Vignettes: Walls and Shenk

In my last blog, I paid a brief tribute to Andrew Walls and Wilbert Shenk. I did not know either man well. Wilbert knew me, but I doubt that Andrew Walls remembered me from our brief meeting. Still, I have my own memories of these two men, whom I have called "heroes" in the world of missiology.

I remember meeting Shenk at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries (now Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary -- AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana. I was looking for missions courses to teach, and he was the missiology professor at AMBS. He was engaged in a research project analysing secular culture, which meant that he needed someone to teach his regular missions course.

He invited me to teach that course, which became my first step into the world of teaching missions. I also taught a world religions course at Huntington College at that time. The college course was rocky and could have ended my foray into teaching; the seminary course was wonderful and confirmed my calling to teach at this level.

I remember the end of our initial conversation together. Wilbert said something like, "It has been wonderful to talk to someone who speaks my language." He spent his time with colleagues who spoke a closely related academic language, but as missiologists we shared a common understanding that he found nourishing. As did I.

A few years later, we were at a meeting of the American Society of Missiology together. I was teaching a missions history course and had trouble finding a good source to recount the cross-cultural witness of mainline churches. As we went in to lunch, I asked Wilbert if he could recommend a good source on mainline missions history. He replied curtly, "There is none." He meant, of course, that churches who saw missionary outreach as illegitimate did not have much outreach to describe. Evangelicals in the USA have many problems -- especially with what is sometimes called civil religion -- but they do at least witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever they go.

One brief story about Andrew Walls, which I have told before. When Wilbert retired from teaching at Fuller's school of world mission (where he had gone from AMBS), he returned to Elkhart, where he lived his last years. The Anabaptist Association of Missiologists (I think) held a dinner with several speeches in his honour. The keynote address came after the evening meal and was delivered by Walls, who had been Wilbert's mentor in his doctoral studies.

We were in the Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount.and the lighting was dim. Walls could not read his manuscript as he stood at the podium, so someone went to get a lamp they could place over the podium. While we waited, Walls spoke briefly with us. He said something like this: "People have told me that I am a dry speaker, and I believe that it is true. But I must tell you that I have only fallen asleep once while lecturing, and in my defense, I was the last to go." He spoke the truth -- he was a dry speaker, but his insights were and are powerful and continuing. I am greatly in his debt, as well as in Wilbert's debt. 

I did not know them well, but I miss them and thank our common Creator for giving us the privilege of knowing them.