15 Australians, Indians, Africans and Asians: 1979–85
Australians, Indians, Africans and Asians: 1979–85
Leon loved retirement. When he was asked whether he was enjoying it, he replied, ‘Yes, wonderful, there are no committees … in fact there will be no committees in heaven!’1
His top priority in this new phase of ministry was full-time writing, and he worked at full speed for some eleven years before any significant change of pace. Leon produced a further twenty books in this period, which was dominated by the theme of the love of God as shown through the cross. Surprising to some was Leon’s refusal to accept an Australian honour after positive representation had been made by friends. No award was ever announced.2 Later, Leon and Mildred established the Leon and Mildred Morris Foundation.
Leon continued to travel, and he took trips throughout Australia and overseas to North and South America, South Africa and Asia. He and Mildred were a ministry team, and they modelled godliness in all of their personal encounters. Free of Ridley responsibilities, they had more time to write letters and be involved in their local parish, as well as the wider Anglican diocese.
Over time, a pattern emerged where any special ministry took place in the first ten months of the year, while the last two months were spent mostly in Doncaster. Leon did not refuse engagements, so this pattern spontaneously evolved. No car was purchased.3 Instead, they relied on people to drive them to commitments, which provided opportunities to talk, as well as the occasional taxi.
Six days after Leon retired from Ridley, he and Mildred travelled to the USA. After stopping for a much-needed twelve-day rest in Honolulu, they went on to Pasadena. Here, Leon met Maurice Betteridge, Ridley’s new principal, for a handover. They discussed a variety of weird and wonderful matters: problems with the adjoining 192/4 The Avenue properties, lectures for the rest of the year, bursaries, staff members’ concerns and a piano. Leon also managed to watch the Dodgers play the Cincinnati Reds twice.
The next stop was Washington DC, for Leon’s first teaching assignment at Cornerstone where he taught on John. While in Washington DC, he took two Bible studies at the White House. Six weeks of teaching followed in Vancouver at the Regent Summer School, where Leon lectured on Christology to five hundred people. Later Leon heard from a student who wrote: ‘Thank you for the series of lectures I audited in Christology. I greatly appreciated the whole counsel of God concerning this topic that you endeavored to give us.’4 He also spoke at a number of churches including First Baptist Vancouver, Fairview Presbyterian, Fraserview Mennonite Brethren, Lambruk Park Plymouth Brethren, Granville Chapel, St John’s Shaughnessy and St Matthew’s Victoria.5 His next stop was Toronto’s Ontario Bible College. One student recalled sighting Leon in the college’s library: ‘I looked to the left of me and there was this little fellow beside me at the catalogue and I realized it was Leon Morris. I was paralyzed with awe and feared to talk to him. Plus we were, after all, in a library.’6
At the end of August, Leon and Mildred arrived at Toronto’s airport to return to the USA. Leon had been invited to teach at Nyack College by Tom Bailey, the college’s president.7 Bailey recalled: ‘One of my goals desired to bring the student community into first hand contact with as many of the nationally significant evangelical leaders as possible … Dr. Morris was, in my opinion, one who had been successful in appearing at many institutions in the USA and was known for his scholarship.’8
However, there were problems with Leon’s paperwork when he arrived at the airport. Mildred recalled: ‘At the last checkpoint before boarding the plane a young girl quizzed Leon and wouldn’t let him through and with twenty five minutes to spare we had to tear around the airport and eventually a higher up filled out a form which read ‘on parole to check with the immigration department within ten days of arrival or will be deported’.9
Leon had been arrested because of a visa irregularity, but he was allowed to continue his journey and get the matter resolved in New York. Once in New York, Leon had to clear his name with immigration. Bailey recounted:
We had delay after delay in getting a Visiting Scholar Visa for him and he had already arrived on campus before we had it in hand. I drove him to downtown New York City to the Immigration office and initially we were getting the usual bureaucratic run-a-round until Leon … simply took an elevator to an upper floor and barged in to a Supervisor’s office and told our story. She entered data into the computer … ‘Dr. Morris, you have a file in the American system’ and the Visa was issued forthwith … he knew how the American system worked and did not hesitate to bypass the nitpickers! I remember this because during an horrendous search for parking in downtown Manhattan – we had joked together that the rapture might occur before we could park … I do not remember the detail of the theological differences [between Leon and Nyack], it must have been the C&MA’s10 pre-millennial commitment.11
The small town of Nyack12 would be home for Leon and Mildred until 16 February 1980.13 Nyack College and Seminary was situated on 65 acres overlooking the Hudson. The property rose steeply with a breathtaking view toward the river, and students graduated fit and well qualified. The college had some five hundred students and the seminary some three hundred;14 the student body was diverse and included Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans.
