The Montifiore Manse

Brothers in the Ministry


One of the many things I have found true about the ministry is that it is very lonely. Martha is an invaluable gift from the Lord, and I would not want to be doing the work of the ministry without her, but a man's wife has not been made to meet all of his needs for fellowship. I have friends in many of the folk in the congregation, but they do not understand many of the struggles, burdens, and difficulties that can accompany the ministry from every angle. The ministry can indeed be lonely, but having a brother in the ministry with whom to work is a real blessing.

The pic above is of Iain Smith, the pastor of the SPC in Hobart, and me. The pic was taken on the occasion of visiting Iain as he was recovering from a fall off a ladder. He was on bed rest for six weeks. On the first visit after his fall that Martha and I had with him and his wife Mary, I dropped down right next to him on his bed. We all thought it was good fun and Mary could not resist taking a picture. "What a great one for the blog," we said.

As the pic may indicate, Iain and I get along well. On the face of it, it may seem a bit surprising. 1. He is from Scotland and I'm from the good ol' U.S. of A. with a bit of Dutchyness still hanging on.
2. He was born and raised conservative Scottish Presbyterian. On the other hand, I was born into a moralistic Dutch Reformed church, moved on to a church that taught that doctrine divided and did not want to have a part in calling sin what it was, almost went Protestant Reformed, joined and studied for the ministry with the Heritage Reformed, and ended up Tasmanian Presbyterian.
3. Iain is a great fan of John Owen and has read all of his works (yes, all of them). I am a fan of Owen as well, but my focus has been on neo-Calvinistic (Abraham Kuyper and after) epistemology (how we know things) and issues of prolegomena (the first things in theology: revelation's relationship to reason and faith, etc.) in relationship to their development in historic covenant theology.
4. I classify his hermeneutical approach (how he makes sense of the Bible) as Biblical/systematic (Iain might call it more "This is what the Bible says, Terry") and mine as a more Biblical/redemptive-historic (or "I'm not sure, Iain. I need to check this out developmentally, not topically").

Despite our differences, the Lord has given us a lot in common.
1. Our different ethnic backgrounds from that our Australian congregations give us something in common. In turn, we can hold one another up when differences between our previous homelands and our new one can be confusing, and our different perspectives let each of us see some things in Australian culture (and how to think about them) that we might otherwise have overlooked.
2. Iain's theological tradition that he was raised in and eventually made his own, is basically where I ended up on my theological journey. Arriving at the same destinations from diffrent paths lets us gain insights from one another that we did not see on our own journeys.
3. Our theological journeys complement one another very well. Through Iain's love (and digestion) of Owen, he is materially familiar with almost all the Biblical inner workings of Bible-based covenant theology. In my studies, I have had to work through the historical doctrine of the covenant and see how it fits, or doesn't, with contemporary work in Reformed Dutch developments in epistemology and apologetics. Together, we cover the basics of Presbyterian/Reformed theology since the Reformation and we check and balance one another very well.
4. Any differences in hermeneutics have been indifferent and have reassured me that simply doing good careful exegesis, with the blessing of the Spirit, keeps us understanding the Word.
To put it in theological language for some seminary and theology buddies: Remembering that the Bible is itself redemptive-historically structured and that simply following what the Bible says throughout the Word of God on a given subject will lead you to the right understanding of a particular doctrine or teaching of God's Word.

The Lord Jesus has graciously given us these complementing differences so that we can be an aid to one another in the work He has called us both here to do in Tasmania. It also strengthens my heart when I can share things with my dear brother in the midst of loneliness, rejoicing, confusion, or theological breakthrough, knowing that the Lord Jesus has ordered it all for our best and the best of His church.

Plus, we have the same hair cut.