There is one story Biola ambassador Atila Lotfi always shares when leading prospective students on tours — the time his professor washed his feet.

He remembers taking professor Jim Mohler’s Biblical Interpretation and Spiritual Formation class as a freshman. He walked into class one day to discover bowls of water and an invitation to have his feet washed.

Now a senior business major, Lotfi still feels the impact of Mohler’s humility on his life.

Mohler performed this act of servitude in his class every semester at Biola, and it stood out in the minds of his former students. Mohler lived his life with humility.

Even when circumstances kept him in a wheelchair, he continued to wash his students’ feet.

Mohler was diagnosed with three glioblastoma multiforme, stage four, tumors in February 2009. After a 20-month long battle with brain cancer, he passed away on Friday, Nov. 5, leaving a wife and two children.

Mohler remembered as pouring himself out

“Dr. Mohler will be remembered as a professor who cared more about pouring himself into the lives of his students and his colleagues than into his own reputation,” President Barry Corey said.

Mohler graduated from the Talbot School of Theology in 1996 with a Ph.D. in Christian education. After serving 10 years at Trinity College in Illinois, he was invited back to Talbot to serve as co-chair of the biblical and theological studies department.

Senior Brad West, biblical studies major, recalled a similar foot-washing experience with Mohler. He said he was touched that the head of the Bible department, a man with a Ph.D. and a position of high authority, would wash his feet.

West said Mohler impacted his life because Mohler “wanted to show he was there to serve us, and not just teach us, make money and leave.”

Mohler continued ministry and abilities

Despite the worsening cancer, Mohler continued his ministry and fought to keep his skills and abilities sharp for as long as he could.

As the cancer grew worse during those two years, Mohler’s mobility and strength weakened. Passions that had become staples of his identity were limited.

One of those passions was magic tricks. While his joy of performing them never faded, his ability to perform certain tricks dwindled.

Miriam Mohler, his wife of 30 years, recalled how he took great joy in entertaining people. He liked to perform magic tricks while waiting in line at Disneyland more than he enjoyed visiting the attractions, she said.

His other passions were ministry and mission trips. He helped put on week-long camps for missionary children in other countries who had no regular youth group to attend. Some of these trips were located in Venezuela, eastern Europe, Spain and Mexico.

Mohler refused to allow cancer to define him

While those skills began to require more effort over time, Mohler refused to let cancer control his life. He did not want his cancer to define him, Miriam said.

“He wanted to be one of the ones that could overcome it even though the prognosis was pretty dire,” she said. “He just was not going to let it beat him. He was going to do all he could for as long as he could.”

He began learning Hebrew and Greek, and strove even more intently to be a lifetime learner.

Mohler lived an enthusiastic life

Dennis Dirks, dean of Talbot and one of Mohler’s colleagues, recalled his contagious enthusiasm, even in the face of difficult situations.

“Jim was never of a mind to slow down,” Dirks said. “When he discovered what he had, he knew there were some limitations — but he wanted to do whatever he could to keep that calling, to fulfill that calling he knew God had placed on his life.”

Dirks shared monthly lunches with Mohler over the span of two and a half years. Over lunch, they would discuss family and the university — conversations Dirks said he considered rich.

Friends described Mohler as a family man, dedicated to serving his family and raising his two children to know their savior, Jesus Christ.

His daughter Emily is now a high school senior, and his son Clayton a high school freshman.

“He was really, intensely, fiercely proud of his kids,” his wife said. “He just was really, really proud of them and lived for them. He just wanted to help them grow in their faith and into adulthood as great people.”

She said he enjoyed watching baseball with his son and going to his soccer games.
One of the memorable activities their family misses is seeing the pancake and waffle creations he made to entertain them.

Mohler characterized by caring for others

Aside from entertainment, Mohler enjoyed helping others strengthen their relationships with Christ. His wife compared him to the Barnabas found in Scripture because he was always willing to help others succeed.

“I think that the thing he liked the most was making sure everybody else was successful and closer to God,” she said.

Professor Jonathan Lunde, a friend of Mohler’s for 15 years, recalled Mohler’s constant joy, humility and passion for leading people into a deeper walk with Christ.

“It was all about relationship because he understood that ministry happens in a context of relationships,” Lunde said.

Although he was only able to serve at Biola four years, his memory lives on through the lives he touched during his ministry as an educator with a heart for service.

“He was really humbled when he was invited to be on the staff, to just be included with these incredibly gifted and intelligent and godly men, just be considered a colleague,” Miriam said. “It meant a lot to him to be able to be a part of a community that he’d been a part of for so long as a student.”