November 16 Today in OPC History

On November 16, 1973, twenty-four year old Roger Wagner was ordained by the Presbytery of Northern California and installed as pastor of Calvary OPC, Sonora, California. In 1970 Mr. Wagner graduated from Westmont College in the same class with Greg Bahnsen and Dennis Johnson. The three friends then enrolled at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, graduated together in 1973, and would be ordained as pastors in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

After ten years of ministerial service at Sonora, Mr. Wagner became pastor of Bayview OPC in Chula Vista, California in 1983 where he served for the next forty years until his retirement. Among the many articles that Mr. Wagner has written are "Counselling and Church Discipline" in the Journal of Pastoral Practice, "Vietnam: Reflections on National Messianism," in Antithesis and "New Confusions for Old: Rome on Justification" in Antithesis. In 2004 Mr. Wagner authored the book, Tongues Aflame: Learning to Preach from the Apostles.

Picture: Roger Wagner