Stories surrounding Mathews' unaccepted dissertation have long been the stuff of mythology and his mystic persona that he cherished and propagated. That's certainly true in regards to the stories about the burning of the dissertation. Back in the day I did PLC recruiting in Oklahoma and northern Texas and met many pastors who had been students of his at Perkins. On at least two occasions I heard stories about the "burning." Surrounded by some of his faithful students, the story goes, Joe marched down to the basement of the Seminary and ceremoniously threw a draft of the dissertation into the building's furnace. The point, as related to me by students who were there, was that there's a clear distinction between doing the mission, i.e., "the necessary deed," and being distracted from it by things that didn't really matter, i.e., status and recognition that comes with a PhD. He created a teaching moment through his orchestrated ceremony and it made a lasting impression on those pastors who told me about it ... as well as on me who heard the story secondhand. Mathews was first and foremost a masterful teacher, one who dramatically altered images, and he used his dissertation to do that job. Marshall Jones got it write when he wrote: That's SO like him to say, 'I'm not gonna jump through that hoop again!' and risk another rejection. He WAS stubborn that way. And very proud of his research and writing and masterful teaching. So I would say, 'Good on ya, Joe. Got more important fish to fry!'