Dick Woodward. Evidence #1 for the Hope and Truth of the Resurrection.
My favorite Dick Woodward story goes back to my days just out of college, about 25 years ago. Dick and I met for lunch at Taco Bell. After I had taken his scooter out of the car and we got into the restaurant, Dick immediately ordered five large tacos. I leaned over to Dick and said, “You know, I am not really in the mood for tacos, as I was just hoping to get a quesadilla or two“. Dick, in his most charming way, replied, “Well, actually I was just ordering for myself.”
The man could put away some food.
If you have not read John Paine’s tribute to Dick Woodward yet, I would encourage you to do so. Today, our church held a service celebrating the life and legacy of Dick Woodward. I have a few thoughts of my own to add… Continue reading
An introductory note: Before Dick Woodward died on March 8, 2014, Dick asked me to write a tribute to Tim Hansel here on Veracity. Not too long after Dick Woodward realized that he would never walk again in the 1980s, Dick started to read Tim Hansel’s books. They made a huge impact. As you consider Tim Hansel’s example, you might see why Dick thought that this story is so important and still needs to be told… Clarke Morledge
Tim Hansel (1941-2009). Adventurer, friend of high school kids, …. and sufferer of unbearable chronic pain. Tim is on the right in the middle photo (photo credit: SummitAdventure)
I never met Tim Hansel. He was speaking at a Young Life staff conference back in 1990 and I missed his talk. But I got a cassette tape later of his message. As I was listening to him make jokes left and right throughout his talk, I thought to myself that this guy was a real character. I was laughing right along with him, … until he was telling his listeners that he was living in continuous chronic pain. Continue reading
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Hebrews 10:32, 35-36 (NIV84)
Dick Woodward
The wisest man I ever met went home yesterday.
Our regular readers know how much Clarke and I have been shaped by Dick Woodward’s ministry. It would have been impossible for us to have any kind of teaching ministry—blog or otherwise— without sharing what we learned from him. His occupational title was ‘pastor’, but he saw himself, perhaps first and foremost, as a teacher.
There will be many fine tributes in the days ahead, and I am not a good enough writer to do him justice. But I will share some personal remembrances as a small way of saying ‘thanks’.
Biography
Dick Woodward helped found and pastor both the Virginia Beach Community Chapel, where he served 23 years, and the Williamsburg Community Chapel, where he remained as pastor emeritus until his passing. His relationship with (don’t skip this hyperlink) Dois Rosser, the founder of International Cooperating Ministries (ICM), made it possible for Dick to realize his dream of “The Whole Word for the Whole World.” His Mini Bible College program has been translated into 31 strategic languages and is used around the world to nurture believers and assist in church growth. MBC is a survey, book, and topical study of the Bible that teaches practical and devotional applications of every book of the Bible to our lives.
In 1980 Dick was diagnosed with a degenerative disease of the spinal cord that eventually left him a bedfast quadriplegic. In spite of this disease he remained active in small groups, mentoring, and writing Bible study materials. He was an avid blogger and a meticulous and prolific writer, and produced his ambitious Marketplace Disciples in December, 2013. He often said, “The less I can do, the more the Lord does.”
Being around him was like taking a spiritual shower. He was always upbeat and encouraging—unquestionably the most steadfast, most faithful, and toughest man I ever met. I never saw him down, and never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. Never.
In no particular order, here are a few remembrances and impressions for which I am grateful.
If Dick had not been a pastor, I am certain he would have been a comedian. He started every sermon with a joke, and most of them were very funny. There was a method to his joke telling—people didn’t want to miss the beginning of his sermons for fear they would miss the joke.
He was completely self-deprecating. When I started attending his church I was taken by his descriptions of shooting rats in a landfill, stray bullets, and snatching a parishioner by the collar. This guy was for real. He described himself as a ‘barbarian’ in his teenage years. He wasn’t what I thought preachers were like. Again, I am extremely grateful.
Dick had a very sharp mind. He had memorized over 100 hymns and countless lines of Scripture. I always hesitated to cite a chapter and verse with him, because if I missed, he could call me out. He never did.
He loved Scripture songs. I can vividly recall his a cappella voice leading the congregation in “Jesus is Lord of Heaven and Earth,” from his wheelchair, with Jane Hanson and Gayla Johnson making my neck tingle with their soprano runs from the seats behind me. Wow, what I wouldn’t give to hear that again!
He loved the Pittsburg Steelers, sports, and generally anything to do with Pittsburg (where he grew up).
In recent years Dick and I would meet under the guise of helping him with his computer. His doctors and caregivers said he had to limit his time with visitors to save energy, and I was always looking at my watch, but he loved to talk. Even when he had to struggle to do so. He was diagnosed with sleep apnea a year or two ago, and his BiPAP therapy gave him a second wind (literally). There were times when he just wouldn’t stop talking.
Dick would not miss any opportunity to teach people about the Bible and about Jesus Christ. One of the things I set up for him was the automatic signature for his outgoing emails. Tonight, it seems like a fitting epitaph. It read:
Dick Woodward Founder & Teacher Mini Bible College 4 Spiritual Secrets learntolive
“And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work… For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 1:6; 2:13, NLT)
He was encouraging; some would say to a fault. If anyone went to him and said they wanted to become a brain surgeon, Dick would encourage them, regardless. There were no limits, just positive support. Dick truly believed that God could do anything with anyone—as expressed in his email signature.
I have listened to thousands of hours of his preaching and teaching, and his lessons are quite ingrained. When I began teaching adults, Dick’s material was my plumb line. It always will be. When I am blogging and find myself getting on a high horse, I ask myself “what would Dick say or think about that?” The result is typically a deletion of smarmy words and comments, and a softening of my attitude.
