When I arrived at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) in the fall of 1990, I anticipated learning about theology, Greek, and best practices for church leadership. What came as a surprise was how much I learned about serving God and His Word from my professors’ lives. Now, more than 30 years later, I see I learned far more from their lives than I ever could from their classes.
Prioritize People
My first day at SWBTS began with Biblical Backgrounds taught by Dr. Bill Tolar. Immediately, I knew he was an erudite statesman, an expert scholar, and a brilliant communicator. Clearly, Dr. Tolar’s expertise in his field was unmatched. What impressed me most, however, even from that first day, was the interest he took in us as students. Unfailingly, Dr. Tolar had time for us: answering questions and asking about our calling, our lives, and our families. Beyond our course work, what Dr. Tolar demonstrated to me was that people were his primary calling. Shepherd people first. Deal with tasks as you must.
Keep a Sense of Humor
Dr. Thomas Lea, a New Testament professor of the first order, taught me much about the history and background of the New Testament and even more about how to exegete it. He also taught me it was okay to have a profound sense of humor even when dealing with matters of eternity. For example, in one particular class, Dr. Lea said, “If you are ever stuck in a Greek class and unsure of what to answer, there’s one failsafe answer.” With that, he turned to the board and wrote, in Greek, “Heck if I know,” and waited for us to figure out his joke. With a smirky smile, a hearty laugh for all of us, and a quick turn, we were back to subject matter, but not before he taught me the power of laughter to move things along. Love God, love people, and find joy in both.
Never Sell out
In an Old Testament class, Dr. David Garland taught me the power of focused calling. His example of lived experience was a key driver in our classroom conversations, illustrating for us the power and danger of an unfocused call. While discussing Hezekiah’s conversations with Isaiah, Dr. Garland paused and discussed what our lives might be like after graduation. He warned there could be a search committee arriving on our doorstep offering a much larger salary and a bigger church (I can still see and hear him saying, “We’ll pay you $50,000!”) if only we would jump ship from our current church and come serve where they were. “Your calling should never be for sale,” Dr. Garland warned. Focus your calling on obedience to the Lord, not the highest bidder.
Go and Tell
I also learned all of this information is not meant to be kept to ourselves. How fondly I remember sitting in class with Dr. Roy Fish extolling us to be active in evangelism and not become the Dead Sea — all in and no exit. Dr. Dan Crawford leading us to do evangelism practicums. Dr. Malcolm McDow compelling us to be evangelistic in every sermon, every lesson, and every opportunity God gives us. Our most important lessons in evangelism class were actually doing evangelism, not learning about it. Not only did I see these men teach evangelism classes. I saw them doing evangelism!
Family First
It wasn’t just in class either. One chapel service, Dr. Jack McGorman was preaching on the power and importance of family. He implored us to love our wives and children well and not trade a second of those precious moments. With more transparency than I’d ever seen in chapel, Dr. McGorman said, “I have two earned PhDs. I would trade them both for a chance to be a better D.a.d.” At that time, single and all alone as I was, I prayed God would help me remember that. Now, some 30 plus years later, God clearly has. Our families are our first line of ministry.
Say Hard Things
Dr. Bruce Corley taught me the power of speaking the truth in love, but with clarity. Taking a Greek class in my first semester at SWBTS, we were in a section I found particularly easy. I was cruising and not taking the homework seriously. He pulled me aside and said, “Darin, when did you do this homework?” My smarty-pants answer was an honest one, given that I was watching the World Series the night before while I did it: “About the 6th inning,” I said. I meant it to be silly, but Dr. Corley wasn’t having it. With a stern face, he looked at me and said, “If you ever decide to be a serious student, let me know.” His words struck like a hammer — and he meant for them to — but he meant it with the best of motives. It was a turning point for me. I don’t recall ever again being lackadaisical with my effort at SWBTS. A few years later, when I applied to PhD work, I asked Dr. Corley to recommend me, and he did so. Truth, spoken in love, clarifies and purifies.
Give Honor Where It’s Due
Time and space fail me to speak of other things I learned from the lives and examples of my professors: Dr. Bruce Leafblad and his passion for church music taught me music isn’t merely the prelude to the sermon, exemplified by his ministry and service to churches across Texas. Dr. Lawrence Klempnauer and his passion for Sunday School taught me the power of the discipleship ministries of the church, demonstrated by being active in his church and teaching classes like he was leading us to do. Harold Freeman and Dr. Grant Lovejoy taught me the power of a fully prepared sermon and the importance of delivery in it, not merely by the subject matter of their course work but in the way they taught it! And most of all, Dr. Siegfried Schatzmann, my PhD supervisor, taught me the power of patience and consistent, faithful service to the Lord and his people. An accomplished scholar with numerous titles and translations to his name, his kindness and patience with me shepherded me through my exhausting dissertation stage. I wouldn’t have graduated without his faithful guidance and partnership, which far exceeded a professorial role.
Now, more than 35 years since I received my MDiv, I look back and I realize those lessons were far more valuable to me than the coursework. While I benefited greatly from the courses, much has changed in the intervening years — topics taught to me then have evolved, and some have even disappeared (cassette tape ministry, anyone?). What hasn’t changed is Christ’s calling and the demand for integrity in it. Each of these faithful men and women (and many more) demonstrated the clarity of Christ’s calling, passion in Christ’s faithfulness, as well as how to endure when things are difficult or even painful.
Their example reveals their teaching and testimony were of one accord. They lived what they taught! Their lives demonstrated their willingness to take the commands of Christ personally, seriously, and faithfully. That doesn’t make them perfect, for Heaven knows they didn’t always get it right. But failure never kept them from their commitment to live up to the calling of Christ in Colossians 3. May we, the beneficiaries of such examples, do likewise.
