andygoodliff

British Baptist Biblical Scholars (10) Sean F. Winter

DPhil (Oxford, 1997, supervised by N. T. Wright): “‘Worthy of the Gospel of Christ’: The Situation and Strategy of Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians”

Tutor in New Testament, Northern Baptist College (2000-2008)

Associate Professor in New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College (2009-)

 

Publications

More Light and Truth? Biblical Interpretation in Covenantal Perspective. The 2007 Whitley Lecture (Whitley, 2007)

'Ambiguous Genitives, Pauline Baptism and Roman Insulae: Resources from Romans to Support Pushing at the Boundaries of Unity' in A. R. Cross and P. E. Thompson (eds.), Baptist Sacramentalism 2 (Paternoster, 2008), 77-91.

“The Rhetorical Function of John’s Portrayal of the Jewish Law" in  Torah in the New Testament edited by P. Oakes and M. Tait (T & T Clark, 2009)

‘Ambassadors for Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5.20): Ministry in the New Creation' in Questions of Identity: Studies in Honour of Brian Haymes edited by Anthony R. Cross and R. Gouldbourne (Regent's Park College, 2011)

'Reading with Friends: Persuasive Testimony in Baptist Interpretative Communities' in The 'Plainly Revealed' Word of God: Baptist Hermeneutics in Theory and Practice edited by Simon P. Woodman and Helen Dare (Mercer, 2011)

'"A Daring Synagogue Sermon?": Paul's Preaching in 2 Corinthians 3.7–18' in Delivering the Word: Preaching and Exegesis in the Western Christian Tradition edited by William J. Lyons and Isabella Sandwell (Equinox, 2011)

'Word and World: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Biblical Interpretation Today', Pacifica 25.2 (2012)

‘Paul’s “Grace” Language in 2 Corinthians’ in Immense, Unfathomed, Unconfined: The Grace of God in Creation, Church and Community: Essays in Honour of Norman Young edited by Sean Winter (Melbourne: Uniting Academic Press, 2013)

'Paul's Atttitude to the Gentiles' in Attitudes to Gentiles in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity edited by David Sim and James McLaren (T & T Clark, 2013)

'"Present-ing the Word": The Use and Abuse of Bonhoeffer on the Bible’, The Bonhoeffer Legacy: Australasian Journal of Bonhoeffer Studies 2.2 (2014), 19–35.

‘"Obedient to Death”: Revisiting the Rhetorical Function of Philippians 2:6–11’, Australian Biblical Review 63 (2015)

'Journey and rest: Hebrews, pilgrimage, and the work of theological education', Pacifica 28.2 (June 2015), 192-207.

'Friendship Traditions in the New Testament: An Overview', Pacifica 29 (2016): 192–204. 

'"With Him I Believe": Keith Clements on Dietrich Bonhoeffer as Patriot and Ecumenist', Bonhoeffer Legacy (2017)

'Listening for the Word of God: Divine Speech, Scripture, and the Task of Interpretation' in Rhythms of Faithfulness: Essays in Honor of John E. Colwell edited by Andy Goodliff and Paul Goodliff (Pickwick, 2018)

'God Revealed and Hidden: Barth's Exegesis of Romans 11:33–36', Colloquium: The Australian and New Zealand Theological Review, 50.1 (2018): 46-58.

'Paul's Ethics and Paul's Experience: Law and love in Galatians' in Biblical Ethics: Tensions Between Justice and Mercy, Law and Love (Gorgias, Piscataway, 2019), 251-71.

'Suffering, Salvation, and Solidarity in 2 Corinthians 1:3–11' in Suffering in Paul: Perspectives and Implications (Pickwick, 2019), 64-81.

‘He Will Rescue Us Again’: Affliction and Hope in 2 Corinthians 1:8–11', Religions (2020)

'Beyond the Household: The Emergence of Translocal Ministry in the New Testament' in Episkope: The Theory and Practice of Translocal Oversight (SCM, 2020), 3-13.

'N. T. (Tom) Wright (1948–)' in Twentieth Century Anglican Theologians (Wiley Blackwell, 2020), 206-16.