Nyack evolved in the 1880s from the ministry of A.B. Simpson, who had an experience of the Holy Spirit in Kentucky. He moved to New York and soon resigned his Presbyterian pastorate for wider ministry. He held evangelistic meetings and Bible classes on the stage of the 23rd Street Theater in New York. In 1883 he opened a ‘missionary training college’ and over time his movement, which aimed at serving the church, grew into the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
Why would Leon, who was such a conservative, come even close to fitting in at Nyack, which was characterized by overt expressions of the work of the Holy Spirit? He had written a great deal on the Holy Spirit but virtually nothing about spiritual gifts or healing. His revised 1 Corinthians commentary included a bit more detail, but it was hardly enough for a ticker-tape parade.
Intriguingly, his conservative and reformed personal faith was deeply appreciated at Nyack; in particular, the students were delighted with his clear communication of the truths of the New Testament.15 It was once put to Leon that he must have a great spiritual gift to be able to teach so clearly. He laconically replied, ‘Well … it just seems like a lot of hard work to me.’16
Long-time Nyack staffer, David Huttar, worked across from Leon’s room: ‘He taught two courses: The Gospel of Luke and the Thessalonian epistles. He also taught at the Seminary on Romans … I was always impressed with how he “redeemed the time” … to continue his research. He would always wrap up a lecture according to the syllabus. Nothing was left over for coverage at the next session.’17
He also noted a Leon peculiarity: ‘His habit of counting the number of words as an adjunct to working out the meaning’.18 Huttar analysed Leon’s appeal: ‘He considered every point of interest yet he did so concisely. He was able to crystallize ideas. Certainly his commentaries have been influential in the USA and especially his insistence on working out what does the text mean rather than refuting every erroneous view … there were differences in eschatological views yet Leon got by just teaching what this or that passage meant.’19
Another at Nyack noted, ‘We consider your presence at Nyack a privilege … the knowledge you exhibit coupled with your “humility of Spirit” is a rare combination.’20
Later, Leon wrote to the Baileys: ‘You two looked after us so wonderfully and everyone welcomed us so warmly. I was very happy with my classes and we both rejoiced at our contacts with faculty … we find retirement a continuous joy. There is no institution to run, no money to raise, no committees to attend. I lecture and I write. We wonder why we didn’t retire long ago.’21
While Leon was at Nyack, Mildred spent a fair bit of her time caring for the college’s students and staff, as the community had suffered a number of tragedies. In September 1979, Dr Sonnenberg and his 22-month-old son were in an accident. Pulling up to pay a toll, a truck behind them ran into several cars and the Sonnenberg car burst into flames. The boy had severe burns from being trapped in the car. In January 1980, Dr Denyer was critically injured in a head-on car crash and ended up in intensive care. Mildred, who had been praying, was pleased that the boy, Joel Sonnenberg, made a remarkable recovery and Denyer came out of intensive care.22
Finally, however, it was time to leave. They flew west on United Airlines 969 from New York. Leon’s next engagement was in Grand Rapids, where he spoke at Calvin Commons on ‘Love, Christian Style’ and ‘What Is the Gospel?’, then on to Los Angeles to lecture on Romans. Miami was next, and then Leon and Mildred began their second trip to South America.
