An Interview with Jim Shaddix and Danny Akin

Dr. Akin: I always call you Jim, but I’m going to call you Dr. Shaddix during this time together. We’re so honored to have you here today. I know you and I have talked about and prayed about this day maybe happening. We were not sure it was going to. But God has been kind and gracious and you’re doing — well, I’ll let you tell the folks: How are you doing right now?

Dr. Shaddix: Well, thank you, Dr. Akin. Thank you for the opportunity to be able to share. Thank you for that gracious welcome. I think the short story is, by God’s grace, I’m doing really well.

I’m moving around a lot better, getting out a lot more, getting stronger. And we just started our second round of radiation. Along with that comes some things like fatigue. So, there’s been a lot of that, but God has been pretty gracious, strengthening me. And they keep asking me at every doctor’s appointment, how’s my appetite? I get to tell them, there’s not much that causes me to miss a meal. So, I’m pretty good with that as well. It’s been a good season. Several good doctors’ reports from CT scans and MRIs.

We’re very, very grateful for God’s grace in that, and I feel like I’m seeing some element of normalcy and getting back to some things that were part of life before. I got to teach one of my classes this week for the first time this semester. And that was so rich for me, such a treasure, and such a milestone, because that’s been one of the question marks in this journey: What is that going to look like moving forward?

Dr. Akin: Well, we’re hopeful and optimistic because you and I are scheduled to teach together a DMin seminar on preaching in August, and we’ve got you on the schedule for the fall. And as I’ve said to you, we’ll take as much of you as we can get. And so, you don’t feel any pressure, but know that we’ll take advantage of you at every turn.

You and I are both big sports fans, and I’m appreciative that you wore a toboggan and not an Alabama hat. Being a Georgia fan, I might have had to dismiss you. But anyway, I would not have done that! If I had the first pick of the first round and it was a draft for a preaching professor, you would be the one. And I think everyone here on this faculty would say, “Well, that’s an obvious pick.” Because I don’t know anyone that has impacted the Southern Baptist Convention and the evangelical world more effectively as a preacher, teacher, writer, and a mentor as Jim Shaddix. And so again, we’re just grateful that God, in his kindness, has given you strength and has brought you to the point where you can teach this week, and it is our prayer that the Lord is going to give you many more days and years where that can continue.

Now, most folks know bits and pieces, but if you don’t mind, kind of just tell us when this journey started and kind of what you’ve gone through. I mean, it’s been a lot, but not everybody knows. I think it would encourage them to know how it began, what you’ve gone through, and where you are today.

Dr. Shaddix: Yes, sir. It really began back in January with my wife noticing some things that were out of character, you know, things I didn’t normally do — running into door jams, that kind of thing. I’ll tell you a funny story that some of you guys can use in marriage counseling. One really weird thing pushed her over the edge. She noticed and told me, “For 41 years, you’ve put the toilet seat down after you use it.” And she said, “I’ve just noticed, the last two weeks you haven’t done that.” And so that’s really what prompted taking me to the emergency room. So, you tell guys in your church, if they don’t put the toilet seat down for their wife, you know what, they may have a brain tumor.

There’s certainly some humor in that, but we’re thankful for God’s grace and thankful for a very observant wife, who would just notice something out of character, out of the norm. But that’s what sent us to the hospital where they discovered a brain tumor. Brain cancer was the diagnosis, stage four glioblastoma, I think it’s called. And so they immediately made plans for surgery, so in about a two-week period, I had three back-to-back brain surgeries.

Which, by the way, I’m not trying to be trendy or something with this toboggan. Some people are uncomfortable looking at scars all over, you know — that’s what I’ve got up there after those three surgeries. But since that time, we have been able to take advantage of God’s grace through medical advances and technology—started radiation, chemo — and so that’s kind of the stage that I’m in now. We’re in our second round of radiation treatments and also home physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. We’re just very grateful for that. And it’s all been very helpful, very productive.