'The Letter, the spirit, and the Letter Again: Reflections on 2 Corinthians 3 and the Work of Biblical Interpretation' in Re-Membering the Body: The Witness of History, Theology, and the Arts in Honour of Ruth M. B. Gouldbourne edited by Anthony R. Cross and Brian Haymes (Pickwick, 2021)

'Re-visioning (the) Love/Command: Law, Authority, and the Logic of Love in the Philosophy of Pamela Sue Anderson and Paul’s Letter to the Galatians' in Contemporary Feminist Theologies: Power, Authority, Love (Routledge, 2021), 158-67.

Theology Live 2022

Theology Live is a one day for British Baptists engaged in postgraduate theology. This was our fifth event. What is encouraging is that each year we find new people who are doing theological research to invite. From the nine speakers this year, 3 are doing a postgraduate degree, and 7 were speaking at Theology Live for the first time. It was good to have 3 papers engaged with how we read the Bible — Anthony Clarke spoke on the commitments in our hermeneutics, Edward Pillar on 1 Cor 15 and the missing women, and Amanda Higgins on how the language of perfection shapes how read the letter to the Hebrews. Three other papers focused on ministry and church — Lisa Kerry's paper explored whether we should of ministers as professions in conversation with her nursing background, Ruth Gouldbourne reflected on where we are with women in ministry 25 years on from her significant Whitley Lecture Reinventing the Wheel, on the same topic, and Ali Boulton invited us to see how a regular pamper night which included footwashing can be seen as church. Steve Holmes' paper was a work of Baptist history in the 17th century and an argument to revise the commonly held view that the General Baptists were Arminian. Emma Nash's paper looked a how resurrection can be a form of protest in the light of loss, grief and pain. Finally Paul Fiddes addressed us with a look at philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch and how she understood the person and God and the contribution this might make to our doing theology. 

A day, like previous days, of great diversity, deep thinking and encouragement that within our Baptist Union, there are those amongst us helping us reflect on what it means to be Christians in the church and the world.

Theology Live will return in 2023. All papers can be viewed here.

A Christmas Congregation: A Sermon

In the early hours a congregation gathers.
Some are just arriving; others have already found somewhere to sit.
There is the usual whispered conversation.
This is the first time this particular congregation has come together.
Present are:
a husband and wife;
a bunch of shepherds;
and some mysterious travellers from the east.
They are joined by animals: a cow, a donkey, a sheep, and a camel.
It’s an unusual bunch.
All have gathered to worship the Christ-child.
This is the first Christmas.

Footwear is removed, for like Moses before the burning bush,
to everyone it feels like a holy place.
All are on their knees;
all eyes gazing on the tiny flesh.
This is a sacred moment.
Words of scripture are shared:
‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.’
‘But you Bethlehem, though you are small,
out of you will come for me, one who will be ruler over Israel.’
‘And he will be called Immanuel.’
Praises are sung, ‘Glory to God in the highest’
and gifts are given.
This is the first Christmas.

Someone has some bread, its broken and shared.
One of the travellers passes round a flask of wine.
A small meal, gratefully received by all.
It feels like manna from heaven,
in the early hours of a new day.
Everything feels strange. It is as if something new is beginning,
but its hard to put into words.
The child cries in the manger,
wrapped up tight to keep out the cold.
All eyes remained fixed on his face,
overjoyed in his presence,
hearts wondering at what this birth means.
This is the first Christmas.

In to the silence one by one the congregation
speaks a testimony,
a story of how they came to be here.
A star rising drew the eastern travellers to make their journey;
angels, say the shepherds, in the sky singing of good news in David’s city;
a messenger from God says Mary; a heavenly dream says Joseph,
and of course also Caesar’s census — otherwise they’d be back in Galilee.
They all sense the mysterious ways of God
that has led them to share in this moment of grace,
to join in the welcome of this baby:
a Saviour, a Messiah, the Son of God, the Lord of lords.
Nothing is said. Silence falls on the congregation.
The only sound is the murmur of the child,
sleeping in the manger.
This is the first Christmas.