On this whirlwind trip, Leon and Mildred visited Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Asuncion, Buenos Aires, Salta, Embarcacion, Tartagul, Cordoba, Santiago, Vina Del Mar, Lima and Salvador before returning to Los Angeles from Lima. Leon tackled whatever was asked of him and previewed his next publication with several talks on ‘Love, Christian Style’. He also spoke from Ruth, Psalm 137, Matthew’s Gospel, John’s Gospel, as well as on redemption and the apocalypse.
Leon and Mildred spent time with Bishops Cutts and Morrison, with clergy, and with missionaries including the Saunders, Cavanaghs, Wrights, Tysons, Harrowers, Roozes, Bassetts, Joyce Illingworth, Brightons, Cliffords, Skinner, Pinnigers and Coopers. They also met South American church leaders Padilla and Escobar, spoke to numerous theological students and sometimes university students, and visited Indian tribes such as the Mataco group. Although the planning on this trip left something to be desired, Leon tended to accept the problems that he and Mildred faced as ‘life’. Despite the additional challenges at times – stomach ailments, atrocious roads, bridges down and desperate tiredness – the trip gave them many tangential opportunities to serve and encourage people. As well as teaching core material about the cross, Leon also spoke on his latest thinking, and Mildred had opportunities to speak to several women’s groups. Just to be visited by this leading evangelical couple meant a huge amount in a difficult environment. Burdens were shared.
John Harrower, who, along with his wife, Gayelene, was one of the Australian missionaries who spent time with the Morrises during their trip,23 later recalled:
I will never forget speaking with Leon and Mildred on the lawns of Ridley College in the mid 1970s about our future calling to serve the Lord Jesus. Leon had recently visited South America and spoke with Gayelene and myself as we considered this possibility. Leon’s love for children was patently clear … he engaged in a very insightful conversation with Gayelene and myself while allowing a one year old and a three year old to clamber all over him and giggle and play. Mildred said ‘yes, Leon loves children and they invariably love him!’ with a broad smile on her face … In South America Leon was highly respected as a Bible teacher. I think this had not only to do with his command of the scriptures but also of his succinct English that made translation into Spanish very direct and engaging.24
After returning to Los Angeles, Leon and Mildred travelled to Chicago where Leon lectured twice a week at TEDS and caught up with Don Carson. From Chicago they flew to Honolulu and then home to 17 Queens Avenue on 26 June, having ministered overseas for over a year.
Settling In
Under Tom Morgan, Holy Trinity Doncaster had become the largest and most vibrant church in the diocese with some fourteen hundred families on the roll. The Sunday school had several hundred children long after conventional wisdom said it could not be done. Church members comprised the original orchardists, retired missionaries and the new residents. New members were fully accepted by the orchardists after some fifteen years in town. Leon and Mildred, by reputation, jumped a few places in the queue.
The original traditional, sand-coloured stone church was set back high on the block and was a popular venue for weddings. An extension had opened up the east wall, tripling the seating capacity and making space for a central pulpit and sanctuary. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows on the north side of the newer section looked out to a garden of low shrubs and plants that remained green even in the hot Australian summers.
Leon and Mildred’s home was a gentle downhill stroll away from the church. They attended the larger morning service, sitting two-thirds of the way back on the newer north side near the glass windows. Leon seemed to intimidate guest preachers just by his presence, so he would often look out the glass windows at the garden to minimize his effect on the preacher. Some joked that he was composing the next page of a commentary in his head. Just occasionally, when a very good point was made, and always if a reference was made to his commentaries, he would slowly turn and look at the preacher with a slight acknowledging smile and twinkle in the eye. The preaching quality varied, but he would often say as he left, ‘Thank you for the word.’ Mildred settled in quickly; she became a friendly face to many and began a new round of ministry encouragement.
The first months in Doncaster involved buying and setting up kitchen furniture, tables, bookshelves for the cavernous study, painting the exterior of the house and, between teaching trips, planting beds of roses and other flowers in the garden. Once Leon moved his desk into his front-room study, he was set. Morgan suggested to Leon that he line the entrance hallway with more bookshelves, as even the cavernous study could not accommodate all the books. Mildred was lucky to get the piano into the house.