Dr. Akin: So, you actually had radiation this morning before you came to chapel, and that’s five days a week. How much longer will they need to continue it?

Dr. Shaddix: Well, see, this is where we need my wife up here. So, we’ve got another round, I think, of about 19 days of this, and then they’ll assess it again after that with an MRI and then determine, do we do another round of that? So that’s where we are right now.

Dr. Akin: You and I have known each other a long time. I’ve always loved and admired you. And through all of this, my love and admiration are only increased. And I love you and appreciate you so much because you’re a man of God. You walk with the Lord, you love our Lord, you love his word, you’re an incredible mentor, and you believe in his providence and sovereignty.

So, I know that you realize that, for whatever reason—and we don’t always know the reasons — this has been his purpose in your life at this point in time. I do know this, though I don’t know why. I can see some unbelievable benefits that come from it. One is just watching you and Debra care for one another and love one another. She’s going to be in the wife hall-of-fame, of that I have no doubt.

But what are some of the things that you’ve learned through this time? You know, lessons the Lord’s taught you, things that you never saw on your radar screen, but here they are. And God has his purpose in all things — so what are some of the things he’s taught you in all of this?

Dr. Shaddix: I think one of the things, Dr. Akin, is just a greater dependence on and appreciation for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. When I was nine years old, I accepted Christ, largely because I didn’t want to go to hell. And I used to feel bad about that. But then I heard a guy say one time, “Yeah, those may not be the purest motives, but what do you expect from a lost person — pure motives? And that’s right. God in his grace, when I was a nine-year-old boy, drew me to himself, and he used that issue of “I don’t want to go to hell.” And I know a lot of folks could say that.

But fast forward six decades, when you’re standing possibly at that threshold, and I’m grateful for the assurance that the Lord gave me: the assurance that if I die tonight, I know I’d go to heaven. And that I get to miss hell and make heaven, not because of me, but because of what Christ has done. I think the thing is that, in this journey, God has given me a more mature appreciation for the assurance that we have. Hope in the world is different from hope in the Bible. Hope in the world is a maybe, a might be, a want to be. It might happen; it might not.

But hope for believers in Christ is a certainty. Coming to this place in this journey where physical death could be very real, it could be part of this, but you’re looking at and thinking more about what’s on the other side — God has used that journey to move my hope more from just the escape of hell, and even more than just assurance of salvation, to a joyful expectation of the hope that we have. And that’s really played out. Looking at our hope from an eschatological standpoint and from a transformational standpoint — eschatological being, I mean, that passage which describes the New Jerusalem when it says that there’s going to be no more crying or pain, no more death. I can’t tell you how rich that becomes when you’re actually looking at that and thinking about that, because there’s been a lot of pain and cry and mourning in this journey.

And so, from an eschatological standpoint, knowing that that is what awaits me on the other side — it has been such an encouragement, such a blessing — and that Jesus is going to usher that in, usher me into that. And then from a transformational standpoint, there’s the hope of the expectation we have of being transformed into the image we were created for, the image of Christ.

I believe it was really an expectation that goes back to the Old Testament, even though I know the Old Testament saints didn’t have as full of an understanding of the resurrection as we do. The psalmist said, “I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.” There was something even inside of him there that knew there was something yet to be completed. And God has used that to really give me great peace and confidence that, as Paul said, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” To know that that is happening and, end game, as John writes, “Beloved, right now we are children of God.” But it hasn’t yet been revealed what we shall be; but when he is revealed, we shall be like him because we’ll see him as he is.

That hope, that certainty, I think, has matured in my own thinking and life. And it has moved what maybe started as fire insurance — the assurance of not going to hell and assurance of going to heaven — and matured into, I hope, a greater expectation of what lies in store for us as believers in Jesus Christ because of what Christ has done.

