Most readers of this blog will already be aware that over the last few months we have felt God challenge us to step out in faith and begin raising financial support in order to ensure that we will remain here until I finish the PhD. This has been an incredibly daunting step for us. The bottom line is we don't like asking for money - in fact I think very few people do. However, we have been greatly encouraged by the generosity of those that have decided support us and by the growing number of random one off financial gifts. God has truly been gracious to us. He continues to provide just as he always has.
We deeply appreciate His goodness and our family and friends who support us with prayer, encouragement and finances.
Thankful,
Clayton
Showing posts with label The Mission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Mission. Show all posts
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Sunday, 7 June 2009
What's the point Dad?
This semester I've been taking an external subject at the University of Chicago on the gospel of Mark. This is an important part of my training because the University of Chicago is generally acknowledged as quite a liberal school, so its helping to acquaint me with the sorts of things that are said about Mark and more generally about Scripture from that perspective. Overall its been a positive experience and there have been some good discussions in class. I have a presentation to do on tuesday on the last twelve verses and was trying to explain my approach to Ange the other night after a day of work on it. Judah was listening "patiently" but broke in at one point and said "What's the point Dad?" A great question. I realised that it was a really good time for me to take a deep breath and try to explain what I was doing simply (to see if in fact there WAS a point). So I explained that while Daddy's "job" (we might use the broader term "calling" but my kids are still under the impression that I have a job like other Dads...) usually involves telling people about the bible to help them understand it better, next week Daddy will be talking to a group of people who know an awful lot about the bible but who don't believe that its God's Word in the same way that we do. He understood and I asked him how he thought I should approach the presentation. What should I tell them?
His answer: "Love Jesus." Another great answer. I pressed him for more and got the following: "The bible is God’s word. When we read the bible its God speaking not us speaking, because he wrote it. You know this. So you’d better believe it or you’ll be punished. I think they’ll believe it when they hear the punish part."
I couldn't stop grinning and affirmed him lavishly. What a refreshing end to a long day!
His answer: "Love Jesus." Another great answer. I pressed him for more and got the following: "The bible is God’s word. When we read the bible its God speaking not us speaking, because he wrote it. You know this. So you’d better believe it or you’ll be punished. I think they’ll believe it when they hear the punish part."
I couldn't stop grinning and affirmed him lavishly. What a refreshing end to a long day!
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Update on Clayton's Study from Ange
Thought that the blog deserved an update on Clayton's progress on the PhD as that is the reason why we are out here in the first place!
He wrote a paper last semester for which he has been invited to speak on at a theological conference in Boston next month. This is an exciting opportunity and a real privilege. They have agreed to pay for virtually all of his expenses including accomodation, meals, registration and a large portion of travel expeneses. (He'll have to pay just $150, so that's not bad). I suppose that what he hopes to offer to this gathering of theologians is the chance for them to witness that it is possible for a Pentecostal theologian to make sense! hehe :) Actually, it works out well, as attending this conference would have certainly been worthwhile, but completely unaffordable.
Clayton taught his first lecture this week. He thinks that it went quite well, especially considering that he had only a couple of days to prepare it and that he was largely unfamiliar in the specifics of the area of study. (He found out that he would be teaching the same day that I put my back out and was left flat out in bed for days.) He was up late the night before the class madly reading. I volunteered to 'help' and stayed up reading primary documents dated back to the 300's. Fun! Actually, it was pretty interesting reading. One of the fascinating things that came up, was how the translation of scripture into different languages has led to significant divergence in doctine. The example that came up was of how the concept of 'penance' arose from the word 'repentance' being translated as such. Fascinating stuff that really helps vindicate (for want of a better word) Clayton's love for the ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek.
He seems to be doing well in his course. He has already overcome his fist hurdle of learning German (there is a lot of theology written in German). Next he has to do the same with Latin. He is getting a clearer picture of where he is going with his dissertation (thesis) and is enthralled in his research area. He's engrossed with the writings of some of the early church fathers, who in his opinion, were God fearing church leaders who upheld the authority of scripture, so he says that their work is great to read. He is really getting into it - sometimes I feel like I'm married to the character Ben that Nicholas Cage plays in National Treasure, or Indiana Jones (minus all of the action adventure hero stuff). It's exciting to see him passionately researching something historical from an angle that no one else has ever investigated, and Clayton being Clayton, is excited at it's potential relevance to us in the church today. What can I say, I married a brilliant man :)
He seems to be coping pretty well with the ongoing pressure and the never-ending piles of books that he has to read. It seems like regardless of how much work he has, he still manages to put the family first which is a real blessing.
He wrote a paper last semester for which he has been invited to speak on at a theological conference in Boston next month. This is an exciting opportunity and a real privilege. They have agreed to pay for virtually all of his expenses including accomodation, meals, registration and a large portion of travel expeneses. (He'll have to pay just $150, so that's not bad). I suppose that what he hopes to offer to this gathering of theologians is the chance for them to witness that it is possible for a Pentecostal theologian to make sense! hehe :) Actually, it works out well, as attending this conference would have certainly been worthwhile, but completely unaffordable.
Clayton taught his first lecture this week. He thinks that it went quite well, especially considering that he had only a couple of days to prepare it and that he was largely unfamiliar in the specifics of the area of study. (He found out that he would be teaching the same day that I put my back out and was left flat out in bed for days.) He was up late the night before the class madly reading. I volunteered to 'help' and stayed up reading primary documents dated back to the 300's. Fun! Actually, it was pretty interesting reading. One of the fascinating things that came up, was how the translation of scripture into different languages has led to significant divergence in doctine. The example that came up was of how the concept of 'penance' arose from the word 'repentance' being translated as such. Fascinating stuff that really helps vindicate (for want of a better word) Clayton's love for the ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek.
