What is your desire?

Just watched this little video by DesiringGod.org

Desiring God - end of year video

Its really great, uplifting and challenging.

Please give it a watch!

Spiritual Refreshment

As essay deadlines are coming (and going!), its proving to be a busy time! And as things are getting busy it is easy to get distracted by deadlines and work and become a bit tired and in need of some spiritual feeding.

As I was thinking about this I was reminded of some talks I listened to a year or so ago which really fed me helped and encouraged me in my walk with Christ.

The seminar is by John Piper and is on TULIP, the 'five points of Calvinism', but it is not about a system or a mere man (Calvin) it truly is about the doctrines of Grace and of Christ's Lordship and Gods Sovereignty.

There are 9 sessions, so they are quite long, but I cannot recommend them enough to you, please do listen to them, or you can even watch them.

TULIP, Part 1 - Introduction

TULIP, Part 2 - Assumptions - Irresistible Grace

TULIP, Part 3 - Irresistible Grace - Total Depravity

TULIP, Part 4 - Total Depravity - Unconditional Election

TULIP, Part 5 - Unconditional Election

TULIP, Part 6 - Unconditional Election

TULIP, Part 7 - Limited Atonement

TULIP, Part 8 - Perseverance of the Saints

TULIP, Part 9 - Ten Effects of Believing the Five Points of Calvinism

I pray that you will be blessed through these talks.

And then there were four....

Rachael is pregnant!

Well, glad to get that off our chest!

We found out just before i left York to come down to Wales (leaving Rach and Jacob there) and it has been really hard keeping it quiet until now. Partly because there isn't much space to hide a baby in Rachael's tummy, and partly because we wanted to tell people so they could be praying for us.

We just had the scan this Wednesday (02/11/11) and wanted to wait until we knew everything was ok before we told you all. But everything seems to be developing just as it should - praise God!

Needless to say Rachael being pregnant has not made moving down and getting settled any easier, for one Rach has been suffering from really bad sickness, especially on an evening (go figure!) and so this has put a bit of a strain on my studies (thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it!) and on just getting settled in. Also baby is due to make an appearance on the 12/05/12, one day before my dads birthday - which he is very happy about, and slap bang in the middle of end of year exam week - which I am not so happy about!

So we would really appreciate prayer particularly for Rach and 'bump' as the pregnancy progresses and for all the implications of it! 

We praise God for this blessing, and know that all things happen in his good time.

Book review - The Pastor as Scholar & The Scholar as Pastor

The Pastor as Scholar & The Scholar as Pastor

John Piper & D. A. Carson

'One of the most encouraging and helpful books I have seen in a long time. If you are a pastor, read it. If you have a pastor, put it in his hands'

R. Albert Mohler Jr

Structure

The Pastor as Scholar is helpfully split into 4 Sections:

1. Introduction: The Return of the Pastor-Scholar
2. The Pastor as Scholar: A personal Journey and the Joyful Place of Scholarship – John Piper
3. The Scholar as Pastor: Lessons from the Church and the Academy – D. A. Carson
4. The Preacher, the Professor and the True Pastor-Scholar

Really this can be seen as two separate books in a way, with two similar yet different viewpoints on the same subject matter. All of which is tied up very well with the introductory and conclusive chapters.

It is also worth noting that the book was initially a seminar that Piper and Carson gave together, and so has a very relaxed almost conversational style to it, which makes it a very easy read.

Review

The 'question' this book aims to address is 'what do you want to be a Pastor, or a Scholar'. But I think the book also answers the question: ' what do you want as a spiritual leader, a Pastor or a Scholar' as I believe that although this is a book aimed at people in or heading for ministry, that it is also a book for anyone who sits under a Pastor! The conclusion, they both come to, of course, is ' why can't you be both!'

The two main sections of the book are written by Piper and Carson, and they each offer their unique (and well qualified!) view on the subject matter. For the purposes of this review, I am going to review the sections by Piper and Carson individually.