Once he had settled in, students like Lowe visited him for supervisory sessions. A cavalcade of other people also visited, and often they would sit with Leon in his study. Two chairs faced each other adjacent to Leon’s desk and near the windows; behind lay his work area and books entirely covered the observable wall space, including underneath the windows. Leon would move to the window seats, sit relaxed, legs crossed and look at the guest or out the window as they chatted about this or that matter. Sometimes if the discussion warranted it, he jumped up to find a relevant book. He knew each book’s location and Mildred was not supposed to dust the shelves in case she moved a book accidentally.
He still hummed and touched his fingers together like a steeple as he somehow rocked back in the chair. These habits were never explained, but as he seemed relaxed there was nothing one could do about it and still no one dared to ask.
Other people wrote to him for advice. One sent Leon a paper about Pannenberg, and Leon’s response was typical of his fair-minded approach to other scholars.25 He commended the researcher’s ‘fine piece of work’ but cautioned about criticizing another scholar with whom one disagreed theologically and ignoring their positive contributions. Rather than relying on mind-reading and guessing motives, he argued that a better method was to assume people are sincere.
Leon’s diary continued to fill quickly with speaking engagements. As the 1980 Oliver Beguin Lecturer for the Bible Society of Australia, he gave a memorable address on ‘The Authority and Relevance of the Bible in the Modern World’ in Melbourne in July, which was repeated in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.26 To ordinary listeners, this address was a wonderful foundational defence of the Bible. To scholars and wider readers, it was also a rebuttal of loose thinking on the nature of the Bible. Leon graciously exposed the incomplete views of some scholars, particularly Christopher Evans, who had questioned whether the Bible was Holy Scripture. Leon argued that Jesus emphasized the place of the Bible and so should his followers; revelation is basic, and Christianity depends on what God has made known; Christianity is a historical religion, so a record must exist of the basic historical events; there has never been a Christianity without a Bible; and any religion may develop, but this must be in accord with its essential basis, and Christianity’s basis is in the Bible.
In September Leon travelled again, this time to Queensland and then Tasmania to speak on aspects of love, redemption, reconciliation and justification.27 October saw him travelling to Sydney, where he was to be conferred with a rare ThD degree by the ACT. The ACT had unanimously agreed to confer the ThD and delay the ceremony until Leon was available.28 Marcus Loane conferred the degree at a service in St Andrew’s Cathedral on 22 October 1980. Bishop Donald Robinson read the lesson; Lance Shilton, then Dean of Sydney, took the Service; Stuart Barton Babbage, then ACT Secretary, read the citation; and Leon preached. Leon then spent the week speaking in Sydney, including a sermon in Moore College’s chapel.
In late November, Leon attended a four-day conference of the Doctrine Commission of the General Synod, of which he was secretary. The commission had the responsibility of judging what was or was not in accord with the doctrine of the Anglican Church of Australia. It followed a detailed procedure to make sure that various points of view were considered. First, papers were circulated among its members, which enabled subsequent discussions to be informed and arguments sifted. When the commission felt it had come to one mind on a matter, or as close to one mind as possible, it drew up a statement.29 During the 1980s, Leon also continued his involvement with the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Fellowship. The fellowship wrote to him later, noting that his involvement and level of communication was a challenge for all the members to follow.30
A New Year
On 7 January 1981, Leon and Mildred flew Philippines Airlines 210 to Manila for three months, where Leon had been asked to teach at the Asian Theological Seminary (ATS). The seminary had been founded in 1969 to train Christian Filipinos for work in the Philippines, as 94 per cent of students who trained overseas never returned. The seminary began with twenty students and had some 165 students ten years later.
Leon lectured on the history and theology of the Fourth Gospel, the Johannine community, the Holy Spirit in John and the relationship between the Gospel of John and the other three gospels. He also spoke at the Bible Seminary of the Philippines, met with IVF staff workers and ministered to OMF missionaries. After seeing ATS at work, Leon was convinced that it was preferable for students to study in Manila rather than in a Western country.31 He did comment on the problem that Asian students accepted what the lecturer said without question. However, he thought the biggest disadvantage for the students was the library. Leon and Mildred returned to Melbourne on his sixty-seventh birthday.