He seems to be doing well in his course. He has already overcome his fist hurdle of learning German (there is a lot of theology written in German). Next he has to do the same with Latin. He is getting a clearer picture of where he is going with his dissertation (thesis) and is enthralled in his research area. He's engrossed with the writings of some of the early church fathers, who in his opinion, were God fearing church leaders who upheld the authority of scripture, so he says that their work is great to read. He is really getting into it - sometimes I feel like I'm married to the character Ben that Nicholas Cage plays in National Treasure, or Indiana Jones (minus all of the action adventure hero stuff). It's exciting to see him passionately researching something historical from an angle that no one else has ever investigated, and Clayton being Clayton, is excited at it's potential relevance to us in the church today. What can I say, I married a brilliant man :)
He seems to be coping pretty well with the ongoing pressure and the never-ending piles of books that he has to read. It seems like regardless of how much work he has, he still manages to put the family first which is a real blessing.
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Learning to crawl before I can walk
As I was watching Jordan learn to crawl today I had an epiphany. I approach my work the same way that he is approaching crawling. I'll look at the goal, then rock backwards and forwards some, not really getting anywhere, then I'll have a burst of energy and try my best often falling on my face. Then I'll get back up and rock some more at times inching forwards. Nearly there.....nup, need a rest. But one way or another the goal is inevitably reached. So you go Jordan - you'll get there, and remember, crawling is not the ultimate goal but yet another preparation for something greater.
Here some footage of the little guy in action:
Here some footage of the little guy in action:
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Update from Ange - So blessed...
If you haven't already read Clayton's last update posted before this, you might want to read that first.
God is so good.
I'm glowing...
I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant, and if I'm not glowing on the outside, I certainly feel like I have much to glow about on the inside. The baby is happy and healthy - moving around regularly, and head down - ready to go. Growing well too! Ultrasound measurements, estimate that this bubba will be bigger than Judah and Nathan. I'm physically feeling well and looking forward to meeting this little one. With so little time to go, Clayton and I had better put our heads together and come up with a name or two! Life feels like it has been so busy that we have not had much time to stop and face the reality that our lives are about to change radically.
God is so good.
I'm glowing...
I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant, and if I'm not glowing on the outside, I certainly feel like I have much to glow about on the inside. The baby is happy and healthy - moving around regularly, and head down - ready to go. Growing well too! Ultrasound measurements, estimate that this bubba will be bigger than Judah and Nathan. I'm physically feeling well and looking forward to meeting this little one. With so little time to go, Clayton and I had better put our heads together and come up with a name or two! Life feels like it has been so busy that we have not had much time to stop and face the reality that our lives are about to change radically.
Aside from feeling good about our third child's imminent arrival, I feel absolutely contented and marvellously delighted in God's love for me and my family. This past year has been the most wonderful season for us as we have been blessed beyond belief.
Blessed in our finances:
I'm learning, that God really is looking out for us and that He really does want to bless us. How is it that we were prepared to take a huge step backwards financially in moving out here for Clayton to study, and yet, a year later, we have hardly gone backwards if at all? We haven't even been living poorly either. I mean, we've enjoyed a pretty blessed existence, and have enjoyed luxuries that most people will never experience. All I can conclude is that God is a generous God and that He continues to be our provider. And what does all that mean in the context that we live in, when there are poor homeless people living on the streets that surround us? Without a doubt, God has blessed us to be a blessing, and while we have not the means to welcome each and every homeless stranger into our home to be warm and well fed, we have had the ability to do the little things to strengthen their spirits and give hope. We're glad that we have had this time to expose our children to the reality that not everyone has a warm bed to sleep in at night. We're even more delighted in the response that this reality has drawn from them. Both Judah and Nathan treat each beggar with respect. Rather than looking the other way and ignoring the man on the corner who jingles his coin collecting cup up and down, they interact with him and engage him in conversation. They bring a smile to his face and plead with their dad to have a turn to give him some money. One of the things that we have observed, is that many homeless people have a greater awareness of God and their need for Him to help them make it through each day. Perhaps this is why Jesus said "Blessed are the poor". I can pretty much say for certain that you and I will never live in such severe poverty, but regardless of how rich or poor we may be, we need to forever acknowledge our dependence on God as our Jehovah Jireh - our provider. As we face this next chapter of our lives in Chicago, we don't yet know how it will all work financially, but in the words of brother K. Conner, "If it's God's Will, it's God's bill." We're feeling a great sense of peace that He will continue to meet every need, and that he will continue to guide us with the resources and skills that He has already given us.
Blessed by community:
We've been blessed by our Fuller family. Living in this community has be the most positive experience as we have learnt more about what it means to live in community - to love and serve one another. Here we have found life long friendships and I have learnt that keeping up appearances is an enemy to authentic community and hospitality. I'd rather have an open door to a messy apartment where okay, so the dishes are piled up and the floor needs vacuuming, but conversation flows and lives connect, than have my 'closed for business' sign up because I feel the need to hide the fact that I'm not perfect at keeping my home in order. I don't mind if people see the real me, and frankly, I'd prefer it if they did. As I'm learning in the book that Clayton and I are reading together, (Abba's Child by Brennan Manning); keeping up appearances is a worthless and destructive exercise. I'll be honest and admit that I'm still human and want people to think that I have it all together, but I'm slowly discovering that there is more freedom in just being myself and being okay with that. I've been blessed to be a part of a community that considers the needs of others - where meals are prepared for families going through a tough time and material possessions are shared; where families care for not only their own children but also their neighbours, so that husband and wife can enjoy a precious night out. You know that Christ is at work, when a family who have just had their third baby, have meals 'taken care of' every night for the next month!
