(. . . who never went to Synod)

Dirk Bult, though a small man, was a great thinker. Even as a child, there was no question so difficult that Dirk could not answer it. That created some distance between him and his peers. They were not so smart. After all, isn’t it always true that three quarters of mankind is at a loss for words when faced with difficult questions.

Dirk’s teachers sometimes resented the little boy. With dismay, they watched his finger rise again. Amongst a sea of fingers, you could still ignore his and give less apt or mediocre pupils a turn. But often Dirk’s finger was the only one, and sometimes he even knew better than the teachers, who were not always experts either, where Dirk generally was. At the age of eight, he had read the entire encyclopedia — one of those popular editions from Elsevier. He had photographs of the pages in his head, it seemed because, years later, he could still recall everything word for word.

Did Dirk squander his missionary cent? No, it went into another box with a slot — at home. It was only in the fourth grade that his sin was detected. You rob the Lord Jesus, the principal had said. To which Dirk replied that half the cents were used for administrative fees anyway, and only half ended up on the mission field. The principal was speechless. How would you know that, he said. I heard it from my dad, Dirk replied. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

Young People’s

Later, Dirk had only minimal ties with the village youths. He fared somewhat better with the church’s young people, but even there he had few friends. Still, he was first in with the young people’s society. And if a ‘minister passed them by’ during discussions, Dirk would invariably ask him a question, before answering it himself. He never made it as chairman — he was too far above his peers for that. Only the pastor’s Marietje could cross swords with him. It was also she who nominated Dirk as chairman. The treasurer silently showed her his notebook. Dirk Bult, 0/0/0/!

Marietje had great conversations with him. From the sound of it, Dirk was doing ok spiritually. He had a depth she missed in the other village boys. The trio Kuyper-Bavink-Waterink and the duo Vollenhoven and Dooyeweerd had nestled themselves fraternally into the heart (or rather the mind) of the inquisitive youngster. If you talk to the people of the village now, after 30 years, they remember little Dirk. The youngsters from that time now sit on church councils where, as in the past, they often bicker. When things get a little heated, it’s still; what would Dirk Bult have said about that?  Perhaps because of the influence of this learned and principled young man, the Reformed church of that village now stands like a pillar above the murky waters of modernity flooding the neighbouring churches.

Dirk went to Delft to become an engineer. There’s a future for such young men, no doubt! And, by Dirk’s calculations, he was convinced he could earn even more in North America.

Emigration

But he was not leaving overnight. He went to the pastor to talk about it — not that he valued this advice, because he knew, statistically, that the pastor had climbed no further than the fourth from bottom rung of the ladder. He went mainly because the pastor was Marietje’s father. “Go with God, young man, and always hold on to your principles.”  Dirk nodded wisely. He had thought the same, especially since preaching principles cost him very little money.

As Dirk left the parsonage, the pastor heaved a sigh of relief. One less troublemaker. A parishioner who made his life difficult with all his questions about the Philosophy of the Law Idea, something the pastor did not understand very well. When he’d graduated from the V.U., by the skin of his teeth, he had firmly resolved never again to concern himself with unnecessary scientific ballast. He wanted to be a shepherd of the people in a simple village, far from cultural conflicts.

In Holland, Dirk had been a member of many societies. Before his departure for Canada, the treasurers gritted their teeth. Dirk Bult was still; 0/0/0/. They were in no position to collect the overdue dues. The widow in the tobacco shop was left with an unpaid bill of three hundred guilders, but dared not talk about it because Dirk’s mother was her best friend.

Father and mother Bult had bent over backwards to put their son through the best schools. Dirk did not even thank them when he sat at their table that last day before his departure. Father shakily read Psalm 90, and when he couldn’t go on because of tears, Dirk coolly took the Bible out of his hands and read on — without any emotion. And mother thought, just look, what a fine believing boy our Dirk has become.

Christian Reformed – the Kuyperian Sort

Once in Canada, Dirk quickly climbed the social, church and Christian associations ladders. He became an engineer at an aircraft factory – no kidding! In all areas, he rose far above the average immigrant. His well-founded opinions were valued on the boards of Christian organizations. At church meetings, he tested the church council against the principles of the Reformed world view and, through his efforts, more collections for the advancement of all kinds of Christian organizations, such as the CLAC and AACS, were taken — collections in which he himself ‘did only dimes’!

Still, he never did make it as elder. For that he was, literally and figuratively, a bit too far outside the circles of church members who clustered together for coffee after church. There they talked mostly about ordinary things and Dirk did not deign to take part in such discussions.

And so, Dirk became a church loner. But the true reason why Dirk never got on the ballot — that was not known by the congregation. Dirk Bult; 0/0/0! And he would do so well, said elder Aalberts. Pity!

Nor did the organisations manage to hold Dirk’s interest for long. These new associations were built along the same lines as the Dutch ones. A lot of money was needed to run them, and since Dirk Bult could speak persuasively and had very good ideas on how to raise as much money as possible in the shortest possible time, he was repeatedly asked to lead fundraising campaigns. It was noticeable then that Dirk himself never contributed, but the dear man already gave so much of his time and talent!

When eventually men as intelligent as Dirk were found to take charge of these organisations, Dirk disappeared from the scene. His ideas now faced competition, and any idea that did not spring from his own mind he found perplexing, even crazy.

Christian Schools

Dirk and Marietje (he had married Marietje six years after coming to Canada — the pastor paid for her trip) had two children who, in time, attended Christian School. But Dirk soon saw bears on the road. Wasn’t it better to send children to a public school so they could spread the gospel? Was enough attention paid in the Christian school to the total formation of the child, including citizenship in a new country? Yes, those things bothered Dirk terribly — but, fearing that he would become a church pariah if he took his children out of the Christian School, he was dissuaded from putting his little ones in the public system.

Christian schools in Canada receive no subsidy from the government. Parents foot the bill themselves. Every year, the school’s bookkeeper expected Mr. Bult to catch up on last year’s tuition arrears. When the accountant tapped him on the shoulder to remind him of his debts, it was always, oh well, I can’t be bothered with monthly contributions. It’s much easier for me to pay the whole amount at the end of the school year. Now three school years had passed, and the accountant shook his head sadly — Dirk Bult; 0/0/0/.

Dirk got promotions and started earning more and more. He invested his money wisely. He built a huge house far outside of the city. Too bad, the school bus didn’t come out that far — the children would have to go to a public school. And so, he was nicely rid of the ever-increasing tuition dues! The school board’s reminders promptly disappeared in the bin. But now, Marietje was reading more with her kids from the children’s Bible — so they would not become spiritually deficient. After all, Marietje was a preacher’s daughter.

Rise and Demise

When, in his own opinion, Dirk was finally on solid financial ground, he started contributing. In the missionary collection, he threw in a quarter. He also remained a member of the school society at their minimum membership fee. And finally, he also contributed a little to maintain the church, but he did not want to pay towards church quota. You don’t have enough control over that, he told the home-visiting elder.

Dirk suffers from a disease that is more common among Christians, and I don’t need to tell you what disease it is. He is doing himself, his wife and children, and the kingdom of God a great disservice. In that kingdom, hearts must open as wide as mouths.

Dirk died in a plane crash. It was an expensive funeral with a stately coffin. During his lifetime, he had written down exactly how the church service should go — and it was indeed very beautiful. Too bad there were so few people in the church.