When James Kennedy’s programme, Evangelism Explosion, reached Australian shores, Leon was asked for his opinion as he was known for his passion for evangelism.32 For Leon, ‘The important thing is that the essence of the Gospel is set out clearly. People are left in no doubt as to the sinfulness of man and the adequacy of the atonement Christ wrought. It is made clear that the Christian way … is … radically new.’ He offered specific comments on some of the course’s assertions:
1 John 5:13 is not the reason why the Bible was written but why 1 John was written … I am not sure all of us have broken all of God’s commandments – there are limits to our evil … ‘tetelestai’ does not mean ‘the debt is paid’, more like ‘it is finished’. But it was possible to use the word commercially as receipts sometimes begin ‘it is finished’ – I guess this is not that serious.33
In May 1981, a National Evangelical Anglican Congress was held at Monash University.34 Every evangelical Anglican who could make it was assembled at this congress, which tackled major issues of the day such as the relation of the gospel to the kingdom of God and justice; the local congregation; the Holy Spirit; and marriage, family and the place of women in Christian community. Leon gave the opening eleven-minute address on ‘What Is an Evangelical?’ and defined evangelicals as those who saw the gospel as central in proclamation, thinking and living. They also saw the fact that Christ died for our sins as important; that loving people deeply proceeds from knowing God and what he has done for us; that we need God’s Holy Spirit to help us; and that Scripture guides us.35
A review of this address appeared in On Being magazine from a young clergyman with a journalism background. In the review the clergyman stated what he thought Leon had ‘tried’ to do and then indicated that Leon had given a very narrow definition of evangelicals as ‘simply’ gospel men. Unusually, Leon took exception to the review and decided to write to him: ‘Normally I take no notice of those who attack me via the printed page. Basically I am a man of peace and do not care to carry on controversy. But just now and then I make a gentle reply and this is one of those occasions.’36 He asked the young minister how he knew what he had tried to do in his talk. He suggested it would have been better to stay with analysing what was actually said and added: ‘You … indulged in a bit of mind reading.’ By attaching the word ‘simply’ to Leon’s definition of evangelicals as ‘gospel men’, the young minister implied that Leon held this view. Leon quoted from his talk to show that he had a much wider view, and then explained his purpose: ‘to show that evangelicalism is not a hotch potch. It is a coherent, cross centred understanding of life. I am not writing to criticize you, for I have an admiration of your talent and the way you generally use it.’ He pointed out that there was a danger of older and younger evangelicals dividing with no real basis for division.
The young minister replied, apologizing for being unfair, citing time pressure and a lack of adequate journalistic back-up.37 He offered to publish a correction but Leon told him he was not really worried and the matter need go no further. Leon’s view was purely that people should avoid being simplistic in assertions and conclusions.
Leon was right about another matter. By the time he and the young minister met to have lunch at Queens Avenue a year later, the evangelicals had moved further apart. At the time of writing there has yet to be another fully representative Anglican Evangelical Conference in Australia of the size of the 1981 Conference.
Love and Truth in Love
Just as a battle in Gallipoli in 1915 became a legend that defined Australian spirit, Leon is often remembered for one book, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. However, one of Leon’s clear favourites was Testaments of Love, published in 1981, in his opinion a very satisfying piece on God’s love.38 It sold some 22,000 copies and was not only a great treatment of love but also showed how passionate he was about the love of God from early in his ministry. Leon had prepared his earliest thoughts on the topic in the 1950s for ‘The Love of God’ talks in New Zealand,39 then he extended this material for his talks in Portland, Oregon, in 1976. Revised material based on these talks appeared in the book.
The theology of God’s love had most certainly occupied Leon’s mind on and off over the years. One morning, when preaching on love in the Ridley chapel, Leon judged it was time for a lighter moment and slipped in an illustration: a poem on love. It was scribbled, with changes, on the back of a 1976 envelope. It may have been an American student’s composition, but more likely it was Leon’s as it bore similarities to his humour. Once Leon began his recitation, he gained the students’ complete attention:
Steve’s Girl
Steve’s girl is very beautiful
My girl is rather plain
Steve’s girl is bright and cheerful
Mine seems to have a pain.