Blessed that God has been working both in and through us:
I'm going to be vulnerable with what I'm about to share, but I feel like the way God has been leading us has been instrumental in tearing down the 'impostor within' that Manning refers to in his book Abba's Child. By this he means the false self that we would like to project and be know by. Okay, so that explanation probably does not suffice, and you'll just have to read the book for yourself, but one of the areas that he talks about is how we start to allow ourselves to draw our identity from our achievements, and interpersonal relationships. Coming out here, we were at last no bodies. We had no reputation to precede us and no position or title that demanded honor or respect. We were here - plain old Clayton and Angela Coombs. It's been a refreshing and encouraging time. So it turns out that people seem to like us for who we are - that's nice. But not the point. We have not had to live our lives preoccupied with acceptance or approval, but have enjoyed living out of who God has made us to be. It has been delightful to see Clayton loving what he is doing and digging deep - not because he has to, but because he genuinely wants to. And I have loved being immersed in community and raising our boys - not a flashy or thrilling life, but one where I feel like I have been able to find myself. So that's right, I was going to share vulnerably with you, well I suppose that having Clayton serving in a full-time ministry position brought with it a certain degree of prominence. We walked away from that because we knew that we needed to be obedient to where God was drawing us to next, but for the longest time, I believed that we were supposed to return to full-time ministry and that that would be the next step. But it's amazing how we can have a sense of what the future holds, but be totally clueless about how it will all unfold and when. God has an amazingly natural yet unmistakable way of leading our lives and He has not led us in the way that I would have expected. Had you talked to me a year ago, I would never have dreamed that we would spend the next four or so years living in Chicago while Clayton worked on a PhD. A more likely scenario would have had us return to Melbourne to settle down and get back into serving once again in the local church. How does doing a PhD fit in with a 'life long call to ministry'? Well we had to settle the issue. Yes we ultimately feel called to serve the local church, but in what capacity? Only God knows. So this is where I get vulnerable; I think that it was my flesh that secretly sought after the prominence that came with ministry leadership, and that I felt that we needed to put ourselves forward and 'make it happen'. But we have resigned to the fact that if we were to give ourselves the permission to push or force open doors that God was not really opening, then we would only be submitting ourselves to a place of toil, putting our noses to the grindstone so to speak. So we are just going to follow God, and trust that He will open the right doors to us in His good time. He has mercifully granted us the opportunity to once again live life without prominence. I suspect that our children's lives will be all the better for this decision, as from what I have observed, seldom do children benefit from a parent's prominence, but rather they thrive on the significance that parents place on their lives by sharing the best years of their lives together.
Blessed with family:
Today we celebrated Judah's 4th birthday. For most, a 4th birthday is just like the third, and not as big a deal as the fifth. But for us, Judah being a leap year baby, was finally celebrating his birthday on February 29! It has been a wonderful week for us, as we have been reminded yet again of the love that our family back home in Melbourne has for us. The delivery man could testify that we have been thought of this week, with the number of packages that have arrived to wish Judah a happy birthday. Then there have been the phone calls, cards and emails as well. With family like that, our children will never have reason to doubt that they are loved. And speaking of family, wow I feel blessed in my marriage to Clayton and blessed at the privilege that it is to have brought children into the world with him and be able to play such an integral part in raising them together. I am convinced that my life is good.
Well it is extremely late, and I fear that this blog entry is long enough that no one will have read it. But since it has served the purpose of helping me reflect on God's lavish blessings and love, I suppose that it doesn't really matter if no body reads it.
That will do for now!
Blessed in our finances:
I'm learning, that God really is looking out for us and that He really does want to bless us. How is it that we were prepared to take a huge step backwards financially in moving out here for Clayton to study, and yet, a year later, we have hardly gone backwards if at all? We haven't even been living poorly either. I mean, we've enjoyed a pretty blessed existence, and have enjoyed luxuries that most people will never experience. All I can conclude is that God is a generous God and that He continues to be our provider. And what does all that mean in the context that we live in, when there are poor homeless people living on the streets that surround us? Without a doubt, God has blessed us to be a blessing, and while we have not the means to welcome each and every homeless stranger into our home to be warm and well fed, we have had the ability to do the little things to strengthen their spirits and give hope. We're glad that we have had this time to expose our children to the reality that not everyone has a warm bed to sleep in at night. We're even more delighted in the response that this reality has drawn from them. Both Judah and Nathan treat each beggar with respect. Rather than looking the other way and ignoring the man on the corner who jingles his coin collecting cup up and down, they interact with him and engage him in conversation. They bring a smile to his face and plead with their dad to have a turn to give him some money. One of the things that we have observed, is that many homeless people have a greater awareness of God and their need for Him to help them make it through each day. Perhaps this is why Jesus said "Blessed are the poor". I can pretty much say for certain that you and I will never live in such severe poverty, but regardless of how rich or poor we may be, we need to forever acknowledge our dependence on God as our Jehovah Jireh - our provider. As we face this next chapter of our lives in Chicago, we don't yet know how it will all work financially, but in the words of brother K. Conner, "If it's God's Will, it's God's bill." We're feeling a great sense of peace that He will continue to meet every need, and that he will continue to guide us with the resources and skills that He has already given us.
Blessed by community:
We've been blessed by our Fuller family. Living in this community has be the most positive experience as we have learnt more about what it means to live in community - to love and serve one another. Here we have found life long friendships and I have learnt that keeping up appearances is an enemy to authentic community and hospitality. I'd rather have an open door to a messy apartment where okay, so the dishes are piled up and the floor needs vacuuming, but conversation flows and lives connect, than have my 'closed for business' sign up because I feel the need to hide the fact that I'm not perfect at keeping my home in order. I don't mind if people see the real me, and frankly, I'd prefer it if they did. As I'm learning in the book that Clayton and I are reading together, (Abba's Child by Brennan Manning); keeping up appearances is a worthless and destructive exercise. I'll be honest and admit that I'm still human and want people to think that I have it all together, but I'm slowly discovering that there is more freedom in just being myself and being okay with that. I've been blessed to be a part of a community that considers the needs of others - where meals are prepared for families going through a tough time and material possessions are shared; where families care for not only their own children but also their neighbours, so that husband and wife can enjoy a precious night out. You know that Christ is at work, when a family who have just had their third baby, have meals 'taken care of' every night for the next month!
