MESSAGES, TRIBUTES AND COMMENTS

page 1::page 2::page 3::page 4::page 5::page 6::page 7::page 8::page 9::page 10::page 11::page 12::page 13::page 14::page 15::page 16::page 17::page 18::page 19

Kim Batteau, pastor of the Reformed Church (Liberated), The Hague, The Netherlands
Today (March 29) is Ed Clowney's funeral in Charlottesville, according to the WTS-East website. I pray that all who attend may be comforted and blessed, especially you, dear family of Ed Clowney. What a blessing that we who contribute to these messages can share our appreciation and thoughts through this medium, across the barriers of time and space. I remember Dr. Clowney (as I always called him) very vividly. He spoke regularly to our IVCF (HRCF) group at Harvard when I was there in the 1960s, and he was one of the main reasons I chose to go to Westminster (East) for seminary (in those days there was no Westminster West!). He was a man of great intelligence, great theological insight, great humility, and great humor. Not common attributes in a theologian! He helped us preach sermons with Christ at the center, as many in these messages have testified. He kept us Christ-centered, and had us laughing to boot! But this laughter was not cheap; it was holy laughter, spurring us on to holiness. Dr. Clowney's commitment to Christ, to the inerrancy of Scripture, to the Reformed Faith, and to the Church was always evident. May we follow that commitment in our own lives.

Bob Brown, 230 Wellington Dr., Charlottesville, VA 22903
Dear Jean:

Thank you for sharing Ed with us, for returning here from your wide travels, for choosing Charlottesville over so many other good options, and for your industrial strength on our hymn book revisions.

Ed was a special person to me. Fifteen years ago, I attended a writers' group that Ed spearheaded and I benefited greatly from his kind, gentle, and intellectual approach to writing. His sermons were always a cognitive and spiritual delight. I thank God for Ed.

Eunice & Timothy Cantwell, Deptford, New Jersey
Dear Professor Clowney,
My husband and I were very saddened to hear that your father recently passed away. You must of been very proud of him. Our deepest sympathy and prayers to you and your family.
Eunice & Tim Cantwell

Sean Choi, Santa Barbara, CA
I am saddened by the news of Dr. Clowney's death. He was a gifted preacher and expositor of the written Word. I consider myself very blessed for having been under his tutelage while I was at Westminster.

Tom Morrison, Bellingham, WA
One of the most influential sermons I ever heard was the address given by Edmund Clowney at the Urbana '73 mission convention titled: "Jesus Christ and the Lostness of Man". I've listened and re-listened to it countless times and I still think of particular lines from it even 32 years later. One memorable line: "Before he comes to inflict the judgement Jesus Christ comes to bear the judgement."
I never knew Dr. Clowney personally but I'm thankful for the influence he had on my life and those of so many others. Thanks be to God.

Jim Bachmann, Nashville, TN
I never had the pleasure of meeting Ed personally but I shall never forget hearing him preach on the parable of the prodigal son. It was in the early 1970s and I was a new Christian, about 17 years old. He was speaking at the PEF conference in Montreat where my parents had taken me. It was a Sunday morning service and he preached for nearly an hour. For me though, it was as though time stood still. I was absolutely spellbound by the text and the manner in which Dr. Clowney presented it. In later years I heard other wonderful sermons he preached, but that moment at Montreat was absolutely pivotal in my early Christian life!

Mark Blair, Almaty, Kazakhstan
I thank God for the life and teaching of Dr. Clowney. It was a privilege being a student at Westminster. Dr. Clowney's penetrating question about a WCC declaration on evangelism (I did not know the answer then, I cannot even remember the question now!) stopped me short on my Th.M. Missiology oral exam. I can still hear Harvie whispering, "If you don't know the answer, keep quiet! Don't guess!" It reminded me of the seriousness of our task, both to know what our message is - and is not! It is only when we understand the message well that we can present it simply - which Dr. Clowney did with such beauty, humility, and power. May the comfort of the Christ he preached sustain his family.

Mark Blair
Pastor, International Christian Fellowship
Lecturer, Kazakhstan Evangelical Christian Seminary

Bill Johnson, Williamsport, PA
I send my sympathy to Ed's family - the Church has lost a statesman and elder brother in the faith, but you have lost your loved husband, father, and grandfather. May the Holy Spirit be your Comforter and the Lord Jesus your Sustainer as you rest in the Father's love.

Through the course of interviewing Ed a number of times concerning his role in numerous episodes in the history of our Presbyterian churches, Ed showed me a review of his life he had written for one of his publishers. I still marvel at the humility that review reflected. Besides all the degrees and the all the roles he had had on national and world stages, he described the "hardest job of my life" as the effort he had poured into writing and illustrating VBS material for Great Commission Publications back in the 1950s (see Tom Patete's tribute above)...and he meticulously named the people who had helped with that project.

Though I had Ed as a seminary professor in Philadelphia and saw first-hand his concern and efforts for the spread of the gospel in France through the seminary in Aix and the evangelical Reformed Church in the land of Calvin, I have never gotten over his example of desiring to know Christ more deeply and the Scriptures better in the later years of his life: it was in his seventies, long after the first of several retirements, that he began keeping a devotional journal! As others have testified already, to have heard him preach Christ was a privilege I will never forget.

What I hold most precious about Ed, however, was his dedication to and love for the Church throughout a lifetime of service. His commitment to working for better inter-church relations was indefatigable and defeats in that arena did not dim his desire to seek greater unity. I am picturing him enjoying the best of intra-Church unity with all the saints in heaven, and am glad the testimony of his life on earth will always point the way for our efforts to achieve greater unity in the Church here on earth.

It's striking to see how these tributes, coming as they do from all parts of the world, are in their own way a foretaste of heaven and our unity in Christ. It will be glorious to join Ed in praising the Lord of the one Church for all eternity. - With You in Christ, Bill

Ruben A. Supan, MD, Pampanga, Philippines
I was just reading for a couple of days now the book, "THE UNFOLDING MYSTERY." Then I learned today that Edmund Clowney passed away. The book was just a small taste but it made so much an impact that it made me miss a man I only knew by just one single book. I could imagine how those who encountered him through his personal teachings are seeking comfort from the Lord.
At last, he have seen Christ our Lord, to which he was pointing us unto in the whole of Scriptures his whole life.

Ligon Duncan, First Presbyterian (PCA), Jackson, Mississippi
Dear Clowney family:

Please accept my deepest sympathy to you in the loss of your dear husband, father, grandfather and more. Dr. Clowney was a great man, and the church will sorely miss him. What a blessing he was to the PCA and the whole Reformed-evangelical community.

May you find the Lord to be your refuge (Psalm 46:1-11, Psalm 73:25); for as one old Scottish prayer says: “In this time of our loss, Thou alone canst be our consolation.” It is my prayer that you will know the comforting presence of the Lord, even in this time of bereavement and that — because you trust in Christ alone — you will be strengthened by God’s grace. Please know of our love and concern for you. May the Lord uphold you.

Dr. Clowney taught me so much through his books and preaching (as he did so many others). I can still remember hearing his famous sermon on David's mighty men, preached at Covenant Seminary almost twenty years ago. It so impacted me that I continue to be able to repeat it almost verbatim -- so gripping and clear was his proclamation.

Your friend, in mourning and in hope,

Ligon Duncan
Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church (PCA), Jackson, MS
Moderator, General Assembly, Presbyterian Church in America
President, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
Adjunct Professor, Reformed Theological Seminary