Dr. Akin: I think I need to just get away and let you preach. Brother, that is a wonderful sermon in and of itself — which, of course, you’re so adept at doing.
Okay. You’ve got out here in front of you college and seminary students, most of them like you and I when we sat out there with them, by God’s grace, with many years ahead of faithful service, hopefully. And God has specific purposes and plans for them.

But what you have experienced, you and Debra and your family — and by the way, I know you’d be the first to say they also have been stellar in just getting around you and loving you and caring for you. There’s a brood of your grandchildren down here, which again is a testimony to your heritage and the children that God has allowed you to love and raise in admonition to the instructions of the Lord. But thinking about all of this as a pastor, as someone who’s going to be leading in churches and ministries, what kind of counsel would you give them to help people when they may be going through what you’ve gone through?

And secondly, with a crowd this size, some of them are going to go through something like this. For when that day comes, could you give a word in advance? What would you say to them about how to walk through it? You’ve done part of that already, but there may be some other things you would want to add.

Dr. Shaddix: Well, you mentioned one, Dr. Akin, and it would really be one of the top things on my list: it is just the word help. I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a season in my life where I have had to realize my need for help and the help of the body, beginning with my family but stemming from there to your office, you, our faculty, the student body.

The thing that I’ve found that tugs on my emotion the most in this journey has been being overwhelmed by the help of God’s people. As I said, in concentric circles, starting with family but moving out from there, people have surrounded me, surrounded us. They have come to our aid to do everything from cutting my grass to bringing us food. In the words of encouragement and prayer support from all over the world where we have students, and just in our network of people, there has been an outpouring; and it’s made me realize my need for help. It’s made me realize more the grace of God through his body, with his people being the hands and feet.

And so I think one of the things I would say is nurture that along the way; nurture those relationships, beginning with your family, obviously, your marriage, your children, and your church family. Our church family here has surrounded us, and, looking back, I wonder if I have nurtured that community. So that’s one thing that I would say.

Another thing that I would say is this. I have a really close friend, a ministry friend and accountability partner who, early in this journey, said to me, “Jim,” he said, “your tendency is going to be a Martha. You always want to be doing something with your hands and stuff. You want to serve, you want to teach, you want to preach. But,” he said, “this needs to be a season where you’re a Mary, just sitting at the Lord’s feet.” And that has been wise counsel, because it’s helped me to see, there’s something in this season that I need to seize and take advantage of. And it’s reminding me that we’ve got to have seasons in our ministry journeys where we intentionally be Marys.

Now, because this is a group of servants right here, people that are called to service, the tendency to gravitate toward sitting at Jesus’s feet, probably, is a little bit against the grain of what our norm is. I know it has been for me.

One of the things I would add is, I would say to this group, doing some of that and seeing Christ and hearing his voice is so important. I’ve really been trying to lean into doing that in all of my Bible reading — wherever I am in the Scriptures — of seeing Jesus and hearing him and seeing his character and his nature. But one of the things that this journey has also done is it’s shown me my values. Because, as you know, I just taught my Bible Exposition I class for the first time this week for the semester, and it was such a joy for me to be back in the classroom.

But all of that was part of the big question mark for me: Will I get to do that again? Will I get to teach? Will I get to preach? That’s what I’m called to do. And there are so many things related to how this has affected my brain and my thinking that may present challenges with that. So to be able to teach this week was such a thrill. But the journey has really caused me to think, where do I find my significance? Where do I find my worth? My value? What does that look like? And I will have to admit that there have been some painful times, I’m loath to say, when I’m dangerously close to finding my significance in my ministry as opposed to in Jesus. And that’s been a needed reminder for me to reorient those values.

I’m still on that journey, because I love to preach, and I love to teach. And those are things that bring me great joy and great satisfaction. But they’re not the things that ultimately need to be where I find my worth, my satisfaction, and my joy. So that’s one thing that I would say: Start that journey early of making sure that your value system is aligned correctly.