Blessed that God has been working both in and through us:
I'm going to be vulnerable with what I'm about to share, but I feel like the way God has been leading us has been instrumental in tearing down the 'impostor within' that Manning refers to in his book Abba's Child. By this he means the false self that we would like to project and be know by. Okay, so that explanation probably does not suffice, and you'll just have to read the book for yourself, but one of the areas that he talks about is how we start to allow ourselves to draw our identity from our achievements, and interpersonal relationships. Coming out here, we were at last no bodies. We had no reputation to precede us and no position or title that demanded honor or respect. We were here - plain old Clayton and Angela Coombs. It's been a refreshing and encouraging time. So it turns out that people seem to like us for who we are - that's nice. But not the point. We have not had to live our lives preoccupied with acceptance or approval, but have enjoyed living out of who God has made us to be. It has been delightful to see Clayton loving what he is doing and digging deep - not because he has to, but because he genuinely wants to. And I have loved being immersed in community and raising our boys - not a flashy or thrilling life, but one where I feel like I have been able to find myself. So that's right, I was going to share vulnerably with you, well I suppose that having Clayton serving in a full-time ministry position brought with it a certain degree of prominence. We walked away from that because we knew that we needed to be obedient to where God was drawing us to next, but for the longest time, I believed that we were supposed to return to full-time ministry and that that would be the next step. But it's amazing how we can have a sense of what the future holds, but be totally clueless about how it will all unfold and when. God has an amazingly natural yet unmistakable way of leading our lives and He has not led us in the way that I would have expected. Had you talked to me a year ago, I would never have dreamed that we would spend the next four or so years living in Chicago while Clayton worked on a PhD. A more likely scenario would have had us return to Melbourne to settle down and get back into serving once again in the local church. How does doing a PhD fit in with a 'life long call to ministry'? Well we had to settle the issue. Yes we ultimately feel called to serve the local church, but in what capacity? Only God knows. So this is where I get vulnerable; I think that it was my flesh that secretly sought after the prominence that came with ministry leadership, and that I felt that we needed to put ourselves forward and 'make it happen'. But we have resigned to the fact that if we were to give ourselves the permission to push or force open doors that God was not really opening, then we would only be submitting ourselves to a place of toil, putting our noses to the grindstone so to speak. So we are just going to follow God, and trust that He will open the right doors to us in His good time. He has mercifully granted us the opportunity to once again live life without prominence. I suspect that our children's lives will be all the better for this decision, as from what I have observed, seldom do children benefit from a parent's prominence, but rather they thrive on the significance that parents place on their lives by sharing the best years of their lives together.
Blessed with family:
Today we celebrated Judah's 4th birthday. For most, a 4th birthday is just like the third, and not as big a deal as the fifth. But for us, Judah being a leap year baby, was finally celebrating his birthday on February 29! It has been a wonderful week for us, as we have been reminded yet again of the love that our family back home in Melbourne has for us. The delivery man could testify that we have been thought of this week, with the number of packages that have arrived to wish Judah a happy birthday. Then there have been the phone calls, cards and emails as well. With family like that, our children will never have reason to doubt that they are loved. And speaking of family, wow I feel blessed in my marriage to Clayton and blessed at the privilege that it is to have brought children into the world with him and be able to play such an integral part in raising them together. I am convinced that my life is good.
Well it is extremely late, and I fear that this blog entry is long enough that no one will have read it. But since it has served the purpose of helping me reflect on God's lavish blessings and love, I suppose that it doesn't really matter if no body reads it.
That will do for now!
Friday, 29 February 2008
"Oh say can you see" - some BIG news from us.
In short: home in July - off again in August
Hi all who still read despite how infrequently we post.
Well this week some big news broke for our family (no, not the baby yet). I have been accepted into the Wheaton College Graduate School to study a PhD in Biblical and Theological Studies beginning this Fall (September). Suffer me to give you a brief story of how this came about.
Several posts ago I wrote about how I had undergone a 'revolution in my thinking' and was considering doing doctoral studies in theology at the conclusion of my masters. At that stage I was planning to apply for several schools including Wheaton College in Illinois and Fuller.
However, during what I can only describe as a playful interaction in prayer oneday I felt the Holy Spirit dare me to apply only to Wheaton. At the beginning, I wasn't willing to respond to this, feeling that I needed to at least give the PhD thing a reasonable chance by applying broadly. But in the end I decided that I was good for the challenge. After all, if I got into the PhD I wanted to be sure that it was God and not just my own willfulness. So in December, I mailed off my one and only application - to Wheaton College and then tried to forget about it and see what God would do. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Wheaton offer six positions only every year. These positions are fully funded and also include a small stipend for (some) living expenses. Roughly sixty people apply each year.
It was a long wait during which Ange and I came to be very settled and surrendered about our future. If I was offered Wheaton, I'd accept and we'd move to Illinois. If not, we'd return home for good at the conclusion of my masters in June and seek God's will in Melbourne.
On the last day of January I got an email from Wheaton calling me in for an interview. They were interviewing 15.
Well the trip to Wheaton was quite something. It is a lovely town and the college campus is simply stunning. The average daytime temperature while I was there was about -10 Celsius. At night it was much colder. Since December we had both sensed deep down that this was just going to happen, and getting called for the interview only served to confirm that, so I did plenty of research while I was there visiting a church, a primary school (yes - Judah just turned four. school next year - scary) two kindergartens and a real estate agent. In the interview itself I was confident to the point of being reckless and was quite jovial with the panel of 7 senior professors. I simply figured that if it was God's will for me to get in, the panel would hear what they needed to hear despite me, and if it wasn't, then, well, at least I got to see Chicago :)
Well I wish now that I hadn't told you the ending because I have no way of communicating how tense this process has been (at times) for me. Despite the underlying hunch that we would end up at Wheaton and the certainty that God was leading us, not knowing for sure one way or the other was killing me (Ange as always was more settled) and since we'd been tossing this round since late september I was just busting to know one way or the other.
