A LIFE WELL LIVED
MY REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE OF DR. PAUL G.
HIEBERT
Terry Steele, Doctoral students of Paul G. Hiebert at TEDS
I
was first introduced to Dr. Hiebert’s work during my
seminary experience. I was amazed at the complexity of his concepts yet the
clarity of his explanations and practicality of the concepts he shared.
Throughout my education and career, as a student and as an educator, I
continually discover new layers to Dr. Hiebert’s
work. His work on worldview particularly affected me.
Two
years ago during a difficult period of time, I discovered Western Seminary was
offering a class from Dr. Hiebert on Folk Religions. I was excited and a little
intimidated to meet the man whom I considered to be an intellectual giant, yet
when I met him for the first time I was amazed at his humble attitude and
gentle spirit. Sitting under his teaching was like, as he proposed, taking a
long leisurely walk with friends.
My father and I had been wrestling with
issues of worldview and core assumptions in our church and approached Dr.
Hiebert for his insight in the matter. Over breakfast the three of us talked at
length about the Lord’s work, core assumptions, and personal struggles. Toward
the end of our meal my father explained to Dr. Hiebert about my struggles to
find full-time employment in the university system. Very gently this great
scholar looked at me with a smile and said, “Come to Trinity and study with
me.”
A little over a year later I arrived at
Trinity and immediately sought out Dr. Hiebert. We sat down for lunch and again
began to wrestle with issues of worldview. I was amazed at how he spoke to me
as a colleague rather than a student. He once told me that my fellow students
at TEDS and I were scholars, not students, “and as you know, scholars have a
hard time getting things done on time.” He enjoyed the process of learning with
us and from us. Here was one of the most brilliant minds I’d ever been exposed
to and he was taking notes from me. Many other TEDS
students have shared similar stories of how their papers and ideas spurred Dr.
Hiebert to study an area he wanted to know more about.
By this time the cancer had been
diagnosed. I was amazed at how peaceful he seemed and how inviting he was. At
the end of our time he invited my family to his house for dinner. Throughout
the semester my wife, two boys under five and I ate
with Dr. Hiebert, sharing ideas, stories, pains and even jokes. When my parents
came to visit he asked to meet them. I specifically remember Dr. Hiebert
sitting in his recliner with my Mennonite mother next to him talking as if they
were old friends meeting up after a long absence. She told him that he was very
special to me to which he responded that I had become special to him. His
students were special to him. He remembered us not just as men and women
sitting under him for a period of time. He remembered our names, our families,
our passions, and our desires. I was also amazed that when we asked questions
that seemed off point or put our foot in our mouths, Dr. Hiebert never made us
feel foolish or unworthy. He always was gracious even when misunderstood or
taken to task over things he taught. He always had a gentle smile and a twinkle
in his eyes. I caught him right before he taught his final class period for a
Masters class. He pulled me close and said, “Don’t be jealous, Terry. I’m going
to teach my last class.” I told him I didn’t think I’d be jealous considering I
had many years of teaching ahead of me. He looked at me with that devious grin
and said, “I don’t have to get up early anymore or prep for any more classes
ever again.” Okay, I was a little jealous.
I had the privilege of sitting under him
for his final doctoral class. All of us in the packed room knew we were in the
presence of someone special. At the end of the class we realized that was it -
there would be no more Hiebert classes. He prayed for us and said he was done.
It now was our job to carry on.
He was more than an author, missionary,
anthropologist, scholar or brilliant man. He was a mentor for so many of us.
When tutoring us in the ways of knowledge he would share with us grandfatherly
advice and human insights. “A book or paper is never completely done. You just
get tired of editing and turn it in.”
Even after he moved away from Trinity, I
did an independent study with him that he insisted he wanted to continue until
he was no longer able, so I spoke to Dr. Hiebert over the phone every week for
two months. He poured so many ideas into my mind I felt like I was going to
burst every time we spoke. Even when he was obviously uncomfortable and in pain
he always told me, “I’m doing fine considering the circumstances.” He was
always cheerful and when I told him I didn’t want to take up too much of his
energy by talking too long, he pressed on with our conversation for another
hour, never lagging in enthusiasm or energy.
Towards the end when our phone
conversations were no longer possible, my wife and I sent a note of
encouragement to him. He responded with thanks for the encouragement and an
admonition. “No matter what you learn in the academy, never loose contact with
the person in the pew.”
In that first class I took under Dr.
Hiebert he exposed me to the idea of split-level Christianity and the perceived
divide between the sacred and the mundane. The reality of his life that was
well lived was that Dr. Hiebert never saw this split as being real. He had a
God that was a God of the holy and the mundane, science and sacred. He never
saw a part of his life from which was excluded God or a part of the world where
God did not belong. He lived a transformed life, a life that reflected God.
When I called Dr. Mary Wilder last week
to give her the news of Dr. Hiebert’s passing, she
commented, “That must have been a glorious homecoming.” His life was well
lived. His impact on our minds has been made, but more importantly is the
impact upon our hearts and lives for the glory of the Lord. “Well done, good
and faithful servant.”
Published in the special issue “A
Memoriam of Paul G. Hiebert”
www.globalmissiology.org