Carl Matthei’s Security Profile
Home address: Bexley.
Church: Christ Church, St. George.
Marital status: Married (to Jenny)
Children: Caitlin (6¼), Laura (4¾), Rebecca (2) and Joel (5 months).
Education: HSC, Bachelor of Commerce in Management.
Model superhero: Batman. (As someone who now has to drive around in a Tarago, it would be nice to cruise in the Batmobile!)
How did you become a Christian? When I was 15, I had an after school job in a Big W-type store. I had a friend there who would occasionally steal things from the store. When I found out about it, I wanted to be in on it too and get free stuff. But just after I made a deal with him to get a share of the goods, he got busted. And I got busted too, without having received one thing! I was marched right through Westfield Hurstville into a paddy wagon and taken down to the police station. My mum and dad had to come and get me. The drive home was terrible—they didn’t say anything the whole way. I would have preferred it if they had torn strips off me!
I thought Christianity was all about being good, but when I got arrested, I thought, “I’ve blown it. I’ve gone over the line.” I seriously believed in heaven and hell and I wanted to know what I had to do to get into the “good books” again. So I started going to church and reading the Bible with some of the guys there. They told me I had it all wrong; I wouldn’t ever be good enough for God. It isn't about being good enough. It is about being forgiven through Jesus' death on the cross. Forgiveness is what we all need and I grabbed hold of it. I thought it was great that I could be right with God because Jesus died for my sins.
What made you choose a major in Management? I was very lucky to be in a church that encouraged people to think about how to serve the Lord and other people. This perspective was very normal for me. So, on the first day I was at Uni when I was asked to choose a major—something I had never considered before—I asked myself, “Which major would be the most helpful for Christian ministry?” And the answer was Management!
Have you been able to use your degree in Management beyond Uni? Not heaps. Management teaches you that people think differently to one another, and that working with people is not always easy and doesn’t always go the way you want. I’ve found that, in ministry, it’s essential to work hard at thinking like the people you want to reach with the gospel and work out how to communicate the gospel clearly to them.
What was it like being a Christian at Wollongong University back when you were a student?: It was very hard because there wasn’t a lot of support. When I was there, there were only about 30 people in the Christian group and we didn’t have a very clear or coherent sense of direction in terms of doing ministry on campus. There were main meetings but no small groups so it was hard to get to know other Christians in your course or your faculty. Richard arrived the year after I left Uni. It’s exciting to see the changes that have happened since then.
What led you into doing full-time ministry? I was overwhelmed by the good news that we can forgiveness in Jesus. If this good news was true, I wanted to share it with others so they too could know how good it is!
What’s a typical week for you at Christ Church St. George? In the mornings I work at God’s word, preparing to teach it on the Sunday. In the afternoons and the evenings, I spend time with people from church—training them and equipping them in godliness and ministry. And then there are the usual admin stuff and meetings. I usually have Wednesdays off. In the morning we drop our eldest daughter, Caitlin, at school and then do something with the younger kids—go to the park, the zoo, the beach, whatever. In the afternoons, my wife and I try to give each other a bit of a rest while the other looks after the kids. Then we pick Caitlin up from school and do something relaxing in the evening—fish and chips at the beach or crashing in front of the TV with takeaway Thai.
Why the theme of “Security” for Mission Week? Ever since September 11, we as a society have been seriously concerned about security—mainly because September 11 exposed our insecurities. People look for meaning and security in all kinds of places but we need to show them that the only way to find real lasting security is in an eternal relationship with Jesus and God the father.
What are you insecure about? Whether people will accept me, whether I can do a good job in things, whether my preaching is any good. Some weeks Satan tries to tell me, “People don’t really want to hear this. You’ll only bore them.” But I am continually reminded that it’s God word that changes people, not me.
Carl Matthei enjoys Paul Kelly, Point Break, Peter O’Brien, the colour blue, the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, Avoca Beach and surfing. He dreams of getting a checkout job at Coles.
Karen Beilharz
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