I returned from Wheaton on wednesday of last week. The following monday I got a courtesy call to let me know I was in.
So have I finally shut the door on returning to some sort of Church based ministry? Absolutely not. I just figured that last time Church ministry found me I was minding my own business and getting on with what God had put in front of me so nothing's really changed. My passion remains to build His kingdom by serving His Church. I'm not really fussed what the outworking of that is, because now more than ever I'm convinced that God is ordering my steps and all I have to do is, well, keep walking.
Our plans:
I will graduate from Fuller on the 14th of June. We will give ourselves a couple of weeks to pack up and sell up here, and plan to be back in Melbourne by the beginning of July. We will have about 8 weeks to spend heaps of time with our families (we will have a new baby to introduce and the boys will have a cousin on each side of the family born during our brief visit), catch up with as many friends as we possibly can and get fresh visas for our next stint. It is anticipated that the PhD will take 4 years for me to complete under normal circumstances.
We are relieved to finally know what lies in the immediate future (this emotion would have been the same either way actually. We are grateful for God's continued clear leadership in our lives and his provision for our needs. And we are excited about this next season of our lives.
Much love to all.
Clayton
Hi all who still read despite how infrequently we post.
Well this week some big news broke for our family (no, not the baby yet). I have been accepted into the Wheaton College Graduate School to study a PhD in Biblical and Theological Studies beginning this Fall (September). Suffer me to give you a brief story of how this came about.
Several posts ago I wrote about how I had undergone a 'revolution in my thinking' and was considering doing doctoral studies in theology at the conclusion of my masters. At that stage I was planning to apply for several schools including Wheaton College in Illinois and Fuller.
However, during what I can only describe as a playful interaction in prayer oneday I felt the Holy Spirit dare me to apply only to Wheaton. At the beginning, I wasn't willing to respond to this, feeling that I needed to at least give the PhD thing a reasonable chance by applying broadly. But in the end I decided that I was good for the challenge. After all, if I got into the PhD I wanted to be sure that it was God and not just my own willfulness. So in December, I mailed off my one and only application - to Wheaton College and then tried to forget about it and see what God would do. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Wheaton offer six positions only every year. These positions are fully funded and also include a small stipend for (some) living expenses. Roughly sixty people apply each year.
It was a long wait during which Ange and I came to be very settled and surrendered about our future. If I was offered Wheaton, I'd accept and we'd move to Illinois. If not, we'd return home for good at the conclusion of my masters in June and seek God's will in Melbourne.
On the last day of January I got an email from Wheaton calling me in for an interview. They were interviewing 15.
Well the trip to Wheaton was quite something. It is a lovely town and the college campus is simply stunning. The average daytime temperature while I was there was about -10 Celsius. At night it was much colder. Since December we had both sensed deep down that this was just going to happen, and getting called for the interview only served to confirm that, so I did plenty of research while I was there visiting a church, a primary school (yes - Judah just turned four. school next year - scary) two kindergartens and a real estate agent. In the interview itself I was confident to the point of being reckless and was quite jovial with the panel of 7 senior professors. I simply figured that if it was God's will for me to get in, the panel would hear what they needed to hear despite me, and if it wasn't, then, well, at least I got to see Chicago :)
Well I wish now that I hadn't told you the ending because I have no way of communicating how tense this process has been (at times) for me. Despite the underlying hunch that we would end up at Wheaton and the certainty that God was leading us, not knowing for sure one way or the other was killing me (Ange as always was more settled) and since we'd been tossing this round since late september I was just busting to know one way or the other.
I returned from Wheaton on wednesday of last week. The following monday I got a courtesy call to let me know I was in.
So have I finally shut the door on returning to some sort of Church based ministry? Absolutely not. I just figured that last time Church ministry found me I was minding my own business and getting on with what God had put in front of me so nothing's really changed. My passion remains to build His kingdom by serving His Church. I'm not really fussed what the outworking of that is, because now more than ever I'm convinced that God is ordering my steps and all I have to do is, well, keep walking.
Our plans:
I will graduate from Fuller on the 14th of June. We will give ourselves a couple of weeks to pack up and sell up here, and plan to be back in Melbourne by the beginning of July. We will have about 8 weeks to spend heaps of time with our families (we will have a new baby to introduce and the boys will have a cousin on each side of the family born during our brief visit), catch up with as many friends as we possibly can and get fresh visas for our next stint. It is anticipated that the PhD will take 4 years for me to complete under normal circumstances.
We are relieved to finally know what lies in the immediate future (this emotion would have been the same either way actually. We are grateful for God's continued clear leadership in our lives and his provision for our needs. And we are excited about this next season of our lives.
Much love to all.
Clayton
Friday, 26 October 2007
Update from Clayton
Ange is doing really well. We went to the doctor (for our first visit) last week and had an ultrasound and whatnot. It was wonderful to see the baby for the first time. Ange is nearly 15 weeks now and everything looks normal. The due date at the mo is April 24 which could mean early to mid April for us, though this is quite a different pregnancy (yes yes I hear your thoughts loud and clear - we also think so, but only time will tell whether 'different' equates to different gender).
