The radical value of the gospel: Matt’s journey

Philosophy and Ethics teacher turned Trinity student Matt grew up in a Christian family as the son of a minister. Matt describes himself as “that annoying kid who thought he had the ‘right answers’” through his childhood, but he struggled to see the implications of the gospel in his own life. 

The road to faith

“My dad often talked about having the best job in the world, and I didn’t really believe him for a long time.”

Matt recalls thinking that the man in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13:44-46 who finds treasure in a field, re-hides it in the field, and then proceeds to sell all he has just to buy the field with the treasure… was crazy!

“I remember feeling like this thing makes absolutely no sense! And of course, it doesn’t make sense unless the thing that’s hidden in the field is super valuable.”

It was during Matt’s final year of high school while on a Christian camp that he first properly understood the radical value of the kingdom of heaven, the gospel truth.

“That week I realised and actually understood that it was my sin that nailed Jesus to the cross, and Jesus died for me. He rose to life for me. And so, all the things that I knew I was meant to do as a Christian, which previously seemed like a bit of a drag, suddenly became a real delight. I wanted to live for Jesus, I wanted to know him better, and I wanted others to come to know him.”

The road to ministry

Matt studied at the University of Western Australia; first a Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy and Classics, followed by a teaching degree.

Matt then became a Philosophy and Ethics teacher at a local high school.

“I never planned to teach that subject but ended up teaching it because I needed a job! It was electric. It is, hands down, the best subject to teach as a Christian because the jump from philosophy and ethics to Jesus is right there. The students were fascinated that I was both a Christian and a philosophy teacher. So there was some really significant ministry at the school that I loved.”

Matt found it difficult to leave teaching, but knew that there were a lot of people who could be effective Christian teachers. Matt really wanted to see if he could be effective in pastoral ministry.

The road to Trinity

Matt is very convinced of the need to study theology and train for ministry.

“If I’m going to, God willing, spend the rest of my life telling people about Jesus, three years isn’t actually that long to invest in getting good theological foundations.”

Matt describes his decision to study at Trinity as “… pretty straightforward”.

“Trinity has a lot going for it. Lots of the graduates in Perth are Trinity graduates, and it was their godliness and their ministry that I’d been influenced by, and they spoke so highly of college, making Trinity a really compelling option. The thing that sealed the deal for me was that if I want to spend the next 50 plus years doing ministry in Perth, it makes no sense to go somewhere else for study.”

Matt is a Student Minister at St Edmund’s Anglican Church, Wembley. He is undertaking the Masters of Divinity at Trinity and currently in his second year.

When reflecting on what have been the best things about studying at Trinity so far, Matt says…

1. The faculty – “They love Jesus with their whole hearts. They are academics, but at their core they are pastors, gospel proclaimers who want to see the next generation of Christian leaders raised up really well.”
2. Relationships with peers – “I have a group of mates who I have been meeting with and chatting to semi-regularly over the last 10 years. We’ve been praying and encouraging each other to land at college at the same time. In God’s kindness, the majority of us are here and we’re kind of pinching ourselves like, man, is this really happening?”
3. Class time – “Classes are dynamic. For example, learning Greek and Hebrew, which can be really challenging at times, are made to be really interesting and then we are shown what we can do with this new understanding.” 
4. Studying – “I remember studying for my New Testament exam last year and getting really excited about the gospel going to the ends of the earth whilst spending time in Romans. Daunted by the difficulty of the task ahead, I was also thinking through weakness in ministry preparing for 2 Corinthians, and thinking, wait, maybe God can use us. As I’m studying, I’m really encouraged by God and his gospel.”

When asked what he would say to someone who was asking about studying at Trinity, Matt had this to say: “You will get a greater grasp of God’s love for us in Jesus. You’ll  come to know him better, love him more, and be changed. You will also get to know a whole bunch of great godly people – peers and faculty that will support, encourage and pray for you for the rest of your life.”

Matt is married to Tessa and together they have a seven month old daughter, Lucy.