Jeremy Goodwyne

Sabbath Reflections

By jdgoodwyne on Feb 21, 2010 in Blog | 0 Comments

Worship was wonderful at Uptown Church this morning. I had a sense of both the transcendence (bigness) and the immanence (closeness) of God. It is so good to participate in worship with the saints, bringing their (our) broken selves before the throne of grace, glorifying God, crying out for mercy, receiving it. This morning our sermon was delivered by Dr. James Anderson, Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary just up the road, and a member of our flock. Here is a summary and some thoughts:

Dr. Anderson expounded on John 4:1-45. This is the passage where Jesus stops to rest at Jacob’s Well in Samaria, and a Samaritan woman meets him there. Jesus speaks to her, crossing all sorts of cultural boundaries, (1. Samaritan 2. Woman 3. Serial Monogamist 4. Adulterer) confronts her with her own sin to bring repentance, and gives her life, and ultimately reveals to her the true nature of worship, not primarily concerned with a physical location, but with a spiritual orientation. However the point of this passage is not only to show how Jesus corrected this woman, but show just how far across cultural bounds the gospel travels. The key verse, according to Anderson is v. 42. After the woman told the town what happened, they believed and invited him to stay with them. To the woman, they said “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” And this is meat of the text. Because to a Samaritan, this Jew claiming to be the Son of God must have been worse than NO news. Without delving too much into the history, suffice it to say that Samaritans were part Jew, part various pagan, and were hated by Jews. Samaritans had convinced themselves over generations that they were the rightful bearers of the promise of God, and for a Jew to show up as the Messiah sealed it that they were wrong, that they WERE half-breeds and they WERE heretics. But then Jesus destroys these wicked walls of hatred, racism, sexism, and judgementalism in one fail swoop with his interaction with this woman. He was not pluralistic, but maintained that the Samaritans were wrong, that salvation would come from the Jews. But even so, Christ in his very actions declared that the gospel, the good news of salvation was for ALL people. Not for every person, but for people of every race, language, sex, class, intellect, moral failure, ability, age and whatever else divides.

The question is, do we believe it? Do we look around us and believe that the gospel crosses boundaries? Dr. Anderson was incredibly humble to describe a situation from his on life just the previous week. Standing in the line at the DMV, he was behind a young African-American man wearing a hoodie with a hip-hop logo on it, dragging on a cigarette, with his baggy jeans hanging on the ground. Dr. Anderson is a very thin, very white academic (geek, as he describes himself) who was born in England, and lived mostly in Scotland. They couldn’t have had less culturally in common. He thought of the fact that he would preaching on this passage of scripture, and considered the possibility that the Lord in his infinite wisdom may have put him in this situation for that reason, and that he should strike up conversation with this man. Then he thought that perhaps that thought was sufficient to illustrate the sermon. And finally, he thought that simply thinking about crossing culture to talk to this man was not enough, that he probably should actually do it. At that moment, the doors to the DMV opened, and they walked inside, and got in two different lines. Dr. Anderson’s first feeling was relief. And his second feeling was shame about his first feeling.

I know that feeling all too well. It is amazing to me sometimes just how prejudiced I am. I know the feeling of wondering if an African-American man I walk by on the street has a gun, of locking my car doors in a predominately black or hispanic area, of assuming every poor person I encounter has probably blown their fair shake on drugs, alcohol or hookers. I am primarily concerned with protecting what’s mine, whether life, property, or identity.

I think it’s difficult for churches to be truly multicultural or to cross boundaries of class. This is not just true of white, suburban, middle-class churches either. And instances I’ve seen of forced integration seem to cause more problems than they’ve solved. But regardless of what we can accomplish in this life, we should ask what our blinders are, and how we can confront them. So we say we believe the gospel is for all people, but when we look around, do we just see people like us? Then it seems likely that we don’t really believe the gospel is for all people. I don’t believe every church should look the same, rather that different traditions have different strengths and we collectively form a holistic body of Christ. But we should always be seeking the Spirit’s sanctifying power, working wickedness out. So let’s pray, and ask the Lord to tear down these walls, to reveal ways that we can cross cultures, to believe that the gospel is not just for us, but for the whole world.

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Thoughts in the wake of a great Staff Retreat

By jdgoodwyne on Feb 16, 2010 in Blog | 4 Comments

I just arrived back in town from a fantastic staff retreat in Boone, NC where they had this blizzard on, all except the five hours that we were on the slopes. The Lord was kind and gracious to us, because the weather provided a ton of good natural snow, but the conditions while skiing were perfect. So I wanted to jot down a few thoughts.

