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Remembering Robert Goodman
Preachers are a part of a special fraternity. As is the case with most occupations, no one is more understanding and sympathetic of the work of an evangelist than another preacher. As a result, we feel a special bond with one another as comrades in the gospel.
I certainly felt that connection with brother Robert Goodman. When I moved to Southside to work in the training program, the preachers in our area met for lunch on most Tuesdays. Brother Goodman was a regular, often giving advice from how to flush a transmission to how to restore a hard drive. As the elder statesman of the group, he usually was given the last word on the discussion of some difficult passage. From our first meeting, I was amazed at his versatility and knowledge in so many areas. But as time went on, I became more impressed with the appropriate name he wore: he was a good man.
The Lord has “told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). When people in the world describe someone as “good,” they do so by using their own definition of the word. Many times, it has nothing to do with their moral character or respect for the Scriptures. In other words, they decide what is good.
Robert W. Goodman has shown us what is good by arranging his life to fit what the Lord required of him. When I remember my fellow laborer, I remember him as a good man.
He was a good man who did justice. Brother Robert had a deep respect for the word of God. He took his task of communicating the gospel message very seriously. His Bible classes, sermons, and articles were thorough and showed careful preparation. He did the passages justice.
But he was just as concerned with making certain that he practiced what he preached. Since the Scriptures were the divine standard, he applied them to his attitude, speech, and conduct. Warren Berkley once told me of an occasion when a discussion between several preachers got a bit heated. Brother Goodman stopped and led the group in prayer. Through word and deed, he pointed men to Him who is just and the Justifier.
He was a good man who loved kindness. When a stroke robbed him of his ability to speak plainly, he still had his hearty laugh. And in his final months when he couldn’t communicate at all, he would still look up at you and smile. Why? Because he not only was kind, he loved kindness.
One of my first preaching trips away from Southside was to the Goose Creek church in Baytown. Brother Goodman was working with this new group, helping them get off the ground as he did here so many years ago. He asked me to come speak on a Sunday night, a very encouraging gesture for this young preacher. Later, he gave me a compilation of his articles called “What I Have Written.” He was always generous and ready to share his work.
But in my mind, his ultimate act of kindness was extended to his beloved Ruth once they learned that she had Alzheimer’s. He retired from preaching so they could move back to Southside. He wanted her to be surrounded by people she knew to comfort her in her final days. Who is not touched by a love of this kind?
He was a good man who walked humbly with his God. It is difficult to describe the life of Robert Goodman without using the word humility. He did not preach for the praise of men or for any other selfish ambition. The goal of his service was that “in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 4:11). And because he walked with God in the same way that Noah and Enoch did, he is now at home with God.
Victor White sent me a quote last week that reminded him of brother Goodman. “When a noble life has prepared old age, it is not decline that it reveals, but the first days of immortality” (Anne Germain De Stael). That is certainly true of a servant I am sure the Lord will recognize as both faithful and good.