The congregation gathers.
Some are still slipping in at the back as the first carol is sung,
Others have been greeting one another with a merry Christmas.
There are children holding presents,
and parents bleary-eyed, stifling a yawn.
Old and young, all have made their way,
some have walked, some have come by other means,
but there are no donkeys or camels.
This is Christmas.

What connects today with that first Christmas?
What is it that draws a congregation to gather on December the 25th?
What’s the meaning of it all?
It’s the story and promise of God with us.
Jesus is God with us.
And as they gathered at that first Christmas,
to worship the Christ-child,
so we gather still.
Every year this day is broken up by our coming to worship,
every week our lives are broken up by worship because of this day.
The worship of Jesus begins at Christmas.
We keep celebrating Christmas, we keep gathering as a congregation,
because we believe that the one who is born
‘bears within himself the whole truth and nothing but the truth
about us and about all that exists.’ *
What was true of that child in the manger is still true today:
Jesus is Saviour and Lord.
It is that simple and that astonishing.
The Jesus born of Mary
is the same Jesus who we say is alive today.
The old, old story of angels and shepherds, wise men and stars
and a baby born in Bethlehem
is an always new, new story because it speaks of God become flesh.
In Jesus we see the Creator become a creature.
In Jesus we see the One who conceived all things be conceived in a womb
and born in a stable.
In our singing of carols,
in our bringing of gifts,
in our telling the story,
in our lighting of candles,
in our breaking of bread,
Jesus is as close to us
as he was to those present on that first Christmas day.

To be near Jesus,
to know Jesus
is to know and receive joy.
One of my favourite descriptions in the first Christmas story is
where it says the magi ‘were overjoyed.’
They were overwhelmed with joy.
There was an abundance of joy.
Too much joy.
Joy is the gift that comes with the Christ-child.
Jesus is our joy. His presence is the gift of joy.
Joy comes on Christmas morning
and we leave going with joy,
because we go with Christ.
We are overjoyed because we live in a world in which Christ is present.
Joy is not the same as happiness.
Happiness is a feeling, an emotion, that comes and goes.
Joy stays with us, because Christ stays with us,
even through unhappy days.
So I hope you have a happy Christmas,
but more importantly I pray you have a joyful Christmas.
As that first congregation experienced the joy of Jesus,
lying in a manger,
the fullness of God’s love,
so we all these later still experience that same joy of Jesus,
as he fills our hearts
with his love, beauty and truth and presence.
Joy to the world, the Lord has come.
Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns.
He comes to make his blessings flow.
Joy to you, for Jesus is here.

 

* Chris Green, All Things Beautiful: An Aesthetic Christology (Baylor, 2021)

Whitley Lecture 2022

I'm honoured to be giving the Whitley Lecture in 2022. The current Whitley Lecture series has been running since 1996 and offers a British Baptist scholar a chance to share a piece of theological work to wide audience.

The Whitley Lecture is given at each of the British Baptist Colleges in London, Bristol, Oxford, Cardiff, Manchester, and Glasgow and from 2021 in some format also to the Whitley College, Australia.  Sally Nelson has said this about my lecture:

In this Lecture, Andy Goodliff offers us a crafted exploration of what a Baptist political theology might be. His argument begins with an overview of Nigel Wright’s discussion of church and state but soon moves into a powerful reflection upon what it means today to inhabit a dissenting ecclesiology, one which says ‘no’ to the power of the state and ‘yes’ to the Lordship of Christ. To be baptised is a political act; to accede to the Declaration of Principle implies a political worldview; to be a member of a Baptist church commits us to an ongoing ‘political discipleship’ in which we constantly engage in reflective conversation with the powers around us. This is a Lecture to stimulate both our thinking and our dissent.

A printed version of the Lecture is available from Amazon.