Judah and Nathan are well. Nathan's 'picking' is finally healed, (recall that since June Nathan has had an open sore on his forehead because he keeps picking the scab). Nathan's communication is beginning in earnest which is very precious. He is a very affectionate boy and often initiates cuddles and says something which translates to 'I love you' (ayubyoooo). Judah is a thinker and a strategist. He always has a plan; always has an agenda, which can be very annoying when we're trying to put him to bed. He calmly explains his agenda highlighting the conflict with ours with phrases like 'I was just...' (with accompanying exasperated hand movements). From time to time this is also accompanied by 'How many times do I have to tell you Dad?' We are doing our best to frame him in at this stage and he is sometimes disciplined when he crosses the line into insolence, but really its so cute, and its great to see how his mind works and the things that are important to him. Nathan had been pleading with us for a bed for several weeks. He would hop on Judah's bed at night and refuses to get off - 'NO - I syeep doodah bed' (he curls up, shuts his eyes and sucks his thumb to make the point.) So a couple of weeks ago we went to IKEA (what a miserable place that is) and got a bunk bed. They absolutely love it and despite the horseplay nobody has fallen off the top bunk yet which is yet further proof of God's existence not to mention his personal care for us.
I am in the midst of a revolution in my thinking. I've always thought of lecturing in a bible college - training up the next generation of church leaders - as being my dream job. Getting paid to use my gifts, and not having to keep pulling programs off. However, I somehow felt that I would not get it that easy and was destined for another season of hard yakka in the front line before retiring to academia later in life. Though officially the story has only changed to the point that we are now flirting with the idea of further study, both of us have an incredible peace and a deep sense that this is indeed what God had planned all along. Of course the nature of a faith step is that I may well have to turn around and say 'you know what, scratch that last bit - we got it wrong', but at the mo, we are just going with what we know. We still feel very much called to serve the Church. But the benefit of the PhD is that when we return I will actually be qualified to do something that I love and we will be released to go where God positions us and serve the local church in whatever capacity God opens up for us without the pressure of looking for a job, as perhaps may be the case without the PhD. Furthermore, what better way to serve the Church than involving myself in training its future leaders?
SO. What does that mean? Well I need to pull together a few PhD applications before January when the deadline is. I will be applying for at least two schools over here - Fuller and another one near Chicago called Wheaton. If I get into Wheaton, we will think very very seriously about taking it. They accept 6 PhD applicants per year (out of a pool of between 50-60) only. Each of these get a full tuition scholarship and a stipend for living (which of course doesn't total cover living expenses unless we decide to live on porridge and sleep in the library but would be a darn sight better than the situation we're in at Fuller where we're paying hefty tuition and living expenses with absolutely little respite). For what its worth, I have looked at PhD programs around the Melbourne area, but could find only one bible college in Mulgrave that offers that award. Mulgrave's Phd is 100% research based (ie go and write 100,000 words and come back to me, and oh, that'll be $30k thanks), while the programs here all involve a significant coursework component which would allow me to develop to an advanced level in a number of areas such a biblical languages.
Anyway, I've been very self indulgent and this is turning into some kind of journaling exercise. The above represents nothing more than how we currently believe that God is leading us. We are simply trying to be obedient to His promptings and faithful in the gifts that He has given us. I would ask you to keep us in prayer as we walk down this road and discover where it might lead.
We’re all enjoying life here immensely and would love to hear from you all more.
Much love to all.
Clayton
Judah and Nathan are well. Nathan's 'picking' is finally healed, (recall that since June Nathan has had an open sore on his forehead because he keeps picking the scab). Nathan's communication is beginning in earnest which is very precious. He is a very affectionate boy and often initiates cuddles and says something which translates to 'I love you' (ayubyoooo). Judah is a thinker and a strategist. He always has a plan; always has an agenda, which can be very annoying when we're trying to put him to bed. He calmly explains his agenda highlighting the conflict with ours with phrases like 'I was just...' (with accompanying exasperated hand movements). From time to time this is also accompanied by 'How many times do I have to tell you Dad?' We are doing our best to frame him in at this stage and he is sometimes disciplined when he crosses the line into insolence, but really its so cute, and its great to see how his mind works and the things that are important to him. Nathan had been pleading with us for a bed for several weeks. He would hop on Judah's bed at night and refuses to get off - 'NO - I syeep doodah bed' (he curls up, shuts his eyes and sucks his thumb to make the point.) So a couple of weeks ago we went to IKEA (what a miserable place that is) and got a bunk bed. They absolutely love it and despite the horseplay nobody has fallen off the top bunk yet which is yet further proof of God's existence not to mention his personal care for us.
I am in the midst of a revolution in my thinking. I've always thought of lecturing in a bible college - training up the next generation of church leaders - as being my dream job. Getting paid to use my gifts, and not having to keep pulling programs off. However, I somehow felt that I would not get it that easy and was destined for another season of hard yakka in the front line before retiring to academia later in life. Though officially the story has only changed to the point that we are now flirting with the idea of further study, both of us have an incredible peace and a deep sense that this is indeed what God had planned all along. Of course the nature of a faith step is that I may well have to turn around and say 'you know what, scratch that last bit - we got it wrong', but at the mo, we are just going with what we know. We still feel very much called to serve the Church. But the benefit of the PhD is that when we return I will actually be qualified to do something that I love and we will be released to go where God positions us and serve the local church in whatever capacity God opens up for us without the pressure of looking for a job, as perhaps may be the case without the PhD. Furthermore, what better way to serve the Church than involving myself in training its future leaders?
SO. What does that mean? Well I need to pull together a few PhD applications before January when the deadline is. I will be applying for at least two schools over here - Fuller and another one near Chicago called Wheaton. If I get into Wheaton, we will think very very seriously about taking it. They accept 6 PhD applicants per year (out of a pool of between 50-60) only. Each of these get a full tuition scholarship and a stipend for living (which of course doesn't total cover living expenses unless we decide to live on porridge and sleep in the library but would be a darn sight better than the situation we're in at Fuller where we're paying hefty tuition and living expenses with absolutely little respite). For what its worth, I have looked at PhD programs around the Melbourne area, but could find only one bible college in Mulgrave that offers that award. Mulgrave's Phd is 100% research based (ie go and write 100,000 words and come back to me, and oh, that'll be $30k thanks), while the programs here all involve a significant coursework component which would allow me to develop to an advanced level in a number of areas such a biblical languages.
