learn, only to see them fade away from failure and another reappear with the same fate. On the contrary, for 1,500 years this Classical model of education provided the core of a liberal arts education – literally, an education to liberate students to pursue (and conquer!) any subject, problem or issue because students were given the skills to do so. That is the nature of a classical education . . . equipping students with specific skills, through great and proven content, to use their God-given love of learning, reasoning ability and unbridled curiosity to engage their hearts, souls and minds toward greater ends.
Greater ends? This is what stirs my soul. Our Classical model of education is most fully realized because it is also Distinctly Christian. We know that all truth is God’s truth. We know that every subject we study invites us to see more of who He is and what He seeks to accomplish in us and in His world. We agree with Abraham Kuyper, the great Dutch theologian who stated:
“In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, 'That is mine!”
With this profound truth and God as our helper, a stellar faculty engages the hearts, minds and souls of students so they are prepared to enter the world, not to survive a culture that is (aggressively) opposed to much of what they hold dear, but to actively influence it for the Kingdom of God, daily reclaiming another inch of it for the glory of God.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Timothy L. Russell
Headmaster
About Our Headmaster
Timothy Russell’s deep and vibrant faith, his concern for the present course of our culture and his passion for equipping and fortifying young men and women to become redemptive agents within our culture have all found a home in Classical Christian education. Timothy is a lifelong learner (he remembers his first library card number!), has an endless appreciation for the value of studying the classics and believes that every child’s innate and God-given love of learning comes alive through the distinct offerings of a Classical Christian approach to education. Timothy’s door is always open, and he is eager to meet with those considering Westminster Academy for their children.
Timothy Russell was graduated from Geneva College (B.A., English) and Reformed Theological Seminary (M. Div.) and is a Ph.D. Candidate at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. Timothy has taught at a classical Christian School, served as a pastor in Beaver Falls, Pa., and was employed at Geneva College as the College Chaplain and Director of Financial Aid, managing a 30 - plus million dollar budget. He and his wife, Kathe, moved to Memphis in 2004 where Kathe began working at Memphis Leadership Foundation. Timothy serves on the pastoral staff at Second Presbyterian Church and, before coming to Westminster Academy, served as President of Memphis Center for Urban Theological Studies.