Best Reads in 2021

English Pastoral by James Rebanks (Penguin)

The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes (Bloomsbury)

Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (Faber)

God is not a White Man by Chine MacDonald (Hodder)

All Things Beautiful by Chris Green (Baylor)

From Spare Oom to War Drobe by Katherine Langrish (DLT)

Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict by Christiane Tietz (Oxford)

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)

Pilgrim Letters by Curtis Freeman (Fortress)

Hoiness and Truth by Jessica Martin (Canterbury)

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris

Postliberal Politics by Adrain Pabst (Polity)

Anthony R. Cross

The sad news was shared yesterday that Rev Dr Anthony R. Cross has died. Anthony, aged 59, was one of the most influential Baptists of the last twenty years, not only in his own contributions to Baptist history and thought, in particular the doctrines of baptism and ministry, but as one of the architects of what might be called Baptist studies in the UK. His creating and editing the series Studies in Baptist History and Thought with Paternoster (under the leadership of Jeremy Mudditt and Robin Parry) for over ten years saw a whole set of volumes produced that created a wealth of historical and theological resources. He went on to inaugurate a similar series for the Centre for Baptist History and Heritage, based at Regent's Park College and more recently he had begun a new relationship with Wipf & Stock, seen in Baptist Sacramentalism 3. 

Anthony's early work was on baptism, beginning with two books edited with Stanley Porter (who was then teaching at the University of Roehampton) and then his own comprehensive history of baptismal theology among English Baptists in the twentieth century, Baptism and the Baptists (2000). His work on baptism would culminate with a second volume, Recovering the Evangelical Sacrament (2013). On baptism he made the convincing case against what he called the myth of anti-sacramentalism amongst Baptists. His more recent focus has been on ministry, providing two volumes, the encyclopedic 'To communicate simply' (2016) and Useful Learning (2017), with a history of Bristol Baptist College planned.

He co-edited Baptist Sacramentalism (2003) and Baptist Sacramentalism 2 (2008) with Philip E. Thompson and third volume (with more planned) appear this year. Baptist Sacramentalism brought together Clark Pinnock, Stanley Grenz, Curtis Freeman, John Colwell, Steve Holmes, Brian Haymes, Timothy George and others, and is arguably one of the most important works of Baptist theology ever for what it seeks to explore. Both of these were in the SBHT series, which also saw over works, like Paul Fiddes' Tracks and Traces and Steven Harmon's Towards Baptist Catholicity, as well the publication of Ken Manley's work on John Rippon and Frank Rinaldi's on Dan Taylor. The series would also publish the work of European Baptists and several of the papers from the early conferences of the International Study on Baptist Studies.

Anthony's work also liked to highlight that of others. He edited festschrifts for R. E. O. White, Clark Pinnock, John Briggs, Brian Haymes, David Bebbington, Ian Randall and most recently (and his last publication) for Ruth Gouldbourne. This latter book, Re-Membering the Body, was only published this month.  

Anthony trained for ministry with Morris West (Bristol) and Neville Clark (South Wales), and was influenced by George Beasley-Murray, John Briggs (his supervisor at Keele) and his friends Brian Haymes and Ruth Gouldbourne. With Brian and Ruth, he would co-write On Being the Church (2008). He pastored two churches, Zion Baptist in Cambridge and then Calne Baptist in Wiltshire before he moved into academia. He worked at the University of Roehampton, Regent's Park College and more recently held a position at IBTS, where he was able to bring some influence to European Baptists (seen in the contributors to Baptist Sacramentalism 3).

I personally appreciated Anthony's supervision of my MTh thesis on the child in Baptist thought and remember a visit I made to his home near Bath, where he gave me various pieces he thought might be helpful to my work.

A list of his publications can be found here.

