Jean Barbara (L), and Steve Clark (R) at the ICM in Sto. Domingo

Starting in mid-2009, the Sword of the Spirit came under the headship of a new president, JEAN BARBARA, succeeding a very fruitful and spirit-filled leadership by STEVE CLARK.  This decision was arrived at during an election in May, 2008, at the International Coordinators Meeting (ICM) of the Sword of the Spirit in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

During that ICM, several brothers paid tribute to Steve.  Below are excerpts, taken from The Living Bulwark:

“A GREAT MAN OF GOD”, by Jean Barbara, President of the Sword of the Spirit: 

Is Steve a great man of God? By all means. Many years ago the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore Romano praised his books, giving a laudatory front-page review of his book, Man and Woman in Christ. In the charismatic renewal he is a legend. Among many Evangelical and Free Church brethren, such as Charles Simpson, the Council on Biblical Manhoood and Womanhood, and more than one of the recent Presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention, he is regarded as a peerless teacher. The whole first generation of Servants of the Word were personally taught and formed by Steve. All of us in the Sword of the Spirit have been directly or indirectly impacted by his wisdom, his teaching, his sincere love of the brethren. More importantly, those who know him well testify to the excellence of his character, the visible fruit of the Spirit in his life.  – Jean Barbara

 ”STEVE CLARK’S GENEROUS INVESTMENT”, by Andy Kebe, a Kairos mission leader in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA:

For four decades, Steve has not only inspired men and women around him with his witness of a life radically set apart for the Lord, nor just equipped them through his wisdom, teaching, and vision to build community, but he has also continued to invest in young leaders by personally engaging them, helping them, and challenging them to grow in Christian maturity … But most fundamentally he has loved each one of them and helped them to follow God’s will for their lives. 

I speak for many young men around the Sword of the Spirit in saying that Steve’s generous personal investment as a  mentor to me and even more importantly, his fatherly love for me have had a tremendous impact on my desire to respond generously to the Lord’s call to be a builder in the Sword of the Spirit and Kairos.  – Andy Kebe

“A FOUNDER AND SPIRITUAL FATHER”, by Carlos Alfonso Vargas, past President of the Sword of the Spirit, and Coordinator of Comunidad Arbol de Vida, in San Jose, Costa Rica:

I came to know Steve Clark as someone who could detect people’s leadership potential, and foster and promote that leadership. That’s precisely what he did in my case – to foster my leadership gift and encourage me to exercise it. This is the same thing Steve has done with many, many people throughout several decades. He is able to transmit spiritual life to new leaders. 

This is one of the reasons why I believe that Steve has a charism not only as a founder but as a father … we have perhaps had many leaders, many who have helped us to grow and to shape our communities.  But the one who gave life to us as a community of communities, through a foundational charism from the Holy Spirit, is Steve. 

I personally consider that he has the spiritual stature of some of the founders of great movements in the history of the church such as Anthony of the Desert and Benedict of Nursia. In my view, Steve, as a founder and a teacher, has the stature of a church father.  Perhaps only the future history of the church will be able to make an objective appraisal of Steve’s spiritual weight, but I am proud to honor him, with no doubt whatsoever, as the father of the Sword of the Spirit, the father of covenant community, and, in fact, my spiritual father. - Carlos Alfonso Vargas

RELATED LINKS:

• A Great Man of God, by Jean Barbara
• A Vision for Christian Community, a brief overview of Steve’s life by Michael Shaughnessy
• A Founder and Spiritual Father, by Carlos Vargas
• Ecumenical Contribution, by Paul Dinolfo
• Steve’s Generous Investment, by Andy Kebe
• Books by Steve Clark
• Articles by Steve Clark in Living Bulwark