As a staff, we looked at 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12:

1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed— God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (ESV)

Trying to really hone in on v. 9, we discussed what it meant to share “not only the gospel but our lives as well” as the NIV has it, and we evaluated how we are doing as a staff. We considered this in relation to each other on staff, to the church, and to the world.

The question that I am wrestling with is this: Is there a way to really divorce sharing the gospel and sharing your life? I think my pragmatic forebears would argue that one can share the gospel without sharing one’s life, and that one might share one’s life without ever sharing the gospel. At least my initial reaction is this: If one has the true gospel, how can they share their life without sharing that same gospel? And if one understands the gospel, understands a God who takes on flesh, who “dwelt among us,” how can one share this gospel without sharing their life?

Perhaps this is idealistic. There are plenty of rational equations in the Christian life that can lead to despair if one doesn’t have a place for “already/not yet” in their theology. For instance, if I sin, and repent, which is a turning away from sin, then I am committing to sin no more. But I do sin again. Rationally, this doesn’t make sense. If I repent, then I should sin no more. If I do sin again, then I am not truly repentant. But I AM truly repentant, and still I sin again.

Perhaps this is similar. An example of tensions, sharing life/sharing the gospel. But the major difference is that sin and repentance are morally conflicting. One is good, the other bad. But sharing life and the gospel are both good. And they don’t seem to be in tension the way, say, law and grace are. So it seems as though we would just say “both are necessary.”

But if we read Paul, it seems as though he considers “sharing life” to be something extra. As in “We shared the gospel, and that would have been sufficient, but we had so much affection for you, we were compelled to share our lives as well.” So maybe my postmodern, touchy-feely, community-driven worldview wants to say that you have to share your life, but perhaps Paul doesn’t say that. And maybe it isn’t even possible. If a man pastors a flock of hundreds or thousands, can he really share his life in any meaningful way with them all? But it still seems as though the temptation is to compartmentalize your world into “my life” and “my ministry” when perhaps it is better for these to look like concentric circles. And a person has to choose who lies where in those circles, but either way, there is an element of life-sharing all the way out.

Regardless, it is clear to me that there must be some element of life-sharing in one’s sharing of the gospel. It may be true that one cannot meaningfully share one’s life with every person with which one shares the gospel, but that life sharing ought to be happening in some way. We are created for relationships–we see that from the Trinity.

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Book Review Coming: Ancient-Future Worship

By jdgoodwyne on Feb 10, 2010 in Blog | 1 Comment

I’ve just begun to read Dr. Robert Webber’s Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative and in the coming days, I hope to transmit some thoughts about it. This is a book I should have read some time ago, though I have already been heavily influenced by Webber’s theology of worship and liturgy. Bob Glick at Erskine Theological Seminary was student of Webber (not literally) and much of what I learned about worship there had some rooting in Webber’s theology. Ancient-Future Worship is part of a series of Webber’s, the Ancient-Future Series, of which Ancient-Future Worship was the crowning work. It was the last thing Dr. Webber wrote before he met his Savior in 2007. Webber’s main contention in his Ancient-Future material is that “the road to the future runs through the past.” He relies heavily on the Fathers, as well as the rest of Christian history to show that while Christianity is constantly re-contextualized, it has no need of reinvention, and current Christians would do well to consider their forebears when looking forward.

More to come.

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A New Beginning

By jdgoodwyne on Feb 7, 2010 in Blog | 0 Comments

I’m sitting on the floor in my apartment having a a Rogue Dead Guy Ale, working on digesting a Fuel pizza, and watching a House marathon. Apparently the juncture of these three things is a sudden urge to dust off the old blog for the 70th time.

So here I am. And here’s the update.

My wife, Julie and I, along with our dogter Chloe, now live in Charlotte, NC. By the grace of God, I’ve been generously blessed to be the Director of Worship at Uptown Church in Uptown (read: downtown) Charlotte. I really couldn’t begin to describe how thankful I am for this position. This may seem strange considering my last post began with a declaration of employment elsewhere. I may say more about that at a later time.

Uptown Church has been in Uptown since 1994. It is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America, planted by Christ Covenant PCA in Charlotte. We meet in the Great Aunt Stella Center which, until the year of our Lord 1997, was the Tabernacle ARP Church. Amazingly, this really is what the sanctuary of this incredible building looks like. The beautiful pipe organ works wonderfully. I plan on taking some shots of the church to post later.

