CloudofSteam

Things have moved along somewhat since my last update. The meeting with the Theological Education Committee (TEC) went well. There were plenty of tough questions to answer, but they have recommended to the Presbytery of Benalla that I be made a probationary candidate for the ministry. I think it is safe to assume that the Presbytery will accept this recommendation, as they unanimously supported my application.

In short, I am going to theological college.

I’ve resigned as Station Manager with Albury Wodonga Christian Broadcasters as of 1 January 2012 meaning someone else will be appointed to run 98.5 The Light soon. My name is down for a unit at the college in Melbourne and I hope to move in early in February before lectures start in the second week of that month.

In the meantime, there is paperwork to finish for my teaching practicum so I can graduate with a Graduate Diploma of Vocational Education and Training and a house full of stuff to sort out and pack. I guess there’ll be a farewell or two in there somewhere too.

Thanks for your prayers and support so far. I’ll be keeping you updated as things go on.

As the Carpenter and Oysters were told in Lewis Carol’s Through the Looking Glass:

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—-and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings.”

But more seriously, about becoming a minister of the Gospel.

Over the past few months, the process has been cranking up to consider whether I will be admitted to the Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne as a candidate for the Presbyterian ministry.

The caretaker minister and elders at Wodonga (the Session) have endorsed my application and sent it on to the Presbytery of Benalla. It will hold a special meeting at Tatura at 10am on Tuesday 25th October to hear me preach and consider whether to approve my application too.

Should this happen, I will then have to get the approval of the Theological Education Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria and the Faculty of the Presbyterian Theological College. I would then begin my studies in February 2012 and hopefully graduate with a Bachelor of Theology at the end of 2015, aged 29.

I’ll be meeting with the Academic Dean at PTC on Friday to discuss my studies, then attending the Open Evening to get to know the college. During my course of study, I will do 2 one-year attachments to churches to hone my pastoral skills and one summer of ministry at a rural church. At the end of my training, I will be sent to a church for an exit appointment and would become eligible to be ordained as a Presbyterian minister.

Of course, there are practical arrangements to make too. My plan is to live on campus in Box Hill and to worship at Hawthorn Presbyterian Church.

God willing, this means that I will be concluding my work at 98.5 The Light and Wodonga TAFE. There are some good prospects for replacing me at The Light, and for that I am thankful. It appears that the TAFE will not be running further courses in broadcasting. I am sorry that this decision has been made.

By the time I move it will be almost 10 years since we arrived in Wodonga. It has claimed a place in my heart that I did not expect it to. I hope to be back many times over the next few years, and would delight to see the Gospel continue to spread throughout the city and surrounding towns.

As I uproot myself, I ask that you pray for me. First, give thanks for God’s guidance and provision through the years which have led me to this point. Second, ask that the necessary approvals will be given for me to pursue this calling to the ministry. Third, pray that the practical arrangements will fall in to place and that God will provide for me during this time. Finally, pray that the training will fit me for many years of service to Jesus and the church which he bought for himself with his own precious blood.

(Feel free to ask me about the process. If any of the terminology is confusing, try reading the Wikipedia article on Presbyterian Church Government, which I had a large part in writing.)

The Resurgence continues its series on the creeds and confessions of the Church with a helpful overview of the Westminster Confession of Faith, which is also available with Congregationalist and Baptist patches (the Savoy Declaration and the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith).

While refuting the claim that the WCF is “hammer-headed Calvinism”, Justin Holcomb hits the nail on the head in his understanding of the contemporary significance of the Westminster Confession:

While the entire Westminster Confession is relevant for Christians as a rich formulation of Christian theology, it has special relevance for the current situation in which the Church finds itself. First, the Confession would encourage those who claim to be Reformed to expand their theological horizon to embrace a larger system of Reformed theology rather than reducing it to only soteriology.

Additionally, the Confession is extremely careful, seeking to find a scriptural balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. The WCF is more careful than most contemporary Calvinists.

It is easy to dismiss the creeds and confessions as stuffy old documents shrouded in old language, but to write them off is to lose a valuable treasure. Many resources have been created to help us benefit from them, including this modern English version of the WCF in parallel to the original English version from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in the US.

Though the creeds and confessions are not the Scriptures, their hard-fought definitions help us to understand the word of God and how our forerunners in the faith have grappled with things that are contested or hard to comprehend.

For these reasons, the whole series is worth reading.