"I see the handiwork of God which is beauty; people who are oppressed and in need of things physical and spiritual."
These are the words of my favorite professor, scholar, and mentor, Dr. Donald Potts. He was a kind man, a wise man, and seemed to have almost infinite patience with his students. Even up to the very end, he continued to read, study, and write.
The last few years of his life he struggled with physical disease and limitations, but that didn't keep him from serving the Lord. He kept teaching and mentoring those who would stop by to visit him.
A few years ago, I was preparing to teach a seminary course on preaching. Dr. Potts always had thorough notes and well developed outlines. In fact, one of the greatest things he taught me was to think logically and outline those thoughts in a logical progression. I stopped by his home to get a copy of his preaching lectures. As I expected, he was gracious and generous with his materials. I enjoyed visiting with him and using the opportunity to "pick his brain" on numerous subjects.
I can recall that as a student,we called his Pastoral Ministries class "Story Time." He had some dillies of stories to tell. It seemed that Dr. Potts as a pastor had one amazing adventure after another.
I recall him entering the classroom on test day with a stack of tests in his hand, chuckling with a somewhat sinister tone. Every test I took from him, no matter what the class, seemed to follow the same format: 1st Page- True/False, fill in the blank; 2nd Page- Matching and short answer; 3rd Page- Essay. His tests weren' that hard, but they were thorough. When he came back to class with the graded papers, he always graded on a curve. He would show the scores on the board, sometimes reaching waaay down to get some students on the passing side. He liked to say, "Grace did abound!" In his class, it did.
I recall he was a walking library of knowledge. You could ask a question about Bible, theology, or just about any other subject, and he would reply with a thoughtful, well-reasoned answer. He never got very excited or emotional. He remained calm and steady, even in times of test debates with students who thought they knew more than he did. One particular incident I recall was when a student was arguing with him over some fine point of theology. After some discussion, with time running out for class time, he said, "Well, we'll just let you be wrong if you want to be." Sometimes I found myself cheering inside when he would, with his typical flawless logic, refute a student who was half- cocked in his thinking.
Not only did he have a library in his head, his personal library was huge. The few times I conferred with him at his college office, I was impressed with the hundreds of volumes on his shelf. I daydreamed about having a library like that. When asked if he had read them all, he would say with typical understatement, "Well, I know what's in them!"
I recall that in his former life in the world of work, he had been a nuclear physicist. His engineering background certainly showed in his carefully organized notes, outlines, and thinking. He once told us that for people to say that a man would enter the ministry strictly for the money was being foolish. He said that before he entered ministry, he made more money in a week than in a whole month as a pastor.
I recall that when I first began preaching and teaching, I found myself using phrases and thoughts he first put forth in the classroom. I applied his pastoral wisdom to several situations I have faced in my ministry.
Once he told us that we should learn parliamentary procedure because it kept him from being fired by a church. By knowing what was out of order, a business meeting where some were going to try to get rid of him was over before it got started. I've never forgotten that lesson.
I recall a few years ago visiting with his wife and him in the hospital as she was dying. His wife, Jean, was a mentor to ministers' wives herself. When I entered college, my wife met with her to learn how to be my helpmate in the ministry. Mrs. Potts could tell some good stories herself! When I visited with them, Dr. Potts asked me to pray. It was clear that the end was near, and Dr. Potts loved his wife dearly. It was a reverent and tender moment, one which I was glad I shared. When his beloved Jean died, Dr. Potts preached her funeral service. I don't know that I could do that myself, but I remember being lifted up, encouraged, and leaving with even more admiration and respect for this man.
Dr. Dane Fowlkes, a classmate of mine at ETBU, had the honor of preaching Dr. Potts' funeral message. Dr. Potts, ever meticulous and prepared, had chosen for the text Philippians 4:1-7, which emphasizes, "Rejoice in the Lord always." It was a fitting text. As he concluded his message, Dr. Fowlkes told a story that I have been pondering ever since. He said that last Saturday, the day Dr. Potts died, Dr. Potts did something rather uncharacteristic for him. He closed the curtains looking out on the patio, locked the front door, and then wheeled his scooter chair into the hallway of his home. He backed his scooter against the wall to face the pictures of his family lined up down the wall. There he was later found, slumped over, asleep in Jesus. It was as though he knew that it was his time to "go the way of all flesh." He died quietly and peacefully among pictures of the people he loved most.
The picture above shows me, a young man who surrendered to ministry under my ministry, and Dr. Potts at an awards event some years ago at East Texas Baptist University. Someone told me they could tell it was an old picture because I looked younger and thinner. Today, I treasure that picture- me with my mentor, and my mentoree, all in one shot. Three generations of ministers. The work and heritage goes on!
Countless ministers, students, and congregations have had the privilege to sit under his deep scholarship and sense his reverence for God and his word. I have sat under many teachers, but he remained my favorite. I count myself most blessed to have been a student of his. I hope I can pass on just a portion of what he gave me. In both knowledge and character, he was a "giant oak in God's forest."
So long for now, Dr. Potts. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!"
