J. Carl (Carl) Laney (ThD, 1978) taught biblical literature for forty years at Western Seminary before retiring in 2018. He preferred to think of retirement as repositioning for his next ministry phase, and it has truly proved to be the next iteration of his ministry. Carl spends his mornings studying, reading, and writing and the afternoons working with his hands, making home improvements or gardening. He enjoys tinkering with his World War II Jeeps, which he restored. Saturday afternoons are for the Jeeps. Carl also continues to utilize his Dallas Theological Seminary training, ministering to his local church through preaching, writing, and service, and especially through his role as an elder. Carl remains devoted to lifelong learning and furthering the education of others. How he spends his time testifies to that devotion.
The three years he spent working on his ThD were some of the best years of his life, characterized by lots of studying and rich, spiritual growth. Carl spent most of his study time on the library’s second floor tucked away in a doctoral carrel. In the evenings he and his wife Nancy, who lived a few blocks down on Swiss Avenue, would walk the seminary grounds and enjoy the fountain at night. Both of Carl’s favorite memories involve Dr. Pentecost. The first occurred after a meal. The pair were enjoying bowlfuls of Texas chili, bean-free, when Dr. Pentecost turned to Carl and asked if he would teach a Bible exposition course during his doctoral studies. The second happened when Dr. Pentecost popped out of Dr. Campbell’s office and announced that Carl had passed his oral comprehensive exams! Dr. Pentecost also taught his favorite class, Life of Christ. Carl sat on the front row and took pages of notes every lecture. Carl’s time at the seminary prepared him well for a lifetime of teaching the Bible from cover to cover. During his doctoral work, he developed introductory notes and outlines for each of the sixty-six books. Those notes and outlines became the foundation of his lectures and can be found in his book, Essential Bible Background: What You Need to Know Before You Read the Bible.
Carl believes the best teachers study, live in light of what they learn, and then teach. Their belief and practice align, and since their lives have been transformed, they feel compelled to share what they have learned with others. He believes Ezra 7:10 captures this idea of studying, practicing, and then teaching. It says Ezra “had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” God chose Ezra because his people needed a teacher whose practice reflected and propagated his faith. The people were still scattered, some living in Babylon, others living in a rundown Jerusalem with a rebuilt temple, a tear-inducing shadow of Solomon’s temple. They needed a teacher with a heart dedicated to and shaped by God’s Word who invited others to experience that same dedication and transformation. That is still the kind of teacher God’s people need today.
Carl also believes that approach to teaching, which studies, practices, and then teaches, embodies what it means to teach truth and love well. The most loving teacher loves their content to the degree that it touches their lives. More importantly, they must love their students; if they truly love their students, they will share what they believe, communicating the content of their belief while living a life consistent with their belief. They instruct their students out of love. Love is the motivator, and Carl also sees love as the goal. Carl understands Paul’s heart for his students, identifying his own heart for students in the apostle’s words in 1 Timothy 1:5: “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
At Dallas Theological Seminary Carl experienced teachers who cultivated life skills and character. Dr. Pentecost called him to embark on a lifelong study of God’s Word, Dr. Ryrie showed him how to present theology with clarity, and Dr. Hoehner modeled academic excellence and precision. Prof Hendricks demonstrated the warmth of being personable and the value attached to remembering names, while Dr. Campbell taught him the importance of mentoring younger believers and giving them opportunities to serve.
Good teachers who study, practice, and then teach rely entirely upon God’s grace. This is something God showed Carl during his first semester at Dallas, when a classroom experience humbled him, making Carl realize his dependence on God for an effective and successful teaching ministry. That early lesson helped inoculate Carl against pride. God’s grace and his sufficiency still leave Carl in awe. God’s grace sustains the teacher, not knowledge or methods. While Carl no longer serves in an academic, year-long classroom, he still teaches, approaching education in the same manner as Ezra and doing so out of love and for love.
Morgan E. Underwood (ThM, 2023) is an administrative assistant for the Alumni and Career Services Office at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is also a Theological Studies PhD student and writer. She is married to her husband, An, and they, along with their black cat, call Dallas home.
