“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.”
James 3:1
In Dr. D.C. Martin’s Bible class, it was often the students who felt that they had incurred stricter judgment.
They had.
His infamous “97-100 equals an A” grading scale struck fear into the hearts of all but the most intrepid students, and many a man and a maid who plunged boldly into the eccentric depths of calculus or the whirling maelstrom of organic chemistry moved heaven and earth to postpone – or avoid altogether – the rigors of Martinian interpretation.
The difficulty of passing his course – and difficult it was – coupled with his quicksilver swings, mid-lecture, from wild and giddy humor to penetrating seriousness – kept pencils poised and posteriors on the edge of their seat. Amid an audience primed to doodle and slump, this was not widely regarded as a good thing.
Still, he was never dull. And he had a way of engaging even recalcitrant minds … luring mental waders out into deeper pools of insight and curious eddies of wisdom, where – if they weren’t careful – riptides of wonder and imagination might sweep them out to –
– C.
That was the bottom line for most, in college. G.P.A.s, scholarships, transcripts, resumes … all hinged on The Grade. There was no allowance for a class where real thinking came at the price of an easy A. There were too many other options – classes you could drift through, sleep through, squeak through, and still gain that all-important mark.
D.C. Martin’s class was hard. Daily quizzes. Tests galore. And … that final. The one where you had to know not only what the Bible said, but “the Martinian interpretation “ of what the Bible meant.
The course was demanding and difficult – more so, many thought, than it had to be. And while a good number passed, a lot of others didn’t.
Still, a few came to realize, as they moved on down the road, that Dr. Martin’s class was more than an academic gauntlet … that it was, in fact, an excellent and accurate preparation n for the Christian life.
A life in which small tests come every day … and big ones, almost as often. In which the standard of success is exceedingly narrow. In which it’s critical that a man know both what the Bible says to all men … and what its teachings mean to him, personally … in his own “interpretation” of experience.
The Christian life is a hard row to hoe – more demanding and difficult, we sometimes think, than it ought to be. And it’s a frightening course to choose … for while a good number come through to glory, so many others don’t.
Why should it have to be this way? Why, when there are so many other options – philosophies and lifestyles that will let you cruise or drift or doze or squeak by … and the powers that be in this addled world will give you their all-important mark of approval?
The answer to that question is as simple as why some of us chose to take Dr. Martin’s incredibly difficult classes.
No subject is too hard if you love the teacher. And if you know he is telling you the truth.
“To whom shall we go?” a man named Peter once asked his teacher, when the other students had found the course work more difficult than anticipated, and walked away. “You have the words of eternal life.”
D.C. Martin learned those same wonderful words of life from Peter’s teacher, and passed them on in ways that challenged, terrified, inspired, upset, amused, and profoundly touched the rest of us. He was as popular – and as infamous – as only a teller of truth can be. He was a good man and a brilliant teacher – so brilliant that he made us long for a better One.
Dr. Martin took the Great Teacher’s class the same way all the rest of us do – Reading and Conference – a one-on-one curriculum made up of the Book, and whatever the Professor assigns. You learn as you go, and you take the assignments, the quizzes, and the tests as they come … you look forward to the thought discussions with the Teacher.
And, sooner or later, you take the final.
Dr. Martin was scheduled to take his three times in the last two years. A few weeks ago, he finally did.
I believe that he passed with honors.
And now … the “Great White Father” is gone to the Great White Throne.
He is survived by the three great loves of his life: his “first wife,” Carolyn, Grand Canyon College, and Jehovah Jireh …
… in whose strong and gentle fist D.C. Martin joyfully rests.
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