Many blogs started to go up over the weekend when word was received that Dr. Roy Zuck went home to be with the Lord late Saturday. He was Academic Dean at Dallas Theological Seminary for most of the time I was a student at DTS. I thought it was appropriate for me also to share my memories of a man of such character as Dr. Zuck. He is greatly loved and respected, especially by those in the DTS family, but also by many evangelicals outside the seminary family who appreciated his contribution to teaching, theology, and publishing.
I was a New Testament major in my STM at Dallas. Having obtained an M.Div. at Liberty Baptist Seminary, I did not have as many opportunities to have contact with Dr. Zuck as did the DTS Th.M. students. In fact, I never had a formal for credit class with him (which is disappointing).
But I remember that they required us to take a Saturday morning non-credit seminar (if I remember correctly) which Dr. Zuck taught. The subject was on how to be a good teacher. What an avalanche of teaching tips I learned in just a short time! The thing I remember most from that morning was his use of the overhead projector (if you can remember such things). I specifically remember the overlays of transparencies giving a physical rendering of the woman in the Song of Songs–things like her nose was as the Tower of Lebanon! He brought humor to bear along with what at the time was appropriate use of the technology of the day. I was teaching at a church in Arlington, Texas at the time. I used some of the things Dr. Zuck taught me. They thought I was a great teacher! Dr. Zuck and others who were my teachers deserve the credit. Through him I became more aware of creativity in the function of teaching.
I had some dealings with Dr. Zuck when I published an article in Bibliotheca Sacra, the seminary journal which he edited for decades. I am sure that Dr. Zuck had a typewriter and some manuscripts on a table next to Noah on the Ark–and stacks of BibSac journals! He helped work through knotty problems in my article that could have been written better. I learned to appreciate his editing skills directly through this conversation with him. Of course, we all could see the fantastic editing job he did on the Bible Knowledge Commentary, one of the most used commentaries in our day. I sometimes tease students by referring to BKC as the “inspired commentary.” Of course, it is not inspired like the Bible is inspired. But Dr. Zuck loved accuracy and detail. He loved the Bible with all his heart. He loved God and Jesus with all his heart. He was a man of God.
In December 2009 at the Pre-Trib Study Group I set up a dinner with Dr. Zuck. I told him I would take him out to dinner if he would help me with some publishing ideas I was thinking through. He kindly agreed. We met at Dallas Seminary and he drove me over to one of his favorite restaurants nearby. I asked him for advice on producing publications for the Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics which we had started at Baptist Bible Seminary in 2008. Dr. Zuck was gracious and even promised to help if the Lord would allow projects to emerge for him to work on. Alas, the Lord never allowed this to develop. One of the things that became so obvious to me during our dinner was the great love he had for his wife Dottie, who had gone on to be with the Lord a little over a year earlier. I doubt any couple could match the love they had for each other.
Dr. Zuck was at the Pre-Trib Study Group last December (2012) in Dallas. I regret that I did not get a chance to talk to him personally while I was there. He was a fine Christian man. While today we miss his presence among us, Dr. Zuck will be remembered for generations to come.
