Interview with Herbert Schmidt

An Interview with the Author of the WWU Presidential Search Letter

A fictional piece by John McLarty

A letter has been widely circulated commenting on the presidential search at WWU. The letter purports to be from “a group of constituents, alumni, educators, pastors, church members, medical professionals, students and parents.” Who are these people? The official version of the letter does not mention the names of any of these people. Actually, it turns out that I am the group whose views are represented by the contents of the letter: I am a constituent, a parent of a WWU graduate, a parent of an educator, a pastor, a church member, married to a medical professional, a parent and a student (having taken one class on the campus of WWU). Since the letter is about my views, I decided to track down the author. The letter was the brain child of Dr. Herbert Schmidt. I sat down with him at his office in Goodtown, Oregon, a small community near the Tri-cities.

McLarty: Dr. Schmidt, tell me a bit about yourself.

Dr. Schmidt: I'm an orthopedist. I graduated magna cum laude from Loma Linda, and have been practicing here in Goodtown for forty years. I'm a charter member of the Goodtown Seventh-day Adventist Church. I donated the land for our school and provided over half the money for its construction. I helped bring 3ABN to the local cable channel. I'm really proud of that. And I've gone on three Marantha mission trips.

McLarty: Tell me about your family.

Schmidt: I'm married. I have a son and two daughters.

McLarty: I've heard you're a bit of a curmudgeon, that sometimes you have caused conflict in the Goodtown Church.

Schmidt: Yes, some people say I'm a curmudgeon. I don't cause conflict. But I don't shy away from it either. For instance last year, our young pastor allowed kids to help serve communion. He had four young teenage boys—15, 16 years old, something like that—to distribute the bread after it had been consecrated. One of the kids was not even baptized. He wasn't even an Adventist. Anyway, when I saw this non-Adventist kid handling the sacred bread, I got up and very politely thanked him for his service, then I took the tray and told him I would do it instead. He could go sit with his mother.

McLarty: So it's very important to you that everything be done “decently and in order”?

Schmidt: I couldn't have said it better myself.

McLarty: Tell me about your youngest daughter. I understand she has said some very unkind things about you.

Schmidt: I don't understand her. I gave her everything money could buy. We raised her right. Out here in the country. She had her own horse. We sent her on mission trips. Sent her to Adventist schools. Now she won't let her kids visit here. She won't come for holidays. I don't understand it. And lately, she's been influencing her brother and sister. None of them will come for holidays. The last couple of summers they wouldn't let their kids come spend time on the farm in the summer.

McLarty: Why do you think that is?

Schmidt: My wife says my daughter says the grand kids are afraid of me. I don't understand that. Sure, I'm strict. But I have to be. They don't get any discipline at home, so I have to try to give the grand kids some sense of structure and rules and boundaries. I'm no harder on the grand kids than I was on my own kids. You know the Bible principle: spare the rod and spoil the child. Whatever else people may say, they don't say my kids were spoiled.

McLarty: So are your children in church?

Schmidt: I pray for them every day. Maybe I didn't pray enough for them when they were younger. My youngest daughter quit going to church practically the day she arrived at Walla Walla. I sent my kids to Walla Walla so they would have every advantage spiritually. Obviously, the college failed my youngest. The other two, as far as I know, did attend church while they were at Walla Walla. Both of them were involved in music, so I know they were in church when the choir or band performed. And sometimes they would mention something they heard in a sermon. But once they graduated, that was it. They were gone. So, again, I hold the college responsible. Obviously, it did not anchor them in the faith. Whatever religion it gave them was too shallow.

McLarty: So, would it be fair to say that you were motivated to write the letter because of the failures of the college to save your own kids?

Schmidt: That and more. You know when they put that Bryan guy in as college pastor, that really hurt. I had talked with Elder Torkelson about my nephew. He's the only person from that generation in our family that still talks to me. He's doing a great job as a pastor. His members know that when they go to church they're going to hear about the sanctuary, the end of the time, the close of probation and the importance of learning to do without milk and cheese in readiness for the end. They're going to hear Adventist sermons. Elder Torkleson promised he'd include my nephew's names on the list of candidates for the Walla Walla pulpit. Then, I don't know what happened. The next thing I hear is that they are bringing in a preacher from Southern. I figured that would be a good thing, given Southern's reputation. Instead, what do we get? Some theologically confused rhetorician. Then I learn this same guy is being proposed as the president of the university! I called Elder Torkelson. He said that if I would write out my concerns he would share them with the board.

McLarty: So you wrote the letter?

Schmidt: Writing is not my talent. I went over to the political science department at Whitman [College] and asked them if they could recommend someone who was good at political communication to help me. They recommended Bill Halbers. He's done stuff for Democratic candidates in both Washington and Oregon. He agreed to help me create the letter.

McLarty: Did you tell him what to say?

Schmidt: Well, I made sure we got in that part about spiritual formation. Can you believe it? An Adventist pastor who actually admits in public that he reads religious writers who aren't Adventist. After what Elder Wilson said at the General Conference? This guy Bryan even reads some books written by Catholics. I made sure we got that in.

McLarty: What about the part of the letter questioning Bryan's lack of academic experience?

Schmidt: Oh that. That was Halbers' idea. He said that we would never get the board's attention with just the spiritual formation stuff. He suggested that probably some of the board members read non-Adventist authors as well, so going after that wouldn't fly with some of the board. Also, Halbers made me put the spiritual formation information later in the paper. He said we had to lead with Bryan's Sunday church debacle because that might be persuasive with liberal Adventists for whom the Sabbath is about the only thing that makes them Adventist. I think Halbers did a great job. I think including the picture was a really great idea. It will connect with visual learners. At least that's what Halbers said.

McLarty: Where did you come up with your list of people who were concerned about Bryan?

Schmidt: That was easy. It's me. I'm a constituent, alumnus, church member, medical professional, and parent. I have talked with faculty who wondered whether Bryan had enough experience in academia to handle the presidency. And my nephew was nearly apoplectic when he heard that Bryan was being considered for the position. And I threw in students, because, after all, it is a college.

McLarty: Any last word:

Schmidt: First, I want to encourage other people to write letters. Look at what my humble missive accomplished. Second, I'd like to nominate Colin Standish or Dr. Pipim as president. They have the experience and credentials. And they would make sure that we don't have more kids coming out of Walla Walla without a life-long commitment to the church.


Editor's note: This is fiction. Fiction is only dangerous when it rings true.