Dr. Akin: The depth of that is so important because this world teaches us to find value in what we do, and Scripture says we find our value in him. The Scripture also talks about having the grace of giving. But I think we also need to learn to have the grace of receiving, because there may come a time in our life where the things we want to do, we can’t do anymore. And it’s hard. For us doers, as you said, as men and women of action, it’s pretty hard to be on the receiving end, but there is a grace about it. And of course, the ultimate giver and the ultimate one that we receive from is our Lord. If we find our rest and significance in him, other things just fall into place, don’t they?

Well, I want you to know that one of the good things that’s come out of this is, I believe, many of us have greatly increased in our prayer life. I’m not great at praying — I will be the first to confess that. That’s probably, like most of my brothers and sisters, my weakest spiritual discipline. But since this happened, hand on the Bible, I pray for you and Adrianne every morning, first thing when I wake up. Lying there in bed, I pray for Jim Shaddix — I actually pray for three people: Jim Shaddix, Adrianne Miles, and Steve Gaines, who is also, as we both know, battling cancer.

And then when I go to bed at night, before I go to sleep, I pray for Jim Shaddix, Adrianne Miles, and Steve Gaines, and I pray for you guys several times throughout the day when the Lord brings you to mind. I’m kind of disappointed in myself that I wasn’t doing this before now, but it’s always a good thing to start doing the right thing. And God has used what you’ve gone through to greatly increase my time in prayer because of my great love for all three of you, and so I suspect I’m not the only one like that.

Dr. Shaddix: You know it seems almost trite to say thank you, but we have heard that, we have received it, and my primary response is: Know that we covet those prayers, and we are dependent upon them. I don’t think there’s ever been a greater season in our lives where we realized, okay, we can can’t make this go away, we can’t do anything, and we are dependent.

“The horse is prepared for the day of battle,” so we’re going to do the radiation, we’re going to take the medication, but “deliverance is of the Lord.” He’s the one we’ve got to cry out to, the one we have to call. And so we are so grateful for that. And as I said, the notes, the texts, the emails, the cards and letters that have come in from people expressing that same thing — they are from all over the world. Dr. John Ewart was gracious enough to communicate this to our global theological network, and just to know there are people praying in some places where they really take prayer seriously, that they are calling our name before the Lord, again, has reminded us of our dependence on that and our need for it.

So, thank you, Dr. Akin, for that. We really, really appreciate it. And I say that to all of you, as well, because so many of you would say the same thing and have said the same thing. And I’ll tell you, every time we hear it, we don’t take it lightly. We don’t take it as just a “we’re praying for you” kind of thing, but we are encouraged by the faithfulness and prayer of God’s people. So, thank you.

Dr. Akin: Well, let me say thank you for taking the time today to be with us, because, again, I prayed and prayed and prayed that the Lord would make this possible. And here you are, and you look good.

I guess, as we close, what I’d like to do is just ask, as we’re looking to the future, how can we pray for you and Debra and your family in the most effective way? What would you ask us to be praying for?

Dr. Shaddix: Well, as far as the condition itself, I’m praying some passages right now like Job 38:8-11, praying those passages where God is telling Job, “Who is it that shut up the sea and told it to come this far but no further?” And every time I’m having the radiation treatment, that’s what I pray: “God, you do this with the radiation.” Psalm 21:1, “The heart of the king is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he directs it wherever he wills.” Just appealing to God’s sovereignty. If he can do that, if he can shut up the seas and put limits and say, “You can come this far, but not further,” then he can control the direction and the target of the radiation and of all the other treatments that go into this.

We’re praying for that; we’re praying that he will use those things but that he would also do something that could only be attributed to the divine and only he could get the credit for. So, we certainly invite you to pray that with us in the journey.

But then also, I would just ask that you pray that this would be seriously, genuinely, a season of sitting at his feet and getting to know him more. And that issue of, you know, finding my value and worth in him. So, those are some of the things there.