- The Pastor as Scholar – John piper

Piper opens his section by sharing what he calls his 'personal pilgrimage to the pastorate'. In this theme he talks not only about his 'biographical' pilgrimage what I have called 'Birth to Bethlehem', but also his 'idealogical' pilgrimage. The way Piper expresses the place scholarship has in the over arching theme of his ministry is this – 'that God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him', and this is a phrase and a concept that he relates and revisits several times through his section of the book, and we'll come back to this idea later.

One of the things I enjoy about Piper's writing and preaching is his passion, and this again is something that very much comes through in this book, and an issue he discuss' directly. I found Piper's insight on this idea of passion a challenge, especially as he speaks about the cultural differences between British and American attitudes to 'baring our souls', as he puts it, and about speaking publicly of things that mean most to us.

Whilst I acknowledge that sometimes if someone is speaking about the things that are closest to their heart, it can sometimes become about the speaker, and not the text (though I don't think that criticism can be levelled at Piper), it challenged me to think about the fact that if something is important to me (God's word in this case) it should burst forth from me, I shouldn't be able to contain myself, and that should affect the way I share God's word with people.

The next 20 or so pages are spent on the biographical route Piper took to ministry, which I found very interesting to read, especially to consider that from a young age he found it extremely difficult (nearly impossible) to speak in front of a group of people! Through his biography we see that although Piper started out as a 'Scholar' working very much in the academic world, that he was later called into a pastoral ministry.

Piper also talks about 'treasuring'. He discuss' that we need to treasure God's word before we can do good deeds for His glory. Piper very much sees his ministry as being 'driven to attain a heart and mind that treasures God's word' so that he isn't hypocritical in his deeds, and so to treasure God's word he must study it – in other words be a scholar!

But Piper is balanced and does address the downsides/dangers of having a scholarly 'bent' in you ministry. Whilst he maintains that right thinking about God is of utmost importance, he also maintains that 'right thinking about God exists to serve right feelings for God' (a theme that is covered fully in Pipers book Think: the Life of the Mind and Love of God). He makes the point that even the devil has right thoughts about God, but thoughts don't automatically equate with affection - thoughts and thinking are not enough!

Piper finishes his section with '9 biblical basis for the scholarly service of joy'. He covers a lot of ground, too much to cover here, but just to whet your appetite here are the 9 sub headings:

• Zeal according to knowledge
• Understanding in and through thinking
• Life given through reasoning
• Jesus assuming logic
• A use of the mind Jesus hates
• Paul's rhetorical question
• Pastors able to teach
• The hard mental work of book reading

- The Scholar as Pastor – D. A. Carson

Carson begins his section by discussing what is meant by the term Scholar, something which sounds like it should be addressed nearer the beginning of the book, but actually fits in well where it is. Carson discuss' the limitations of the term scholar, but sticks with it using it to mean both 'academia' and 'book study'

Carson puts forward that there is no correct 'answer' to the issue, but rather wants the reader to recognise that God gives people different gifts, and that each should work out their roles of Pastor and Scholar as they feel called and able.

Carson goes on to discuss the importance of seeing our intellectual endeavour as being important to God, not only in 'Christian' study, but in any study we undertake, another example of how this book is useful for people other than those heading for ministry.

Its then on pg76 that Carson hits what I think is a key issue in the intellectual/pastoral debate, he writes:

'...just because I study the half-life of a quark, a pilated woodpecker, the consistory records of Geneva in the years after Calvin’s death, the destructive influence of Richard Simon, or a Hebrew infinitive construct does not guarantee that I love God better. In fact, it may seduce me into thinking I am more holy and more pleasing to God, when all I am doing is pleasing myself: I like to study. After all, plenty of secularists are fine technical scholars who enjoy their work and make excellent discoveries and write great tomes, without deluding themselves into thinking that they thereby prove they love God and deserve high praise in the spiritual sphere. Nothing is quite as deceitful as an evangelical scholarly mind that thinks it is especially close to God because of its scholarship rather than because of Jesus.'

