St. Paul’s Cathedral, London

In the Spring of 1967 I was approaching the end of my time at Durham University where I was writing a thesis on Politics and the New Testament for my M.A. under the supervision of Charles Cranfield, who wrote a magisterial commentary on Romans. Prior to my ordination in the Church of England I needed the sponsorship of a bishop. Previously I had been accepted as an ordinand by the Diocese of Christchurch, New Zealand. My Principal at St. John’s College, J.P. Hickinbotham, recommended the Bishop of Tonbridge, Russell White. I travelled down to London and met with him in the back pews of St. Martins in the Fields Church in Trafalgar Square. He was described by The Times in his obituary in 1979 as “one of the most trusted of his generation of evangelical leaders”. The next step was to find a position as a curate (assistant minister) in a parish. To my surprise I received a letter from John Stott enquiring whether I might be interested in coming to All Souls, Langham Place in London. When I told my friends about the letter they could not believe me. Why would the great and famous John Stott be interested in me? I had a letter of introduction to him and he had invited me to visit him some time ago, which I did. Apparently, he was looking for someone from overseas to serve on his staff because All Souls was attracting a number of international visitors. In fact, he had established an All Souls International Fellowship to minister to people away from home. Little did I know that this invitation would change my life, give me opportunities I could not dream of, and a lifelong friendship with John Stott.

I had three months before I could begin my position in London. My parents had come from New Zealand to visit and we embarked on a tour of Europe. Dover to Ostend, Brussels to Echternach, Luxembourg, Trier up the Moselle to Koblenz, Mainz up the Rhine to Tubingen, Freudenstadt, Basel to Lucerne and Zurich, then Constance and Munich, Berchtesgarden, Salzburg, through the Alps and Dolomites to Cortina d’Ampezzo and Venice. Florence to Rome and Pisa, then Rapallo, Alassio, Monaco, Nice and Cannes, Arles, Carcassonne, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Cognac, through the Loire to Fontainbleau and Paris, Arras to Dunkirk and finally Dover again.

On September 29, 1967, St. Michael and All Angels Day, I was ordained with 20 others by the Bishop of London, Robert Stopford, who had interviewed me at Fulham Palace. St. Paul’s Cathedral was packed with family and friends of the ordinands. Misaeri and Geraldine Kauma from Uganda and Ray Baty and Gary Jellie from Hokitika with my parents were there. It was the culmination of a call I received when I was 16 years old when I was affected by the deaths of the five missionaries in Ecuador who were trying to reach the Auca tribe. When I moved to Gordon College I got to know one of their widows, Elisabeth Elliot, who had written two books about her martyred husband Jim Elliot. God had led me this far and provided for me a wonderful opportunity to serve alongside John Stott for the next four years.