MESSAGES, TRIBUTES AND COMMENTS

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jason parolini,
Dr. Clowney came to preach at our church [in Las Vegas] on 2 or 3 occasions in the mid 1990's when we were without a pastor. He had such a winsome and natural way of preaching and talking about theological matters. I was invited to lunch after the worship service with some folks from our church along with Dr. Clowney. I was struck then by his gracious nature. I thought to myself, "here is a man whom God has been sanctifying for a very long time". He seemed so genuinely kind and patient. Later that same evening there was a get together at someone's house where we were told that Dr. Clowney would be willing to answer any theological or biblical questions we might have. A sort of bible answer man, if you like. I was truly in awe of his biblical knowledge, and his humble and gracious way of answering my questions. Several months later I saw him at a Ligonier Ministries conference in Seattle where he was one of the plenary session speakers. He greeted me as though I were a long lost friend. I have a picture from that conference of myself and Dr. Clowney which I will always cherish. I also got him to sign a copy of his book The Church. He inspired me to know the bible better, and to love the God of the bible more. I am confident that this giant of the faith has gone on to his eternal reward.

Reggie Kidd, Maitland, FL
As columnist for Christianity Today, Ed took the pen-name “Eutychus,” a name that meant “Lucky.”

When he introduced Eutychus to his Christianity Today readers, Clowney wondered if anyone “reflected on the name when Paul’s prolonged discourse was interrupted by the abrupt disappearance of ‘Lucky’ from the window sill?” Had perhaps the goddess “Tyche” (Lady Luck) revenged herself “on an apostate from an old cult?”

Ed, of course, went on to imagine for us the joy those members of the First Church of Troas must have experienced when they saw Eutychus restored to life: “The gates of hell could not prevail against the church of Christ. The bondage of ‘good luck’ was broken by the Good News…”

From it all, Ed derived this lesson: “No doubt Eutychus should have been listening and praying rather than sleeping, but childlike faith and deep sleep are not unconnected. Tyche’s devotees are great insomniacs; they must keep one eye on their capricious goddess. The psalmist, on the other hand, said, ‘In peace will I both lay me down and sleep’ for the Lord who never slumbers was his Keeper.”

No doubt all of us who have loved this modern day Eutychus count ourselves “lucky with holy luck” (to steal a line from Eugene Peterson) to have been the beneficiaries of his extraordinary wit, artful wordsmanship, and irrepressible joy. No doubt we all wish our Eutychus could still be listening and praying alongside us, challenging us to a still more childlike faith. But we are content that he has been allowed what Paul calls “a being with Christ which is better by far” and a place in what the writer to the Hebrews calls “the church of the firstborn, those enrolled in heaven.”

For the Lord who never slumbers is indeed “Lucky’s” Keeper.

Andi Brindley, Ocean Grove, New Jersey
I read what others are saying about the ways God has used Dr. Clowney... Christ's love and glory made palpable so that lives are changed (even very young ones), life directions altered, callings to serve the Kingdom clarified, and much of what I would say has already been well said.

I think it was the way Dr. Clowney knew Christ that lent such beauty and power to his preaching, writing, teaching, telling Bible stories, his counsel, his friendship.

And one thing grips me more than anything else as I reflect....

Knowing Dr. Clowney has left me wanting to know Christ so very much more, in the way that changes everything.

So, my tears of sorrow mingle with tears of longing for more of Christ ...a longing we know will be perfectly fulfilled one day, as Dr.Clowney is experiencing right now, and will from now on, forever.

Jung Min Lee, Seoul, Korea
My heart was broken as soon as I checked the latest WTS eNews. My deepest sympathy is with the Clowney family. Currently serving a local church(Seoul Bible Church)in Seoul, Korea as a new kid on the block (I was ordained less than a year ago!), I just can't help thinking about Dr. Clowney and his deep influence on me and my ministry. What an excellent teacher he was! What a persuasive writer he was! What a powerful preacher he was! What a dear friend he was to all around him! Most of all, what a faithful servant of Christ he was! What a great loss indeed not only to Westminster but also to the entire Christian community!