Dick was so humble. I remember reading one of Clarke’s statements that, “C.S. Lewis never systematized his theology,” and began wondering why Dick never systematized his theology. When I came to my senses I realized Dick had completely systematized his theology—it’s called “The Four Spiritual Secrets.”
Dick said he really didn’t get C.S. Lewis. He once told me he thought Lewis made things too complicated. “I’ve spent my ministry trying to make things simple so people can understand.” Every time I catch myself wanting to toss in an extra big word in my writing, I hear Dick’s echo.
He was a fierce writer. He had editors for his published books, and he would send them drafts, and when the editor’s comments came back Dick was persistent and insistent. Man, he worked over sentences! It was an amazing thing to watch because he had to draw in a breath and push hard to make the voice-activation work. It took a lot of voice commands to revise his text, particularly when, as he would say, his “computer was having a bad day.” It was exhausting, but he did it because the words really mattered to him.
He knew all the big names in Christianity. I would tell him about a video I saw on Robertson McQuilkin, and Dick would start talking about what kind of cook Muriel McQuilkin was, and how they used to come visit Dick in Williamsburg. Dick studied under Robertson McQuilkin—and Howard Hendricks (Dick affectionately remembered him as ‘Howie’). Bill Bright and Ravi Zacharias came to see him. He arranged to have John Stott come speak. He worked under J. Vernon McGee. He studied at Biola and Columbia University.
For all his publishing and ministerial work, Dick never tried to cash in. He once told me that he and Ginny hated “that sort of thing” (meaning where people made God’s Word less accessible by charging for it, and even worse, trying to profit from its distribution). He said everything he did was intentionally in the public domain. His publishers still need payment for their efforts, but that’s the way he truly felt about what he was doing.
Dick’s dad worked multiple jobs to support his family through the Great Depression, including driving a cab at night. Dick got his work ethic from his dad, as well as his love of the Scriptures (which you can read about here). His family is tight. It always has been—never under the circumstances.
There’s much more to be grateful for, but most of that will be documented by others and is available in his published materials and audio resources. Dick persevered, with grace, with humility, and with great joy, through all things. He trusted his favorite verse, Romans 8:28, and he clearly demonstrated that he knew whom he believed:
“That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12 (NIV84)
Thanks to Dick’s hard work and dedication, we can all share that trust with confidence and greater understanding.
Video Remembrances
ICM produced the following “Meet the Man” video on Dick and his ministry.
Here is Ravi Zacharias describing how Dick inspired him. (Ravi’s meeting with Dick starts at 2:09 in the video.)
Dick’s Family
This is where I really start to get choked up. This is where the love of God and personal sacrifice were most demonstrated for all of us. Dick’s family took care of Dick when his body failed. Without asking for help. For decades they steadfastly sacrificed to do everything, EVERYTHING, for Dick. Their love for each other and their devotion to Dick, Ginny, and each other was completely unflappable. To say it was “truly inspiring to witness that kind of love” is completely inadequate. I really have no words—and tears are streaming down my face as I type.
Molly Worthen says that there is a “crisis of authority” within the evangelical church today. What authority holds the evangelical movement together: a commitment to Biblical inerrancy, a common “born-again” experience, a shared vision for the transformation of culture, or something else?
Apostles of Reason is an intellectual history of the evangelical Christianity movement over the past 70 years or so, sprinkled with fascinating portraits of influential Christian thinkers, activists, and preachers. But it seeks to make some major corrections. First, many critics in our culture today dismiss evangelical faith as simply a form of anti-intellectualism. Consider the recent Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham debate. In the popular mind, this pitted a secular, science-affirming worldview against an entrenched dogmatism incapable of change and meaningful intellectual engagement.
Worthen finds this assessment to be entirely incorrect. Instead, Worthen finds evangelical Christianity to be highly rational and intellectual. The problem is that evangelical Christianity does not play by the rules of secular academia. The secular world evaluates truth in terms of an adherence to a scientific method and the embrace of vetted peer review among educated colleagues.
Popular evangelical thought, on the other hand, bypasses much of this encumbrance by taking the message of a fully sound and rationalistically reliable Christian message straight to the people. Far from being “anti-science”, as in the case of the “creationism” debate, evangelical Christians see themselves as simply building upon what the famous 19th century Princeton theologian, Charles Hodge, saw as the “storehouse of facts” that are found within the Bible, accessible to anyone who can read. There is no need to be a “Bible scholar” to discover God’s Truth as found in Scripture. Just read the Bible for yourself! To the frustrations of the Bill Nyes of this world, Christians are making an appeal to an infallible authority that transcends both the limitations of a modernistic, falsely optimistic belief in science to solve all problems on the one side and a postmodern cultural relativism that has no unified vision of ethics and meaning on the other.
But what is the nature of this infallible authority? This question really gets to the heart of Worthen’s thesis. Continue reading
Williamsburg Community Chapel Men’s Breakfast
Saturday, February 15th, 2014
7:30 am
3899 John Tyler Highway
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
Cost: $8, (bring a friend)
Dr. Jim Shaw has won numeroushumanitarian awards for his work in founding and leading the Lackey Free Clinic. He has had a wonderful career as a pulmonary specialist, and has made a real difference in our community and in the lives many people who had nowhere else to turn for medical help. The Lackey Free Clinic successfully provides skilled, compassionate health care and counselling to the medically disadvantaged in a manner that honors the name of Jesus Christ.
But Jim has not had an easy ride. This will not be a boring success story. I won’t give away the details, but will offer that Jim’s presentation will be a true encouragement to all who attend. Hope you can make it Saturday morning (bring a friend).
Veracity 