Steve’s girl is very brainy
Her grades are all straight A’s
Mine never seems to learn much
She’s always in a daze.
Steve’s girl is soft and gentle
Mine is like a piece of wood
But, would I swap my girl for Steve’s girl?
You bet your life I would!40
No one who was present that day can recall the sermon’s detail, because they spent the next five minutes trying to contain their laughter.41
Testaments of Love was a little different from his usual areas of expertise, and it met a definite need at the time. Leon maintained that very little had been written that described the love of God from the perspective of the entire Bible. He maintained that God’s essential character was love, but we had to understand how that was revealed to us. Leon had noticed an imbalance in the material on love in the scholarly treatments of the Old Testament; furthermore, he was concerned that the New Testament understanding of love differed markedly from the understanding of love persistent in Western society.42
He made a number of points:
• God was not just to be understood as a loving God, as his essential nature was love. This way of understanding God is foundational for Christians.
• The problem for humans is that we do not love as we should, and we turn away from a true love of God.
• The Old Testament tells us that God continues to love us; he cannot give up on us, despite our failures. Even when he punishes people, it is motivated by his love to give us another opportunity to turn to him.
• The New Testament develops the idea of a steadfast and persistent love of God that is different from any other love we find, and especially different from the romantic and sexual love which marks our society.
• God’s love is given irrespective of our merit and it seeks to give without the desire to possess.
• The depth of God’s love pervades the entire New Testament, not just the events at the cross. It tells the story of God seeking us out of his deep love for us, and Jesus taught that his love would save us and allow us even to love our enemies.
• Once we see God’s love in this way we can never be the same, for it calls us to respond. John 3:16 calls us to believe, to receive Christ to be saved, and to experience God’s love in our hearts.
• This love of God within us will enable us to love each other deeply (e.g. Tertullian’s ‘see how they love each other’), as well as those around us in the world (e.g. the woman at the well).
• This love will surprise the world because the dominant model for human love is to love those we like and to love in order to possess others. God’s love loves the unworthy and gives without needing to possess.
For Leon and Mildred, God’s love in their lives controlled their actions. There was their unstinting outback service. Mildred’s working to support Leon while he studied for his PhD. Twenty-five years of care and an open-door policy at Ridley. Mildred’s visits to women in suburbs miles away from home. Their acceptance and service of people considered ‘odd bods’. Punishing schedules across the USA and UK to teach and share God’s love. Social action well before many conservative evangelicals got on board. Strenuously exhausting visits to missionaries and other Christians in South America, Asia and other countries elsewhere. And, of course, evangelism; they believed people were lost without Christ, and the most positive thing, the great miracle of life, was for a person to find the richness of Christ for a life with purpose, meaning and salvation.43
South Africa
In early September, Leon travelled to South Africa for a month of teaching. His first host was a young theological lecturer at the University of South Africa, Deryck Sheryffs.44 Leon visited seven major locations and had some thirty engagements at various theological institutions and churches. Adding to the stress of this busy schedule was the apartheid issue, which was on the boil.
Leon’s first stop was the University of South Africa, which had 57,000 students at the time. He lectured to the divinity faculty. At the University of Pretoria, the only one that did not accept black students, he spoke to fourth-year divinity students. He then spoke at Rank Africaans and the University of Witwatersrand to the senior students and chaplains. Next on the list were lectures to students at a Baptist seminary and the Nazarene Seminary. He managed a quick trip to Soweto to take a first-hand look at the troubled situation before flying to Durban. While he was speaking at a seminary in Durban, some accusatory questions were put to him and a number of listeners walked out. He was talking about love at the time. It is not clear what part of his content upset his listeners, or whether whites or blacks walked out, but the reaction was clearly strong enough for him to note it.
