Executive Presbyter

The Rev. Dr. Clark Cowden

Bio & CV

Writings

Clark's Corner

photo: Bob Battenfield - 24 July 07

Press Release - Began Monday, 8 October 2007.

Comes to San Diego from the Presbytery of San Joaquin.

Farewell Address to the Presbytery of San Joaquin

The Rev. Dr. Clark Cowden began serving as the Executive Presbyter for the Presbytery of San Diego on October 8, 2007.  For the previous nine years, Clark served as the Evangelist Presbyter and Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of San Joaquin.  Prior to that, Clark was the pastor of the Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Walled Lake, Michigan, the associate pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Anderson, Indiana, and the Director of Christian Education and Youth of the Southminster Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN. 

Clark received his Bachelor of Science degree from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, his Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California, and his Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.  Clark has been an adjunct faculty member at the Fresno Pacific University, the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, and Fuller Theological Seminary, teaching various Bible and polity classes.  Clark is an avid sports fan, runner, reader, and movie-goer.  He has been involved in many ministry, community, and school activities.

Work Experience
	2007 – present	Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of San Diego
	2006 – 2007	Stated Clerk, Presbytery of San Joaquin, Visalia/CA
	1998 – 2007	Evangelist Presbyter, Presbytery of San Joaquin, Visalia, CA
	1998 – 2007	Associate Synod Executive, Synod of the Pacific
	1991 – 1998	Pastor, Crossroads Presbyterian Church, Walled Lake, MI
	1988 – 1991	Associate Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Anderson, IN
	1984 – 1986	Director of Christian Education/Youth, Southminster Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, IN
Education
	2001	Doctor of Ministry, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO
	1988	Master of Divinity, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA
	1984	Bachelor of Science, Taylor University, Upland, IN
Articles Published — also see: Writings
	Presbyterian Outlook
	Dynamic Preaching magazine
	Net Results journal
	Perspectives on-line magazine (Office of the General Assembly)
	PC(USA) worship leaflets
Adjunct Professor
	2007	Fuller Theological Seminary/Northern CA
	2002 – 2007	Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Fresno, CA
	2003 – 2007	Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, CA
Hobbies
	Running, tennis, watching sports, reading, going to movies
Denominational Experience
	2007	Speaker – Synod of the Pacific PUP Conference
	2006 – 2008	General Assembly Council Review Committee
	Spring 2005	Speaker - Presbytery of Boise pastors retreat
	Winter 2005	Speaker - Synod of Lakes and Prairies training event
	1998	General Assembly Commissioner
	1995 – 1998	Presbytery Council Member, Presbytery of Detroit
	1995 – 1998	Chair of Evangelism Committee, Presbytery of Detroit
	1997 – 1998	NCD Administrative Commission, Presbytery of Detroit
	1992 – 1998	Member, Evangelism Committee, Presbytery of Detroit
	1989 – 1991	Member, Congregational Care Committee, Presbytery of Whitewater Valley

 

While Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of San Diego

2008

High Anxiety

      [MISSIONAL JOURNEY 6 June 08]

The General Assembly is like Groundhog Day

      [The Presbyterian OUTLOOK 5 May 08]

The Difficulty of Systems Change

      [MISSIONAL JOURNEY 25 Apr 08]

A Certain Uncertainty

      [MISSIONAL JOURNEY 16 Mar 08]

Moving into the Global Neighborhood

      [MISSIONAL JOURNEY 21 Feb 08]

    We're Not In Kansas Anymore — Leadership Development Day

A New Era In Mission

      [PSD LDD 2 Feb 08]

Surfing the Edge of Chaos

      [PSD LDD 2 Feb 08]

I Don’t Want to be a Hydrox Cookie

      [THE OUTBOX 28 Jan 08]

2007

What is God Doing Underground and When Will We See It?

      [THE OUTBOX 11 Nov 07]

The Rev. Dr. Clark Cowden, has written and been published in numerous publications and websites.  In the interest of familiarizing pastors and elders with his views on evangelism, mission, church organization, and other topics, the following summary of articles and links to websites is offered.   (Bob Battenfield)

Missional Resource Blog from the Presbyterian Global Fellowship (May 5, 2007)

In an article entitled The Terminal, Cowden relates his experience being delayed in an airport terminal by bad weather. “In looking back on my experience, it struck me that the church is a lot like an airport terminal.  The purpose of the airport terminal is not to get a lot of people to stay in the terminal as if it was their final destination.  The purpose of the airport terminal is to help people make connections so they can get somewhere else.”

San Joaquin Presbytery Website, Missional Resources

Go to www.SJPresbytery.org/missional.htm, or click on these article titles individually.

Missional Process Summary

From Despair to Hope Sabbatical Report

The Missional Church Project

Is the North American Church Like Major League Baseball?

Disturbing the 21st Century Denomination

Perspectives, an online publication of the Office of the General Assembly

Reviewing denominational statistics, this article, Good News, Bad News, Missional Questions, raises questions about how our churches see themselves.  “Once you get past the good news and bad news, you realize there are a lot of missional questions in-between the lines. Are most of our churches still utilizing an attractional model of ministry? Are we stuck on “come and see,” or are we beginning to shift to “go and do likewise”? Do we still believe that “if we build it they will come,” or are we going out into the highways and byways? There is a lot of belly-button gazing going on here. These statistics are focused on internal issues, not external issues.  If we were to do a missional survey of the church, what kind of questions would we ask?”

Another from Perspectives

This article, entitled We’ve Been Here Before, also was published by the Office of General Assembly online publication, Perspectives.  “We’ve been here before. It feels like we’re on the edge of a cliff. Our life together could go either way. It could fall apart and come unglued. Or it could come together with sinews and muscles that are so much stronger than we ever could have imagined. It is what we call the life of faith.”  (February 2005)

(summary by Bob Battenfield, PresbyNews Sep 07)