During my M. Div years at WTS (1998-2002), I had several precious opportunities to listen to his sermons and special lectures. I still vividly remember one time when I was sitting right next to him. I was so thrilled and excited just to sit next to "The Edmund Clowney," that is, "The Living Legend of WTS Practical Theology" that I asked him if he could write his autograph on my brand new NIV Study Bible, which has been a good friend of mine ever since, He gently smiled at me and said, "Sure, although I didn't write it!" It wasn't only his powerful preaching or thorough theological knowledge but also his humble and friendly Christian character that profoundly touched, challenged and transformed the course of many lives.

Thank you Dr. Clowney for being a woderful role model for generations to come! Although I'm very saddened by the fact that I can't see you face to face for now, I'm also grateful for the fact that we will meet again in eternity in Christ. This Easter Sunday will be a special reminder of the eschatological hope of the empty tomb. As you rest in peace in the Lord, I will do my best to carry on what you have taught me through your life. May God comfort and encourage your famly and friends to continue the journey to the cross!

Love,

Jung Min, In Sook, Susan, Paul & Grace from Seoul, Korea

Mary Frances Miller, Fredericksburg, VA
Dear Clowney family:

I am saddened by your loss of God's faithful servant, Ed, and pray that you know that now he is where "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard ...what God has prepared for those who love Him." And I pray that this comforts you. This past week, my daughter played on the violin, Ode to Joy by Beethoven for our homeschool group. We then sung the words penned by Ed Clowney's son, David, written for Ode to Joy. It was beautiful. It has been a favorite of our family since my husband, Brian, went to Westminster in the 80's, where we met David and knew his father, the President of the Seminary. While I was working at the seminary in the mailroom, President Clowney found out my desire to paint and asked me to bring my artwork to show him sometime. I was dumbfounded that he cared to spend time encouraging me in my artwork as I was only a Seminarian's wife! Apparently from the other heartfelt messages I have read today, (with tears), this was typical for him, to show EVERYONE that they are important in the work God has called them to do. He pressed me to do "all to God's glory" and I see he meant to do that with his own life (back in the 80's) and he did just that, I am sure, with God's grace.
We send warm thoughts to David, Bettina and the boys (men, by now, I imagine), as well as to you all.
Mary Frances and Brian Miller

David A. George, Sacramento, California
My wife, Jayne, and I mourn the death of Edmund P. Clowney. We wish God's rich comfort to his wife, Jean, and their family. Dr. Clowney was a mentor to me through his teaching at Westminster, through his books and preaching, and through his wise counsel. His high view of the church, his Christocentric Biblical theology, and his thorough understanding of Scripture have been used of God to significantly mould me, my ministry, and the people I have been called to serve. Dr. Clowney's many sermons, especially "Sharing the Father's Welcome" (which I heard him preach at the Urbana Missions Conference in the early seventies) have been models for my own preaching. I continue to be stirred every time I replay my well-worn cassette copy of "Sharing the Father's Welcome." Ed's care for me and counsel to me as a seminary student helped lead me into the Presbyterian ministry. I had the privilege of accompanying him and Jean to study at the Reformed Seminary in Aix-en-Provence during Westminster's Winter Term in 1975. The love I saw in him for the church's growth and mission challenged me for years to come. Jayne and I were honored for Ed to preach God's Word at our wedding. In so many ways, my life was enriched by Dr. Clowney's influence. I and many, many others thank God for him. The church, Biblical scholarship, preaching, and the individual lives of countless believers are better for his faithful service to Christ.

