MESSAGES, TRIBUTES AND COMMENTS

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Rev. Patrick Malone, Montclair, NJ
Dr. Clowney's book Unfolding Mystery was used by our men's monthly bible study, and it was very helpful for the men of our church to see that Jesus Christ was the center of all of God's revelation to man.

I was able to learn from Dr. Clowney as I attended classes at Westminster. His depth of knowledge and love for our Lord was visible and inspiring. The Church has lost a true witness for the faith.

Lloyd Kim, Manila, Philippines
Professor Ed Clowney taught me how to preach. I count it a great privilege to be numbered among those who were able to sit under his teaching. In him I saw the perfect balance between deep theological reflection, pastoral warmth, clear insightful communication, and sincere faith and love for Christ. For this I am greatly indebted and thankful.

I was so encouraged by his personal care and concern for his students. The week after David Stoddard and I preached for his class, he invited us to breakfast to discuss our sermons. I was so touched by this personal invitation, wondering if he did this for all his students? I think he did. Or maybe it was because David was dating Eowyn (his grand daughter) at the time? Anyway, I'd like to think he did it for all his students.

My only hope is to pay proper tribute to him by carrying forth his legacy of love for Christ and for people. Your work here on this side of eternity has certainly left its mark. We will miss you dearly Ed Clowney.

Nigel & Carol Gray, East Sussex, UK
Having learnt of Dr Clowney's death a short while ago, we are both filled with sadness but also with the assurance and firm hope that he has gone to be with Our Lord in heaven. We are visiting our eldest son in New Jersey and he too sends his condolences. Being part of the IPC in Ealing, London for many years, we were priviledged to hear Dr Clowney speak or preach at least once a year for many years. We remember those times as something very special. He was a very learned and erudite man yet always had time for those who were not as he was. He was a true pastor and loved the Lord's people whatever. We thank God for his life and our prayers are with Mrs Clowney and all the family.

John M. Frame, Oviedo, FL
I don't know of anyone in the world that I respect more than Ed Clowney. He was a brilliant thinker, a kind friend, and a preacher who, perhaps more than any other, ministered to my heart. He was a man of great integrity. I recall how he sought to postpone contentious faculty discussions so that his opponents could be present. I also remember how he was willing to do humble tasks, as when I accompanied Jean's choir and Ed babysat my two boys, telling them Bible stories. I am sad for Jean and the family, but so happy that God gave this man to us for so many years, and then took him to glory. How wonderful that Ed, who exalted Christ so often, now beholds him face to face.

Shawn Doud, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Dear Clowney Family,

Your husband and father was the speaker at my ordination service as a PCA teaching elder in June 2000. Dr. Clowney and I were examined at the same credentials committee meeting of South Texas Presbytery. I was in the room as these men who were charged with examining Dr. Clowney soon stopped grilling him and listened as he shared what God was teaching him through his young friend Tim Keller and we shared his joy in knowing God's grace in more than just a theological or academic sense. I have since watched the video of my ordination and was struck by the power and strength he exhibited in the pulpit, even though he had undergone pacemaker surgery several weeks before. I am honoured that he was part of my entry into gospel ministry, and am rejoicing that he has entered into the second stage of his gospel rest awaiting the resurrection with us. May God bless you with joy in the Gospel of our resurrection and life as you wait for that day.

Grace and peace.
Rev. Shawn Doud
North Ridge PCA, Calgary

Sam Smith, Louisville, MS
Dr. Clowney was assigned to critique my first sermon as an intern at New Life Presbyterian Church -- I will never forget sitting in tiny S.S. chairs made for children as Dr. Clowney reworked my outline on the fly. It was one of many moments I had with Dr. Clowney that impacted my life and ministry.

Jeanette Yep, Middleton, Wisconsin
I met the Clowney's in the late 70's while a student at Mt. Holyoke College. Dr. Clowney spoke at a month-long student camp sponsored by InterVarsity in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I was profoundly influenced by his love for God's word and his love for God's people. His thoughtful Biblical exposition filled my heart and challenged my mind. I observed the deep love commitment Ed and Jean had for one another. Ed's wry sense of humor, his unwillingness to take himself too seriously and his heartfelt desire to have us think Biblically about life, our studies and our futures was a significant investment in my life. After completing my undergraduate studies, I seriously considered attending Westminster because of him. Dr. Clowney's person, preaching and writing was used by God in my life to help me grow in love for God's word and his people. I am one of many who have benefited from Dr. Clowney's ministry and love. May God's Holy Spirit comfort Jean, the children and the family in these days of sorrow. Ed has gone to the welcoming arms of his Lord and savior. Well done good and faithful servant!

