Western Theological Seminary prof to speak during chapel

The Rev. Chuck DeGroat, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling and senior fellow of the Newbigin House of Studies at Western Theological Seminary, will speak during Northwestern College’s chapel service on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 11:05 a.m. in Christ Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

“I’m excited for Chuck’s visit for many reasons,” says Mark DeYounge, director of Christian formation at Northwestern. “He has a nuanced voice in the realm of self-care; he gives great meaning to how we’re invited to walk in the full liberties of the faith; and he paints vividly and thoroughly how God’s missional holiness has everything to do with personal, communal and global wholeness.”

DeGroat has 20 years of experience in pastoral ministry, clinical counseling and seminary training, including serving as a teaching pastor for several church plants and starting two church-based clinical counseling centers. Recently, he served as pastor of City Church in San Francisco, where he co-founded the Newbigin House of Studies, an urban and missional training center that offers Master of Divinity and Master of Arts offerings through Western Theological Seminary.

He has authored three books, including “Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places,” which represents his narrative biblical paradigm for understanding counseling, care and formation; “The Toughest People to Love,” with a focus on caring for difficult people; and “Wholeheartedness,” a vision of wholeness amidst culture’s perfectionism and shame-based culture.

“I hope Northwestern students, faculty and staff walk away from Chuck’s message more aware of how our culture feeds many desires in each of us that often leave us fragmented and disconnected,” says DeYounge. “But God’s good news is a reconciling work within our own being, our own community, and our world.”

A graduate of Dordt College, DeGroat holds Master of Divinity and Master of Arts degrees from Reformed Theological Seminary and a doctoral degree in educational psychology from Capella University.