I think this is something we can quite easily fall into, whether it be to do with study or another supposedly devotional aspect of our life, we can sometimes see it as the ends, rather than the means.

Carson also then spends some pages telling us a little of his pilgrimage into ministry, and it's interesting to note that he took the 'reverse' route to Piper in that he started as a Pastor, then moved into the scholarly realms.

Carson then finishes off his section with 12 lessons for the Scholar as Pastor, and again I am just going to list those headings here:

• Take Steps to avoid being a mere quartermaster
• Beware the seduction of applause
• Fight a common disjunction
• Never forget people
• Recognise different gifts
• Recognise what students learn
• Make the main thing the Main thing
• Pray and work for vision
• Love the church
• Avoid lone-ranger scholarship
• Be interested in the work of others
• Take your work seriously, but not yourself

- The Conclusion

A few pages at the end are left for a conclusion which nicely sums up Piper and Carson's routes into their ministries, discuss' the importance and prevalence of Pastor-Scholars today, but most importantly acknowledges Jesus as the ultimate example of a Pastor-Scholar, engaging heart and head, not compromising one for the other. Finishing with this:

'This new generation of Christian leaders does well to look to Piper and Carson and Keller and the others. We may do even better, in some senses, in looking to Luther and Calvin. We do better still looking to Paul. And we do best Looking to Jesus.'

Closing Comments

I really enjoyed reading this book, I found it thought provoking and challenging, whilst being highly readable. The issue of Pastor-Scholar, is dealt with very adeptly by two highly knowledgeable and Godly men, from two very different stand points.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a Pastor, or has a Pastor, and especially to those considering their own ministry paths.

Well, this isn't quite what I'd planned....

..... but we not following my plan, so its ok!

I'm sat in a friends spare room writing this. 

This is going to be home for the next few weeks.

I've had my first day at WEST, and it has been fantastic! So much information to take in, but absolutely amazing. Trying to pick my modules... do I just do Greek, or do I do Hebrew too? Pneumatology or Introduction to the Philosophy of religion?

All i really want to do is sit down and talk it through with Rachael, which I sort of was able to do, but only over Skype.

Since our last post there has been a delay with our house in Bridgend meaning that we can't move in until the 30/09/2011, which is a problem seeing as we moved out of our house on Friday! So I am staying down here with Friends, whilst Rach and Jacob stay in York, and our furniture is spread between parents houses and Tom's garage.

And yet as I sit here I can't help but feel encouraged. Don't get me wrong I miss Rachael and Jacob bitterly and want nothing more that to give them a great big cuddle! But I still somehow feel encouraged?

I think back to how i felt a month or so ago and, if I'm being honest, how i was beginning to doubt that everything would happen in time, that we would sell the house and I would be able to start this September, and now I'm sat here having had my first day. Ok it isn't quite the way I had envisioned it, but I'm here!

We've been praying and trusting that God is in control of all the circumstances that led up to the house selling and me being accepted and finding the perfect home, in the perfect location ..... so why should we now doubt that God is now any less in control?

To think that because it hasn't happened the way we thought and planned, it must have gone wrong, how foolish! God knows why its happened and we may never understand, but there is a reason. Perhaps I'm meant to learn something? 

As i was thinking about my situation coming back from WEST this evening i was reminded of this passage:

²⁵Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ²⁶ "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters,yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does notfirst sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' ³¹Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³²And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. ³³ So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14 v 25 - 33

Perhaps God needs me to learn that in a very real and practical way?

It's hard, but I can't fully lean on Rachael at the moment, so i have to lean on Him.

And maybe thats the point?

God at the centre

First a quick update:

Well it's all set up and we're ready to go. Contracts have been exchanged here in York, and God has provided an amazing house for us down in Bridgend! We've now booked two vehicles for moving, we started with a 3.5 tonne luton, and have now progressed to a 7.5 tonne truck - thanks to Rachael ;) Moving day is the 09/09/11 and I'll be starting my course 2 weeks today - exciting stuff!