Roger Schmurr, Grand Rapids, Michigan
In the late 1960s Henry Coray, pastor of the OP church across from WTS in Glenside, encouraged seminarians and Ed Clowney to get out on the golf course for exercise and relaxation. One day I was teamed with with Dr. Clowney in a best-ball tournament. He wasn't having a good day, and his scores were lower than mine on only a couple of holes—so his contribution to the team was minimal that day. Clearly he was disappointed, but as he drove me back to the seminary, he didn't dwell on his golf score. He took time to find out about me and to explain carefully some of the material he was covering in class. I, a lousy golfer, had shown up my professor on the golf course. But he responded humbly and offered help to me. That stuck with me as a concrete example of deep Christian humility.

john marshall, houston, texas
Betsy and I were saddened to receive Helen's call last Sunday with the news that our beloved Dr. Clowney had departed this earthly life to be with our Lord face to face. That sadness was tempered by the realization that he would no longer be plagued by the physical deterioration that had frustrated him in recent years, and that he would instead be in the very presence of the savior whose presence in all parts of the Bible he had long championed.

I recall like only yesterday when I learned that Ed and Jean would be coming to Houston to serve in our church. I was surprised that he, with his sterling credentials and great following, would join a small beginning church such as ours. I pondered what he would be like--could I know him and even have a chance to perhaps learn from his own lips a small portion of his enormous wealth of theological wisdom and insight. Awed by a figure so famous and acknowledged to be so eminent, I found instead a quiet little man, with a sense of humor and, above all else, profoundly humble. When asked later to write an article profiling Ed, his eternal humility, rather than his well chronicled scholarship and teaching, was the feature that sprang first to mind. I learned much from Ed, but the foremost truth I learned from his beautiful life is that genuine christian belief necessarily pours out in simple humility before our awesome God.

I choose now, rather than dwelling on my own feelings of loss, to remember Ed for directing us to the glory of God's redemptive purpose throughout the Word and for exhibiting what it is to truly be a follower of Christ. My prayer is that I may some day be one tenth the person Ed was; I treasure the example he left us and I long for the day when we can stand side by side before the throne and sing praises to God with voices that will never grow weary.

Dick Keyes, L'Abri Fellowship, Southborough, Massachusetts
Dr. Clowney was one of the main reasons I went to WTS and afterward, that I was glad I had studied there. I had been a Christian for less than two years when I began, with my Biblical understanding very thin. I found his preaching and teaching to be an open door to the richness of the Scritpures, presented with such warmth, humor and transparent love for God ... what a gift! I have always valued his friendship and the friendship of his family. Mrs. Clowney, Paul, David and Rebecca, may God comfort you in your great loss.

Craig T. Combs, Essex Junction, Vermont
Dear Jeanne, and David, and family all,
My eyes are brimming with tears right now as I remember Ed Clowney. I just this moment read of his death. I send my love to your family, and I will pray for God's glory in these next days. I humbly consider Edmund P. Clowney my mentor and single most significant influence in shaping my ministry of preaching (though I would not hold him responsible for how poorly I do it). He taught me to "Preach Christ from the Scriptures" and his motto has become mine, and my life's calling. He passed on to me the conviction that Jesus is really and truly the message of every Scripture, the passion to find him there, and the zeal to put him on display so that the people of God may see him, and hear him, and may love him and believe him and adore him, and might live.
I cannot overstate the degree to which his tutelage affected me, nor the esteem in which I have continued to hold him for Jesus' sake. My only regret is not having had more time with him, more opportunity to sit at his feet and absorb some wisdom.
How I thank God for the privilege of studying under him at Westminster! He was dear to me. I will never preach again without remembering him.
If God is pleased to make it possible I will be present at one of the services, and will be there weeping and rejoicing at the same time. If not, I will be praying for you all. [David, I do not expect you to remember this inauspicious student of yours, but I remember you fondly, and continue to be grateful for the things you taught me. 1982-1986 were very, very special years for me.]
Most affectionately yours in Christ our Lord,
Rev. Craig Combs