Anyway, I've been very self indulgent and this is turning into some kind of journaling exercise. The above represents nothing more than how we currently believe that God is leading us. We are simply trying to be obedient to His promptings and faithful in the gifts that He has given us. I would ask you to keep us in prayer as we walk down this road and discover where it might lead.
We’re all enjoying life here immensely and would love to hear from you all more.
Much love to all.
Clayton
Saturday, 24 February 2007
Jehovah Jireh - Our Provider
Let me start by giving you a bit of background...
Several months ago, when Clayton started studying full time he applied for AUSTUDY, a government support pension for full-time students. His application was denied. Reason given: even though he had never been a recipient of this benefit, his highest qualification was already a Masters level and this, for some arbitrary reason, disqualified him. He was advised by Centerlink representatives (who seemed to take pitty on our financial situation) to apply for Newstart, (a job seeking allowance) as soon as his student status was no longer deemed full-time, i.e. as soon as the semester was out. So upon this advice he made this application.
We had considered at the time that this form of support (all be it a government pension) could be the source of some of God's provision. To make an already long story, slightly shorter, Clayton's eligibility to receive any financial assistance was severely compromised by the size of our available funds (savings put aside to help pay for this venture). The outcome was that we would not be eligible to receive any payments until mid Feb 07, by which time Clayton would not be looking for work, but rather packing up to move overseas. When time came to fill in the paperwork to finally receive a payment, Clayton was faced with the question, 'Have you been actively seeking employment during the period for which the payment relates?' Clayton had not been, so dutifully reported this fact to not one, but three Centerlink telephone representatives, who each independently, advised him to, essentially lie, in order to qualify to receive this benefit.
Okay, now on to the part about God providing...
Since having made our decision to 'lay on the alter' all of our assets in order to finance what we believe to be a 'Kingdom Investment', we have been deeply encouraged by the generosity of those who have given as the Lord has led - not out of compulsion, coercion, manipulation or any form of begging, but simply out of a heart of generosity and a desire to support us in this move. A couple of significant ongoing pledges have been made to support us over the next two years, and numerous one off gifts have been made, from not only the Young Adults group, but also a number of friends and family in the lead up to our departure.
One notable gift came from someone that we didn't even know. At our final church service, we were asked to stand up to be prayed for. It was briefly explained to the congregation that we were moving to the US for the next couple of years while Clayton studied at a bible college over there. After the meeting a man came up to Clayton and introduced himself to him and said that the Lord had impressed upon him to give us some money, and asked how he might be able to do this. A few days later, $1000 showed up in our account with the reference 'study gift'. Thank you Lord.
One thing that we can testify is that God's provision is significantly more than the one off payment that we might have received had Clayton been prepared to compromise his integrity and lie on a form. We roughly calculated that we will have already received (including pledges) what we might have received in the one off Newstart payment times 100!
God is really good! We continue to be grateful for his provision and the generosity of His saints.
Several months ago, when Clayton started studying full time he applied for AUSTUDY, a government support pension for full-time students. His application was denied. Reason given: even though he had never been a recipient of this benefit, his highest qualification was already a Masters level and this, for some arbitrary reason, disqualified him. He was advised by Centerlink representatives (who seemed to take pitty on our financial situation) to apply for Newstart, (a job seeking allowance) as soon as his student status was no longer deemed full-time, i.e. as soon as the semester was out. So upon this advice he made this application.
We had considered at the time that this form of support (all be it a government pension) could be the source of some of God's provision. To make an already long story, slightly shorter, Clayton's eligibility to receive any financial assistance was severely compromised by the size of our available funds (savings put aside to help pay for this venture). The outcome was that we would not be eligible to receive any payments until mid Feb 07, by which time Clayton would not be looking for work, but rather packing up to move overseas. When time came to fill in the paperwork to finally receive a payment, Clayton was faced with the question, 'Have you been actively seeking employment during the period for which the payment relates?' Clayton had not been, so dutifully reported this fact to not one, but three Centerlink telephone representatives, who each independently, advised him to, essentially lie, in order to qualify to receive this benefit.
Okay, now on to the part about God providing...
Since having made our decision to 'lay on the alter' all of our assets in order to finance what we believe to be a 'Kingdom Investment', we have been deeply encouraged by the generosity of those who have given as the Lord has led - not out of compulsion, coercion, manipulation or any form of begging, but simply out of a heart of generosity and a desire to support us in this move. A couple of significant ongoing pledges have been made to support us over the next two years, and numerous one off gifts have been made, from not only the Young Adults group, but also a number of friends and family in the lead up to our departure.
One notable gift came from someone that we didn't even know. At our final church service, we were asked to stand up to be prayed for. It was briefly explained to the congregation that we were moving to the US for the next couple of years while Clayton studied at a bible college over there. After the meeting a man came up to Clayton and introduced himself to him and said that the Lord had impressed upon him to give us some money, and asked how he might be able to do this. A few days later, $1000 showed up in our account with the reference 'study gift'. Thank you Lord.
One thing that we can testify is that God's provision is significantly more than the one off payment that we might have received had Clayton been prepared to compromise his integrity and lie on a form. We roughly calculated that we will have already received (including pledges) what we might have received in the one off Newstart payment times 100!
God is really good! We continue to be grateful for his provision and the generosity of His saints.
Monday, 22 January 2007
Why we're doing what we're doing
The following except from letter I wrote in December 2005 might shed some light on the subect.
…We both have a real love for God's Church and are passionate about using the gifts He has given us - functioning in our role in His body. For Clayton, we have both known for a long time now that his primary gift is teaching and we feel a deep calling and sense of responsibility to ensure that we do our part to preserve the integrity of 'the Church' through sound doctrine (teaching), and leadership.