Physical stamina, physical rest — one of the side effects of the radiation is fatigue — and I feel that, so I just request your prayers for that. And then I ask you to pray that God would, in his timing, open the door and provide a pathway for me to be faithful to preach his word and to teach others to do the same.

And pray for my wife. I’ve told many people that I look back at 41 years ago when she stood at an altar and said, “In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, till death do us part.” You know, when you’re saying those vows, you really don’t think about anything like this. But she’s been so faithful to those vows. And she’s 24/7 caring for me. And I just ask you to pray for her strength, pray for renewed strength for her as she continues to tend to me.

Dr. Akin: Let’s pray together. Heavenly Father — we’re so grateful that we can call you Father and know that that pleases you — we thank you that you are such a good God, a great God, and a wonderful God, a precious Father.

And we thank you that you are indeed in absolute sovereign control of all things. Nothing ever surprises you. There are no accidents with you. And Lord, even though we don’t understand all that is going on in your purposes — and we may never — we can trust you. It has been well said, “Even when we cannot trace your hand, we can trust your heart.”

And, Lord, I thank you so much for Jim and Debra and their family. And, Lord, you know how much I love this man. He’s one of the closest friends I have, someone for whom I have great respect and regard. Father, it’s an honor right now for us to join our hearts together as the Southeastern family and beyond to pray for our brother. And Lord, we do ask that you would give him strength, especially when he is going through the treatments, that you, Lord Jesus, might give him an extra measure of your power that he might go through those experiences and be very surprised at how well he feels and how much he can do afterwards.

We pray for Debra; what a precious lady she is. She’s just so loved and appreciated by everyone that knows her. What a servant she is. And, Lord, she has exemplified that beyond measure during these days as she has cared so wonderfully well for her husband whom she loves and has been faithful to all these years. So, give her, Lord, an extra measure of strength as well as she carries on the many, many tasks that she has.

And, Lord, we’ve been reminded again this morning of a very valuable lesson: Our identity is not in what we do. Our identity is in Christ, and we are loved and accepted in him. And therefore we don’t get our sense of self-worth by all the many things we might be able to do. But we get our sense of self-worth in him. And, Lord, when we’re younger and energetic and there are no issues, Lord, it’s almost as if we think, “I can do this by myself.” And that is the thinking of a fool. Because even in youth, strength can be taken away in a moment. Cognitive abilities can be taken away in a moment. Suddenly, we find ourselves absolutely dependent, and, Lord, may we recognize that all along we are dependent. May our dependency be in Jesus who is faithful, every step of the way.

And, Lord, this is a bad cancer. It takes a miracle. But you are a miracle working God. And so we would ask, this morning, that you’d be so kind and gracious as to heal completely and fully our dear brother Jim Shaddix. And that, Lord, the world of medicine would then stand back in awe and not be able to explain it, but we, with humility and joy, would say we understand. Because we have a great physician who is capable of healing any and every malady. And Lord, we would ask that you would do that; we would ask that you would extend his life; we would ask that there would be many, many more years of teaching, of writing, of preaching, of mentoring, and that you would just multiply his ministry for your great glory. That is our prayer.

But we will join with our savior in Gethsemane, and we will say, “Nevertheless, not our will, but your will be done.” But we know that your will, as Paul teaches us, is good, acceptable, and perfect. So, we would be fools not to relish and rejoice in your will. So, we gladly submit to you in that way. But Lord, our heart is for healing, and you tell us to come boldly into your presence because we have direct access through our mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and so we come boldly because you tell us we can. And we plead, Lord, heal our brother. Heal him completely for your great glory.

Lord, thank you so much that you’ve given Dr. Shaddix the day and the strength to be here with us. Thank you so much for what he has shared. These things will go with me for the rest of my life. And Lord, it is again our prayer that you will give him many more days, many more days of service to you for your glory. This we pray and this we ask in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.