A few months ago I discovered that one of my lecturers when I was at Regent College, Dr Roy Bell, had passed away. I did my Master of Divinity (MDiv) there. It was jointly offered by Regent and Carey Hall, a Baptist College. Regent would offer more of the classic theological subjects and Carey more of the applied theology subjects. It was a wonderful combination. I appreciated the theological and biblical studies I did at Regent, but the courses I took at Carey helped keep me rooted to the realities of day-to-day life in the pew and in the world.
Dr Roy Bell was the principal of Carey when I was there. He was one of my teachers but soon became a mentor and a friend. It was at Regent-Carey that I learnt that a teacher could extend the gift of friendship to his/her students. Friendship implies some degree of mutuality and reciprocity. I was initially surprised when I encountered this in Dr Bell and other lecturers. Dr Bell was a very experienced pastor and denominational leader. Among other ministries, he had pastored the historical First Baptist Church, Vancouver, from 1970 till 1981. Yet in all our conversations he came across as someone who encouraged me to share my ideas and who took my sharing seriously.
When I stopped to think about it, I was blown away because the difference in ministry experience between us was enormous. He made time for me, and every time we met he would smile and have a twinkle in his eye. He encouraged me when I was down, encouraged me in my studies, and encouraged me in my ministry.
In my final year of my MDiv studies, I wasn’t sure if I would graduate on time. I really struggled with my Hebrew. One day I met Dr Bell, and he pulled me aside and asked if I was going to graduate on time. I told him about my struggles with Hebrew. He lowered his voice and said that I had better graduate because if I did I would get the applied theology prize that year. In God’s mercy, I did, and I did.
The last time I saw him was when Bernice and I spent some time in North America during a belated honeymoon trip in 2007. We had dinner with Dr Bell and some other friends in Victoria, Vancouver Island. I was glad I could introduce him to Bernice. He knew of all the pain I had gone through, and I think he was relieved that God had brought a wonderful woman into my life.
In the years since, I have tried to connect with him, but he didn’t seem to be on social media. Not even email. Perhaps he was, but when I asked around, I couldn’t get any contact information. I may have sent him one snail mail. Recently, I discovered that he had passed away in 2017. I felt sad that I had not tried harder to keep in touch. I owe him a big debt for how he nurtured my life and ministry. Thank you, Roy. I will thank you in person when I see you again. In the meantime, I honour you by also extending friendship and encouragement to the many I have the privilege to walk with, most of whom are now younger than I am.