We recently felt led to dig up some of the prophetic words that had been spoken over each of us over the years. Listening to them gave us not only great encouragement, but also a deep challenge to "not neglect the gift that was given us through the prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on us". (1 Tim 4:14) You then read in verse 15 that we are to be diligent in these matters; giving ourselves wholly to them, and that we are to watch our lives and doctrine closely.
So what’s this big decision? Over the past week, we have gradually come to sense that God wants Clayton to take the next step and pursue fulltime theological training. One of the big options that we are considering very seriously is leaving the ministry at City Life Church and moving with the boys to the States for as much as 2 years to study. Why America? A number of reasons, but Clayton has been researching this on and off for a while now, and hasn't come across a course in Australia that has all that he is looking for. We are also seeking a season of impartation, equipping and exposure to God’s church outside of the expression that we have come to know.
One of the things that made me realise that this could be God, is that I have never wanted to move overseas or give up the security of living in Melbourne near family. I am a 'settler', and I have always said to Clayton that if we were ever meant to move overseas that God would have to do some serious work to make me want to go. Just last week Clayton was reading in Proverbs 8, "Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies..." When he shared this with me he also shared the challenge from the Lord: ‘What is stopping us? Is it money and financial security?’ When he shared this, for the first time, I felt a sense that we may just have to go. What can I say? I think that God has done a number on me, because now, I have this excitement and sense that we are just meant to go (regardless of the cost).
In the flesh, it seems like a crazy decision; walking away from fulltime ministry at one of the biggest churches in Australia, leaving family, leaving friends and making the hope of one day owning my dream family home with big back yard for the kids to play in a distant dream. We would be leaving the security of employment and not to mention government support, and moving to place where we don't know anyone, can't get a job and can't ‘settle’ down.
The thought of raising Judah and Nathan in the US for 2 years without family around is not great, but we have come to realise that now is probably the best time for them as they are not yet school age children and they'll be young enough to shake off any American accent that they might develop. (I can't stand the thought of having children call me 'mom'.)
Two years ago, Clayton heard from the Lord, “Two years. You’ve got two years.” At the time he discerned that God was saying that he had two years before we’d be moving on from the Young Adults ministry. Because of his love for the young adults, he’s been fighting it and trying to re-interpret that word ever since. But it would seem perhaps that now is the time. Well actually, it would be probably be late 2006 or early 2007, so we’d have plenty of time to prepare ourselves for the trip and the Young Adults group for transition.
Who knows what we’d be coming back to? There are no guarantees that there would be any paid ministry opportunities back home. We are simply putting our trust in God, walking in simple obedience to God’s leading so that we may be equipped for whatever it is that God has in store for us, whether employed or volunteering our service at CityLife, another church, or even church planting…
…We both have a real love for God's Church and are passionate about using the gifts He has given us - functioning in our role in His body. For Clayton, we have both known for a long time now that his primary gift is teaching and we feel a deep calling and sense of responsibility to ensure that we do our part to preserve the integrity of 'the Church' through sound doctrine (teaching), and leadership.
We recently felt led to dig up some of the prophetic words that had been spoken over each of us over the years. Listening to them gave us not only great encouragement, but also a deep challenge to "not neglect the gift that was given us through the prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on us". (1 Tim 4:14) You then read in verse 15 that we are to be diligent in these matters; giving ourselves wholly to them, and that we are to watch our lives and doctrine closely.
So what’s this big decision? Over the past week, we have gradually come to sense that God wants Clayton to take the next step and pursue fulltime theological training. One of the big options that we are considering very seriously is leaving the ministry at City Life Church and moving with the boys to the States for as much as 2 years to study. Why America? A number of reasons, but Clayton has been researching this on and off for a while now, and hasn't come across a course in Australia that has all that he is looking for. We are also seeking a season of impartation, equipping and exposure to God’s church outside of the expression that we have come to know.
One of the things that made me realise that this could be God, is that I have never wanted to move overseas or give up the security of living in Melbourne near family. I am a 'settler', and I have always said to Clayton that if we were ever meant to move overseas that God would have to do some serious work to make me want to go. Just last week Clayton was reading in Proverbs 8, "Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies..." When he shared this with me he also shared the challenge from the Lord: ‘What is stopping us? Is it money and financial security?’ When he shared this, for the first time, I felt a sense that we may just have to go. What can I say? I think that God has done a number on me, because now, I have this excitement and sense that we are just meant to go (regardless of the cost).
In the flesh, it seems like a crazy decision; walking away from fulltime ministry at one of the biggest churches in Australia, leaving family, leaving friends and making the hope of one day owning my dream family home with big back yard for the kids to play in a distant dream. We would be leaving the security of employment and not to mention government support, and moving to place where we don't know anyone, can't get a job and can't ‘settle’ down.
The thought of raising Judah and Nathan in the US for 2 years without family around is not great, but we have come to realise that now is probably the best time for them as they are not yet school age children and they'll be young enough to shake off any American accent that they might develop. (I can't stand the thought of having children call me 'mom'.)
Two years ago, Clayton heard from the Lord, “Two years. You’ve got two years.” At the time he discerned that God was saying that he had two years before we’d be moving on from the Young Adults ministry. Because of his love for the young adults, he’s been fighting it and trying to re-interpret that word ever since. But it would seem perhaps that now is the time. Well actually, it would be probably be late 2006 or early 2007, so we’d have plenty of time to prepare ourselves for the trip and the Young Adults group for transition.
Who knows what we’d be coming back to? There are no guarantees that there would be any paid ministry opportunities back home. We are simply putting our trust in God, walking in simple obedience to God’s leading so that we may be equipped for whatever it is that God has in store for us, whether employed or volunteering our service at CityLife, another church, or even church planting…
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