Frank and Theresa McCraw, Franktown, Virginia
2Ki 2:12-13 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

Upon hearing of Dr. Clowney's departure from this earth , my impulse was to read Elisha's response to Elijah's being carried away in the fiery chariot (although Dr. Clowney's ministry was much more Elisha-like - gentle, warm, personal.) He was also a giant in his time. Generations of seminary students, Bible students, and friends are eternally indebted to him for his friendship and his Bible work revealing his Lord in history.

Ed had the special ability to make people feel important. His genuine and frequent expressions of gratitude were wildly disproportionate to the slightest courtesies one extended to the him. This was certainly true in my relationship with him. And recently one of Trinity's pastors told me of Ed's desire and request to him, when contemplating his recent return to Charlottesville, to be able to pray weekly with him - as if any Christian on the planet wouldn't kill (oops) for such an opportunity. Such a dear man. Even when his brilliance while publicly teaching the Bible during his last year was occasionally distracted by a slight "senior moment" he had the disarming self-effacing humor, charm, and poise to turn lemons into lemonade.

Ed taught me a lot about charity and generosity, and of holding lightly onto the things of this world. He leaves behind a family that reminds me of Jonathan Edwards' descendants - men and women of great talent and integrity.

May our Lord richly bless and comfort Jean and her family, and give them a real sense of His approval of their and Ed's work with a "well done, thou good and faithful servants." We love you and will miss Ed greatly.

Robert B. Strimple, President Emeritus, Westminster Seminary California
Ed's death leaves me with great personal sadness, but also with thanksgiving to God for his life and ministry, for what it has meant to the whole church but also for what it has meant to me personally. TIME recently ran a cover story on "The 25 Most Influential American Evangelicals." When the history of the 20th cent. American church is written, Edmund Clowney must be ranked among an even smaller number of influential Reformed leaders. But since I must be brief, let me be personal. No one had a greater impact on my own ministry than Ed. In 1956 I went to Westminster Seminary and was introduced to the glories of so-called "biblical" theology by this young prof. In 1969 he asked me to join the faculty of WTS and steered the nomination through faculty and board. In 1971 he appointed me Dean of the Faculty, later Vice President for Academic Affairs; and then in 1979 "dropped the bombshell" of asking Bob den Dulk and me to move to California to see a Westminster Seminary established there. Ed kept many people very busy for many years laboring to put his so-creative ideas into operation! My one contribution to his production was to invite him to join us in California in his "retirement" years in order to offer elective courses in "Preaching Christ..."--one year "in The Old Testament," another year "In the Epistles," another "In the Gospels"; so that the wonderful insights he had brought to years of student-preaching classes might at last be organized and committed to writing. My dream was to see these elective courses some day producing a book. Well, by God's grace two books resulted: Preaching Christ in All of Scripture and The Unfolding Mystery. Thank you, Lord, for the gifts and ministry of Ed Clowney.

Pastor and Mrs. Ron Gleason, Orange, California
Dear Mrs. Clowney and family: The prayers of Grace Presbyterian Church in Yorba Linda and our own family are with you as you celebrate the life of your husband, father, and grandfather and lay his body to rest even as his spirit enjoys the heavenly realities and pleasures at God's right hand forevermore. We have benefitted from Dr. Clowney's wisdom. We treasure the spiritual insights he has given to God's people during his many years as pastor, scholar, and teacher. Indeed, Dr. Clowney was a man of God who lived by faith and walked by faith as a child of grace. May the Lord grant all of you who knew him best the peace and joy of knowing that God's eternal and sure promises belong in fullness to Ed Clowney today. Also, may the Lord, by his Spirit of Comfort, wipe away all of your tears. In Christ, Ron and Sally Gleason and family