Edgar (Ed) Douglas Christman was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 26, 1929, to Monseurat Adela Josephina (Jo) Christman, née Carles, and Ola Edgar Christman. Christman was born with crossed eyes and began wearing glasses at age two. His condition required several surgeries across his childhood.

In 1947, Christman enrolled as a freshman at Wake Forest College, then located in Wake Forest, N.C. He came to the campus having never visited; he chose Wake Forest for its location near his father's North Carolinian relatives. In college, Christman was active in the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and the Baptist Student Union; he also served on the state's Baptist Student Union Council. Christman graduated cum laude with a degree in History and matriculated at Wake Forest College School of Law in fall 1950, graduating in 1953. In 1955, he passed the state bar exam; however, he had already entered Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) to pursue a Divinity degree. Christman was ordained as a minister on January 15, 1955. He received his Divinity degree from SBTS in 1960 and, as a beneficiary of a Danforth Foundation scholarship, earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree from Union Theological Seminary in 1961; the Christman family returned to New York, N.Y., for another year of study at Union in 1969.

Christman's post-graduate presence in WFU's faith community began in 1955, as Baptist Campus Minister (1955-1959, 1961-1969), Assistant Chaplain (1961-1969), and finally Chaplain (1969-2003). He was a fixture on campus: leading chapel services, presiding over memorial services and weddings for WFU community members, praying over campus events, and participating in a variety of extracurriculars, such as theater performances and freshman orientation, where he gave his famous "What's in a name?" presentation for many years. Christman was occasionally called upon to play the role of Samuel Wait, in classrooms as well as the 1984 production of "Vision and Dreams" in honor of WFU's sesquicentennial. He also led a religious-based pre-orientation retreat for students, the Pre-School Conference, for a number of years.

Aside from his regular duties as Chaplain, Christman oversaw a number of notable moments in campus history. When the relationship between WFU and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina formally ended in 1986, his role evolved as both he and the University weathered the changes. Christman helped form the Volunteer Service Corps in 1989, which still exists on campus today. Christman participated in civil rights efforts, as well. In 1962, he helped integrate the campus at the arrival of Edward Reynolds, a Ghanaian student. In 1999, the Chaplain's office, the University, Wake Forest Baptist Church, and the campus radio station WFDD were embroiled in a controversy over a request to hold a same-sex marriage in Wait Chapel, which was both home to the church and property of WFU; Christman supported same-sex marriages in the chapel, the view that prevailed.

Christman retired from the University and passed the role of Chaplain on to Timothy Auman in 2003, holding his final chapel on April 24, 2003. Upon the occasion of his retirement, professor Dan Locklair was commissioned by Dr. Mary Ann and Gerald Taylor to compose an original piece of music, "O Sing to the Lord a New Song." Christman garnered a number of accolades over the years. In 2005, he was awarded the first School of Divinity Distinguished Service Award; in 2007, he was awarded the University's Medallion of Merit; and in 2008, the Winston-Salem Chronicle newspaper honored him for his service to the community. Additionally, the Ed and Jean Christman Fellowship supports students at the School of Divinity and the Ed and Jean Christman (Poteat) Scholarship supports undergraduate students. He, along with wife Jean, remained a presence on campus until his death on December 24, 2014.

Jean Sholar Christman was born in Cadiz, Kentucky, to Robert Euel Sholar and Emma Goebel (Cox) Sholar. In 1947, Christman entered Bethel Women's College, a Baptist-affiliated junior college in Hopkinsville, K.Y., where she was valedictorian and president of Phi Theta Kappa honor society. She entered Wake Forest in 1949, where she was a member of the Mortar Board, Tassels, and Phi Beta Kappa societies. Christman graduated magna cum laude in June 1951 and worked as a teacher in several [high?] schools across North Carolina over the course of her career. In 1956, she received a masters degree in teaching from Duke University. She also tutored adult learners in literacy for many years, including members of the WFU community. Christman was also active in the Wake Forest College Club, later the Wake Forest University Club, for faculty wives. Jean Sholar Christman passed away on September 30, 2022.

Christman and Sholar were married in December 1952 at Wake Forest Baptist Church. Together they raised two daughters, Carolyn and Kim. These families assembled a website, documenting the personal and professional lives of Jean and Ed; an archived copy of this site is also in the WFU Web Archives.