A note from
Kim: I met Clare and Donna Jewell in January of 2015 when Joe and I attended a meeting with ABWE in Orlando, FL. My husband, Joe, had been networking with the ABWE North American Leadership team at various functions for about two years, but I had not met any of the team, besides Doug Martin, ABWE’s North American Director, and his wife, Sharon. What a privilege and joy to get to know Clare, Donna, and the rest of the team. What a heart and vision they each have for reaching people for God’s Kingdom through crossing cultures without crossing borders, as they develop strategies to plant multi-ethnic, disciple-making churches throughout the United States and Canada. Clare and Donna are great examples of faith and faithfulness and I am blessed to know them.
The Dawn of Wisdom
by Clare Jewel
“I am wrong. I need you to be less wrong.”
As a young leader, I thought I was pretty smart. I started with the premise that I was right. I was willing to listen, to debate, to hear an alternative point of view; but I started every discussion believing that the other guy had to prove me wrong.
That worked well until I found myself sitting next to my wife across from a counselor wondering what in the world went wrong. We didn’t have a horrible marriage. We just didn’t have a very good one. I was sure I was right. Donna was sure I was wrong. Somewhere along the way, we decided to stop arguing about it, and we just sort of coasted. We put our arguments in boxes and stored them in the basement with an unspoken agreement that we would live our lives on the first floor.
Counselors love basements. This one led us straight down the stairs and made us open up our boxes. I got to go first. “Clare, it appears to me that you have a rather strong tendency to be controlling.” In my peripheral vision, I could see Donna nodding so hard, she gave herself a whiplash. I wanted to scream. I wanted to argue. I was right. He was wrong. I was right. Donna was wrong.
In that moment, the Spirit of God had the audacity to prompt me with a new possibility – “Clare, you are wrong. You need me, you need your wife, you need this counselor, and you need all the other people I’ve put in your life to become less wrong.”
That was the dawn of wisdom. That was the day Proverbs 4 came to life. “Listen when you are corrected. Pay attention and learn good judgment, for I am giving you guidance. Don’t turn away from my instructions.” In my marriage and in ministry, I assumed I was the guide. Donna needed my instructions. People needed to follow me. The whole time, I was missing out on the opportunity to grow, to learn, to gain wisdom from others.
That day, a new door opened for me. Instead of beginning with the proposition that I was right, I started discussions with the assumption that I was wrong, that I needed wisdom more than I needed to prove my point. Proverbs 4:5 – “Get wisdom” Proverbs 4:6 – “Don’t turn your back on wisdom.” Proverbs 4:7 – “Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!” Proverbs 4:8 – “If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her and she will honor you.”
It wouldn’t be very wise to assume I have this wisdom thing figured out. My pride and arrogance still put up a good fight. Assuming I am wise can lead to much foolishness. But I do believe I have a little more clarity, enough wisdom to know that I need more. And that’s the promise of Proverbs 4:18 – “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.”
Wisdom is a process. If we embrace our wrongness (if we truly believe we have a sin nature and are inherently wrong), we will enter each day and every circumstance knowing that we have some wisdom, but we don’t have it all. We will keep seeking more. That little bit of light will grow, and we will become a beacon of hope to those who are discovering they don’t have it all either.
Clare Jewell is serving as the Regional Director for ABWE in the western region of North America, and is the National Church Planting Coordinator for the GARBC. ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) is a global mission agency with approximately 1,000 missionary units operating in nearly 70 countries around the world. The GARBC is a national association of more than 1,300 Baptist churches in North America, with a global church affiliation of 7,000 churches.
Prior to joining ABWE in 2014, Clare served as the Senior Pastor of Lakewood Park Baptist Church in Auburn, Indiana for 21 years. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Corban University in Salem, Oregon.
Clare has been married to Donna for nearly 35 years, and they just moved to Salem, Oregon in August. They have four daughters and 10 grandchildren with two more on the way! His primary interests are planting local churches, developing leaders, missions, reading, skiing, golf and the Michigan State Spartans.