After the University of Natal and a gathering of forty ministers at Pietermaritzburg, Leon travelled to Port Elizabeth where he addressed 250 people at St Hugh’s Anglican Church and a further 150 at Trinity Baptist Church. The next day he spoke on the atonement to the theological students at the University of Port Elizabeth. Throughout the trip, Leon spoke with his characteristic clarity. In Cape Town, at a Church of England of South Africa service, when he was greeting people at the door, a woman introduced him to her daughter as a ‘famous scholar’. Leon could hardly contain himself when he overheard her say, ‘But I could understand every word.’45
The latter period of Leon’s trip was filled with visits to churches of his own denomination, where he preached and led discussions. When he got to Stellenbosch he found himself lecturing on love and apocalyptic literature with a backdrop of simmering tension because some lecturers had taken students to recent flashpoints and had been heavily criticized. On 7 September Leon left Johannesburg to return home. It was time to top-dress the lawn at Queens Avenue and he was thankful for two weeks with few commitments. Sadly, on 1 October, Mildred’s mother died.
Business as Usual
Leon and Mildred’s next three years were spent mostly in Australia. Leon continued to write, and accepted speaking engagements in Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, country Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania.
He taught at clergy conferences, national SU meetings, chaplains’ meetings, CMS conferences, evangelical gatherings, meetings of various agencies and groups, house churches, theological colleges and mission meetings. The latter included a series of local teaching mission meetings in Doncaster.46 His teaching focused on current hot topics such as lay leadership within Anglicanism, the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. He also prepared studies for the military titled, What’s a Nice Church Doing in a World Like This?
Many articles were submitted to publishers. Some were for inclusion in The Dictionary of Theology, The Lion Handbook to the Bible and The Oxford Companion to the Bible.47 Others were written for The Dictionary of Christ.48 He also wrote an introduction to 2 Thessalonians for the Holman Study Bible.49 He revised his Thessalonians material, submitted his book, The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance, revised the Tyndale Commentary on 1 Corinthians with new material on ministry and the Holy Spirit, and worked on a theology of John and a commentary on the book of Revelation. He drafted his New Testament Theology and wrote his devotional comments for Expository Reflections on the Gospel of John. He and Mildred were delighted when Zondervan asked Mildred to submit her pavlova recipe for the Zondervan Family Cookbook.50
He also helped Morgan in Doncaster. One confirmation service gave Morgan a headache when Archbishop Dann rang to say he was too sick to make the service and that none of the regional bishops were available. Next morning, gathered in the vestry were Leon, Morgan, the curate, and the retired, somewhat unwell, Bishop Alfred Stanway. Leon preached instead of the archbishop, and despite Parkinson’s disease affecting his speech, Stanway moved surely along the Communion rail, as he repeated the words of confirmation to receive the Holy Spirit. The curate wondered whether any other group of candidates had been prepared by a more persistent vicar, confirmed by such a courageous bishop, and under such a great preacher. Leon cheerily suggested to Morgan that the service had gone quite well despite a missing archbishop.51
In September 1983 Leon laid the foundation stone for a new Ridley building.52 He was back in July 1984 for the opening of the Leon Morris Library.53 Two narrow flights of stairs bring you into a light-filled, amply equipped library. As you pass the landing, a photo greets you of a broadly smiling Leon, with his hands behind his head, in his study.
He and Mildred made another trip to the USA in 1984, where Leon taught for four months at Fuller, spoke at a Bethel Conference in Minneapolis, lectured at TEDS on whatever he desired, and spoke at Wheaton on the current status in New Testament studies. Leon’s last speaking engagement was in Denver. Recalling this visit to the USA, a TEDS lecturer wrote: ‘Leon Morris and his wife were deeply appreciated as well as greatly respected at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. My memories of him are vivid and happy.’54
In the first six years of leaving Ridley and now able to write full time, Leon was producing on average one substantial book per year. Most were commentaries to strengthen the hands and hearts of pastors. During this period, however, The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance was published and sold over 34,000 copies. A new generation of pastors and students read about the cross in a style that suited the 1980s readership with the added advantage of additional illustrations. Leon was becoming less involved in detailed academic debates but was turning out works for an informed and wider audience.