Yesterday was Ben and Hannah's wedding. It was such a faithful service, and you couldn't help but acknowledge the Lords presence in the service and in their union. Later on as we sat at the table during the reception I looked around at all the people there and wondered what the staff at the venue must of thought, and indeed any guests who didn't know the Lords saving power, as grace was said before we ate and as  through each speech that was given, God was given the praise and glory and again God was at the centre. 

I pray that that trend will follow through the rest of Ben and Hannahs life together, as I'm sure it will and that God will use their marriage to bless and challenge others.

It also made me think back to our wedding day, and how excited we were as we set out on this adventure with God as our guide. And although we had always talked about going into 'full time christian service' i think i might have laughed if you had told me that i would one day be training with a view of becoming a Pastor! Its amazing how God works in our lives when we let him, and give over control to him, something which is not always easy to do, and i know i myself have resisted that at times. I wouldn't be able to even think of doing this if I didn't have Rachael to support and challenge me, and God knew that! Thats why he gave her to me! My beautiful bride!

Marriage is a wonderful thing, God truly knew what he was doing when he created it, for as the reading in Ecclesiastes 4 reminded us, everything is better with 2, but it is best with 3! 

I pray that Ben and Hannah enjoy their journey and that they will continue to follow His guiding. And I thank them for a wonderful day, where Christ was put at the centre, which served as a great way for us to see all our friends and family before we leave for Wales, as well as being a fantastic celebration of Ben and Hannah's marriage, and a reflection of Gods love for the Church.

Remember - a threefold cord is not quickly broken!

Doug.

2 Timothy 2 v 20-26

Ahhh!

Jake's down for a nap, so I get a few precious moments of quiet and can sit down with a hot cuppa.

My post today is very simple. I read some verses today in my quiet time that really challenged me and I wanted to share them. The verses are from 2 Timothy (a letter written by a godly man called Paul to a younger Christian called Timothy), chapter 2 and verses 20-26. I'm reading them from the English Standard Version of the Bible. I hope that they encourage and excite you as much as they have me.

"Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honourable use, some for dishonourable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonourable, he will be a vessel for honourable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."

Have a lovely day!

Rachael.x

"I had a plan."

Rachael's first post! 

A momentous occasion, since a year ago I'm not sure I even knew what 'blogging' was. How things change in a year!

It's not just my grasp of modern technology that has been challenged this year (and Doug would say that my grasp of modern technology is challenging!). When I think back and consider the things that God has been challenging me about, 'control' would be right up there in the top five. Anyone who knows me knows I like plans. I love lists. I appreciate order and structure. I like to feel in control. But it wasn't to be. 

I had an idea that I could write a list, plan a timeline, tackle each task one by one giving each my full and undivided attention and the whole process of selling the house and relocating would be ordered, controlled and peaceful. What I have ended up with instead is a spinning head full of unfinished jobs and worry. Why is that? I feel challenged and draw the conclusion that the problem lies in my desire to try and be in control.

As we take each step along this new and uncharted path I am slowly coming to the conclusion that I am not the one who is in control. You may be laughing as you read that last statement. I feel a little sheepish when I read it back. When I consider everything that has happened over the past few months it seems daft to think that I could have controlled it, or that it was anyone but God in charge. But here I am, still going strong with the lists, still trying to control the outcomes, still struggling to give the details over to God. Doug calls me a "worry bug", which is endearing but probably not something to aspire to! 