Anthony will be remember as a historian, an editor and someone who loved a footnote (he was famous for the meticulousness of his research, demonstrated in his footnotes). His legacy will be a long one. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

British Baptist Theologians 22: Anthony J. Clarke

MA (Oxford, 1996), BD (Oxford, 2001), DMin (Chester, 2017)

Tutorial Fellow in Pastoral Studies and Community Learning, Regent's Park College, Oxford (2007-)

 

Publications

___ (ed.), Bound for Glory? God, Church and World in Covenant (Whitley, 2002)

___ 'The Covenantal Basis of God's Trinitarian Life' in Bound for Glory? God, Church and World in Covenant (Whitley, 2002)

___ A Cry in the Darkness: The Forsakenness of Jesus in Scripture, Theology and Experience (Smyth and Helwys, 2002) 

___ (ed.) Expecting Justice, but Seeing Bloodshed: Some Baptist Contributions to Following Jesus in a Violent World (Whitley, 2004)

___ (ed.) with Paul S. Fiddes, Flickering Images: Theology and Film in Dialogue (Smyth and Helwys, 2005)

___ 'Gaining Fresh Insights: Film and Theological Reflection in a Pastoral Setting' in Flickering Images: Theology and Film in Dialogue (Smyth and Helwys, 2005)

___ 'Membership Matters: From a Barrier to a Threshold', Baptist Ministers’ Journal (2006)

___ 'A Feast for All? Reflecting on Open Communion for the Contemporary Church' in Baptist Sacramentalism 2 (Paternoster, 2008)

___ (ed.) with Andrew Moore, For the Love of God: Essays in Honour of Paul S. Fiddes (Oxford, 2014)

___ (ed.), For the Sake of the Church: Essays in Honour of Paul S. Fiddes (Regent's Park College, 2014)

___ 'A Trinitarian Theology of Ministerial Formation' in For the Sake of the Church: Essays in Honour of Paul S. Fiddes (Regent's Park College, 2014)

___ 'How Did we End up Here? Theological Education as Ministerial Formation in British Baptist Colleges', Baptist Quarterly 36.2 (2015)

___ with Paul S. Fiddes, Dissenting Spirit: A History of Regent's Park College, 1752-2017 (Regent's Park College, 2017)

___ 'Ascension: "Rich Wounds Yet Visible Above"' in Rhythms of Faithfulness: Essays in Honor of John E. Colwell (Pickwick, 2018)

___ 'Listening to the Voices: Baptist Reflections on the Conversations' in Sharing the Faith at the Boundary of Unity: Further Conversations between Anglicans and Baptists (Regent's Park College, 2019)

___ 'The So-Called London Baptist Education Society of 1752 — Some Further Reflections', Baptist Quarterly 50.3 (2019)

___ 'Communion and Formation: How Eating Changes Us' in Reconciling Rites: Essays in Honour of Myra N. Blyth (Regent's Park College, 2020)

___ Forming Ministers or Training Leaders? An Exploration of Practice in Theological Colleges (Resource, 2021)

___ (ed.), Being Attentive: Explorations in Practical Theology in Honour of Robert Ellis (Regent's Park College, 2021)

___ 'Theological Reflections as Community Discernment: Some New Possibilities for Church Meetings' in Being Attentive: Explorations in Practical Theology in Honour of Robert Ellis (Regent's Park College, 2021)

___ 'Holding the Ring: The Marginal Leadership of All' in Attending to the Margins: Essays in Honour of Stephen Finamore edited by Helen Paynter and Peter Hatton (Oxford cEntre for Baptist Studies, 2022)

___ 'Questioning our Commitments: Exploring Hermeneutical Practice in Discussions of Human Sexuality', Journal of Baptist Theology in Context 8 (March 2023)

Emma Nash, A Pastoral Theology of Childlessness (SCM, 2021)

Emma Nash, A Pastoral Theology of Childlessness (SCM, 2021)

Emma Nash is a Baptist minister who currently works for the Methodists. In this, her first book, she offers reflections on her experience of being unable to have children. Nash addresses an issue that gets very little attention in society or church. It is very rarely, if ever, talked about. The first strength of this book is it brings it to wider attention and to the pastoral life of the church. 

In five chapters Nash explores being alone, being in pain, being powerless, being barren, and feeling guilty. The reader is given a personal insight into the journey of those seeking to have children and the struggle and trauma it brings, especially when the end result is an inability to conceive. The testimony brings light to an experience too often hidden. In each of the chapters Nash turns to scripture and finds narratives both helpful and not so helpful. 