We moved to an apartment in the Uptown area of Charlotte on the westside, called Wesley Village apartment homes. It’s a brand new development, which has pros and cons. For instance, our pad is pretty swanky with brand new stainless appliances and all. No bad smells, everything is very clean and new. But they also made all sorts of promises of amenities, that we have yet to see come to fruition. There’s no dog park, the gate still doesn’t operate, the lounge and pool room are still not open past 6pm because they haven’t worked out the concierge service, etc. And in recent news, we had to go downstairs 4 nights in a row to turn down the music in the fitness center which was pounding through our floor. This is (Deo volente) our last apartment.

Julie and I have gotten to know so many great folks at Uptown already. Our Life Group is very close to where we live and is filled with people our age. I’ve met some really great guys to drink and smoke talk about God with. Uptown has a pretty close relationship with Reformed Theological Seminary, and a great number of the students go to Uptown. This makes for weighty Sunday school.

We’ve experienced many things in the brief two months we’ve been here so far, some of which I hope to expound on later, including a seemingly endless supply of incredible eateries, a sad and tragic death in the church, and God’s mercy to sell Julie’s car and my motorcycle. More to come.

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My intentions

By jdgoodwyne on Sep 14, 2009 in Blog | 3 Comments

really are to update this old bugger more often.

So here’s the news in no particular order:

I am the new contemporary worship leader at Advent United Methodist Church. Great bunch of folks who have been so gracious and encouraging. I’ve never felt so welcomed in a church.

Julie and I got puppy. Her name is Chloe, and she looks just like Bella, our last puppy that died tragically and unexpectedly last year. Hopefully this one will stay longer.

I am also working back at Starbucks for a little extra income, but mostly for the part time benefits which will be a huge pay-raise for my goodly wife.

Julie’s ‘95 Pathfinder has suddenly forgotten how to move backwards. I’m told that the part of the pathfinder’s brain which controls reverse-motion is the “transmission,” sometimes called a “tranny.” So I’m planning on finding a used one, and installing it myself, on zero, and potentially a negative amount of knowledge of automobiles.

Julie’s brother, David is having brain surgery in three days. The tumor he has had since highschool has grown some in the last year, and has begun to affect him somewhat. The doctors hope to remove a portion of the tumor which seems to be affecting him. Julie and I are flying to Baltimore Wednesday evening to be there for the surgery.

Julie’s been working on the same one hundred million dollar project at work for about a year and a half. Thankfully, it is almost complete.

We’ve found a fondness for Dimitri Martin, and Flight of the Conchords.

That’s all. For now. But “now” can be a very nebulous period of time.

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Colbert gives Ehrman 39 lashes

By jdgoodwyne on Jun 23, 2009 in Blog, Theology | 6 Comments

This video is pretty amazing. Satirist Stephen Colbert had sensationalist theologian Bart Erhman on his show to promote his book Jesus, Interrupted, and to discuss the (not exactly original) idea that the Bible is a big self-contradiction, and the Jesus we talk about doesn’t even resemble who he claimed to be (questioning such factors as his divinity, or the trinity, &c.). Erhman’s arguments are so elementary, and Colbert just knocks him around. This is the second time Ehrman has been on The Colbert Report, and apparently he looked pretty foolish the first time. Amazing he came back, but I don’t think he’ll make that mistake again.

The best part is when Ehrman makes a lame joke, and Colbert and the audience just stare in awkward silence forever seemingly. Ha! Read the rest

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Psalms: Prayerbook of the Bible

By jdgoodwyne on Jun 10, 2009 in Blog, Theology | 2 Comments

If the heart does not overflow and begin to pray by itself, we say, it will never ‘learn’ to pray. But it is a dangerous error, and surely widespread among Christians, to think that the heart can pray by itself. For then we confuse wishes, hopes, sighs, laments, rejoicings–all of which the heart can do by itself–with prayer. And we confuse earth and heaven, man and God. Prayer does not mean simply to pour out one’s heart. It means rather to find the way to God and to speak with him, whether the heart is full or empty. No man can do that by himself. For that he needs Jesus Christ.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Psalms: The Prayerbook of the Bible

Several days ago, the camel’s back snapped. I am the sort that generally stays cool under pressure, but then I suddenly just, you know, melt down. Read the rest

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Jeremy Goodwyne

Sabbath Reflections

Thoughts in the wake of a great Staff Retreat

Book Review Coming: Ancient-Future Worship

A New Beginning

My intentions

Colbert gives Ehrman 39 lashes

Psalms: Prayerbook of the Bible

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