Every time I get caught up in stressing about the details and my head starts to spin God brings to my mind something that I read recently in a book called 'Choosing to See' by Mary-Beth Chapman (a book I would recommend if anyone's on the lookout for a good read this summer). She uses the phrase "chin-up!" This phrase has always been one of my personal bug-bares, right up alongside "pull yourself together!" but here it took on new meaning. She tells of how she was walking along a beach feeling full of grief and pain, looking down focusing on each stone and shell she stepped over. When she looked up she realised that the sun had broken through from behind the clouds and that she had been missing a beautiful sight because she was focusing only on what was right in front of her feet. She draws the comparison between this and the details of our lives that keep our eyes down, looking only to what is immediately before us and poses the challenge not to miss out on looking at the Son and seeing His awesome glory. To do that we must keep our chin up. So now, when I get caught up in the details and I start to worry I remember "chin-up!" and try to look to the Lord and His magnificence rather than just seeing the problems. 

I still have a long way to go, but then, this is just the beginning of the journey!

Rachael.x

N.B. The book referred to is called 'Choosing to See. A journey of Struggle and Hope' by Mary-Beth Chapman, 2010. Published by Revell.

Answers to Prayer

OUR HOUSE HAS SOLD!

Praise the Lord.

This has been the only thing holding us back from being able to go to WEST this September. And now we have a buyer (subject to contracts being exchanged). Excellent.

It was late monday morning when Rach woke me with the post (i was sleeping having just finished a night shift), quite excited that there was an envelope from WEST. When i opened it, it was a timetable for my first week at college, as well as the college handbook and some other information. Part of me was really excited, but the other part of me was holding back from my excitement as we couldn't be sure that we were definitely going this September.

Later when i had showered, and Jacob was having his nap, me and Rach sat down to pray. We were praying particularly for Jacob, as he had been unwell and we were taking him to the doctors that afternoon. Whilst we were praying we really pleaded with God to make it so clear what we should do. Time was approaching when i would have to decided whether i could hand my notice in at work, or whether we would have to defer for a year. We just prayed that God would really break throught the situation and make His will crystal clear.

Later that afternoon, as we were sat in the doctors waiting room Rachael's mobile rang, so i stepped outside to take the call. It was the estate agent telling us we had an offer on the house! Fantastic! After a few calls back and forth, and a couple of days, we settled on the figure this afternoon. It is quite a bit less than we were hoping for, but we feel at peace about it, that regardless what happens, God is going to provide for us.

Looking back, we had been praying for several days that God would make his will clear in this situaion, and it does not seem coincidental to me that my joining letter came on that morning. It seemed so clear and reassuring to us. God just gave us peace about the situation, that we should accept this lower offer, that we were meant to go this year, and that he is able to provide for us regardless of how much the houe sold for.

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Matt 6 v 26

God is so mighty, and so often we limit Him, and try and second guess him. I have been guilty recently of thinking 'theres not going to be enough time to sell the house now' or 'there must be something i can do to make it sell'. And whilst I needed to do my part, there was no one who could sell our house other than God, not me, not Rach not even the estate agent, and that is a comforting thought.

Praise the Lord!

Ahhh, so this is Blogging!

Why are The Clarks blogging?

We thought this would be a fun way for people to keep up to date with us as we head out on our adventures! As some who are reading this may know, I (Doug) have been accepted to WEST (Wales Evangelical School of Theology) to study with the prospect of becoming a Pastor.

We don't expect people to follow this and take great interest in our lives, but it is our hope that through this blog we can share something of our walk with the Lord as we go on this journey. Hopefully this will be a place where we can post news of the family and any thoughts we may have, what ever they may be!



Why twenty9:eleven?

Good question! Well it bears some resemblance to that well used phrase 24/7, and whilst (especially now with Jacob in our lives) we wish there were 29 hours in a day and 11 days in a week, this is not what twenty9:eleven refers to!

twenty9:eleven refers to a passage of scripture:

'For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.'

Jeremiah 29 v 11



This is a verse that we have held on to dearly, and has certainly proved true in our lives. It has been 'given' to us on many occasions and in many circumstances, and we thank God that it is true!

We hope you may find some joy in reading this blog, and that you would not mistake this blog in anyway to be exalting ourselves, but that it would exalt God.

Trying to live each day twenty9:eleven.