This is a pastoral theology. It has a gentle tone and is easy to read. There were moments when I would have liked the theology reflection to have gone further. There is room perhaps for further theological and pastoral reflection to follow (something akin perhaps to the kind of work John Swinton has being doing on dementia, disability and mental illness), but this is a very helpful beginning and it lives up to its title. It is a very important read for all those involved in pastoral care and hopefully for this reason, it will sell well! Its not a book to be enjoyed, but it is one that should be read, and talked about. One of the questions Nash's book should lead us to ask is how do we foster church communities that are inclusive of the childless, when so often family, parenting, children are the focus of much our life together. 

T & T Clark Handbook of Colin Gunton

It was an honour to be invited to the T & T Clark Handbook of Colin Gunton edited by Andrew Picard, Myk Habets and Murray Rae.

It is an excellent collection of essays exploring the themes of Gunton's theology (revelation, Trinity, creation, atonement, Christology, etc) and his conversation partners (Ireneaus, Barth, Coleridge, Owen, Jenson, Zizioulas, etc). Contributors include Steve Holmes, Paul Molnar, Christoph Schwöbel, Douglas Farrow, Ivor Davidson, Oliver Crisp and many others. Andrew Walker provides a wonderful foreword. The book will add to the increasing number of monographs on Gunton's work and hopefully see his contribution to theology continued to be engaged with. The chapter I wrote, with my father Paul, is on Gunton's account of ministry and the Christian life.

Full details of the book can be found here.

Renewing a Modern Denomination Now Available

The book version of my PhD is now available. Thanks to the team at Wipf & Stock for the work they've done in the publication process. Thanks also to Michael Haykin and Ron Paul for accepting it to be part of the Monographs in Baptist History series. Thanks to Steve Holmes, my supervisor, for writing the Foreword.

My one line summary is 'its a look at what Baptists got upto in the 1990s.'

This book is an exploration of the renewal of the Baptist Union of Great Britain in the 1990s, the only historic UK denomination which grew in this period. It was an exciting time, with plenty of denominational activity and engagement, both theological and institutional. The book tells this story focusing on the particular individuals involved and the wide-ranging discussions centered around mission and identity, ministry, associating, and ecumenism. It argues that there were competing visions emerging from two different streams of thought which whilst not divisive caused tension. At the end of the decade structural changes were introduced with hope for the new millennium, but the book contends that opportunities were missed for a more deeply theological renewal.  

“Baptists have been less affected by declining numbers than other British Free Churches. Goodliff’s analysis of the two main recipes for denominational renewal advocated in the 1990s helps to explain why. Commitment to mission and charismatic renewal on the one hand, and deep ecclesiological reflection on a covenantal basis for Christian unity on the other, offered contrasting solutions, but both played their part in rejuvenating a historic Free Church tradition for the twenty-first century.”
—Brian Stanley, University of Edinburgh

“It may be too soon to assess the effectiveness or otherwise of recent structural changes within the Baptist Union of Great Britain that Dr. Goodliff so carefully describes and analyzes here: though thus far they have had little visible impact on a steady decline in membership and the demise of a distinctive sense of identity. What is here presented is the regrettable phenomenon of two groupings talking past rather than engaging critically with each other.”
—John E. Colwell, Spurgeon’s College, London

“This is a welcome study of Baptist life in a period of significant change at the end of the twentieth century. Goodliff’s work is marked by careful analysis and offers important insights. It will be of great benefit to all involved in Baptist life who want to understand and learn from this period. In addition, those engaged in wider pan-denominational reflection will find this account valuable.”
—Ian Randall, Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide

“Goodliff’s Renewing a Modern Denomination is not merely a chronicle of significant recent developments in the life of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, but an absorbing account of the often fraught and sometimes fruitful tension between missiological and theological renewal movements within the denomination. A careful work of historical and theological scholarship by a rising pastor-theologian who has already done much to advance the forms of ecclesial renewal explored in this book.”
—Steven R. Harmon, Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity