Rev. Dr. James Goodlet… Never Imitate

Sunday Worship - FPC LaGrange - May 3rd, 2026 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

When I was growing up, um, it's interesting. Before I got here, I learned that there were a couple folks in the area who I knew differently as a kid. One of them was Lori Hayes. But now she's Lori Whitney. She's right there. Another one was Jennifer Tibbetts, who I believe is now Jennifer Shook. And both of them attended First Pres LaGrange before I got here, and then they both moved away, and then now the Whitneys are back. But before they attended First Prez LaGrange, they attended First Pres Marietta. And they knew me not as this. But thanks to Deb Sargent, if you go in the hallway on one of our new banners, there's a picture of a little pipsqueak with some teeth. Let's be clear, he has some teeth. And it was me. And that is who Lori knew growing up. Lori went to high school and youth group with my sisters. I had three older sisters. She knew them better than she knew me, probably growing up. But one thing we did have in common was that we had a pastor. We had a number of pastors, our youth pastor, Robert Hay. But we had a pastor named Jim Speed. And roughly 5 30 a.m. last Sunday morning, Jim Speed at the age of 95, died in Marietta. He baptized me. He confirmed me. He participated in my ordination and installation services. He co-officiated our wedding. He was a Titan, Jim Speed. A titan in the Southern Presbyterian Church. And he was a friend. And he was a significant mentor in my life. There were certain ways, Dr. Speed, as we call him, there's certain ways, certain mannerisms by which he approached his craft. And some of them, if you were to hear, I'm not comparing myself in any way to him because he is way up here, but there are some parts of him that have certainly made their way into my preaching. Like his voice would crescendo when he would make a point and he would lean over like this. And then all of a sudden, his voice would change. And you could always tell when he was getting into toward the end of his sermon because his voice would drop. He had a low, kind of gravelly voice. And it no doubt has affected his style, affected mine. And then there's this benediction of his. She said to us, You are not your pastor from growing up, nor should you ever attempt to be. Get their voice out of your head when you preach, because it's your voice and your voice alone that you have to use. Which is easier said than done, but I got the point. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Hardy will be very excited that I'm quoting Emerson, I'm sure. He said, insist on yourself, never imitate. There are no shortage of quotes like that of be yourself. Everybody else has already taken type of motivational quotes. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then all the world's a stage full of impersonators and flatterers. While true individuation actually is a rarity. And I can't blame people for that. It's really hard to be yourself. It's hard to put your full self on display as vulnerable a feeling as that is, especially when attacks these days are as visceral, visible, and viral as they ever have been. You could argue that to take a stand, to put your true beliefs, your true self on the line is more risky now than it ever has been in the age of the internet and the smartphone and the nothing ever really dies when it's posted on the World Wide Web. I don't know if you've heard this before, but I've read that extended adolescence is the new normal in young adults. Have you heard about extended adolescence before? Extended adolescence is this notion that people in their 20s and 30s, and if you're in your 20s or 30s, I'm not trying to paint in broad strokes here. It's more of a statistical thing, but people in their 20s and 30s are taking longer these days to marry, to parent, to commit to certain lines of work or vocations than they have in previous generations. Now, I'm no mental health counselor, I'm no therapist, I'm nothing like that. And I know that the true causes of that are myriad and they are complicated. But I can't help but wonder if some of that extension in adolescence is tied to the fact that we are less apt to post our true identity, to claim our true identity, to claim who we are, really, really are, lest it get plastered on the internet before we're ready for it to go there. It's better to be safe. It's ready for us to stay close and keep our true selves buried rather than take a leap and be our true selves in the digital age. But there does come a point. There comes a point when we have to make some decisions. There comes a point when we have to claim who we are. There comes a point where we have to claim who we want to be and what we're going to be about. There comes a point where we have to model what that looks like, if not for ourselves, then for our children and our children's children. And I will say all that because that's what's going on here in 1 Peter. That is what this writer is addressing. This writer is saying to this church, you are at a time in your existence when you need to claim who you are. Things aren't easy. You are being persecuted for what you believe. I get it. It's not easy, but it's time for you to take a stand for who you really are. And it could have gone a number of different ways, really. They could have chosen to blend in. The early church that Peter was addressing, I'm going to call the author Peter. The early church that Peter was addressing could have just chosen to blend in, and you can't blame them. Better to blend in and survive another day rather than to suffer persecution at the hands of the Romans. But that's not what 1 Peter says for them to do. You cannot be like them. Render to no one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak, help the afflicted, and honor all. Be holy. You have to be a people set apart. You are a royal priesthood. And so, because of that, there is a different set of expectations for you. You have to take the high road. You have to choose the ways of light instead of darkness. You cannot imitate Rome. You cannot rumitate, rheumate, imitate the Empire.

unknown 10:32

Dr.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Speed never said rheumate, I guarantee you. But you can't imitate them. You cannot blend in. Because if you do, you will be like everybody else. And everybody else is already taken. But it's not easy, I know. It is not easy putting yourself out there. It is not easy. And I know this. I struggle with it myself. Every Sunday I have a ritual. And I don't really particularly like this ritual, but I have a ritual. I make plans after church and after whatever we eat. I make all these plans to go and be productive. Maybe I'll work in the yard, or maybe I will go on a run, or maybe I will make something of myself for once. And yet, what do I do every Sunday? I sleep. Do you do that? Oh, you don't nap, that's right. See? I think it has something for me to do with standing in this spot most Sundays where the expectation is for me to let you know what I think about the scriptures and the state of the world. And every Sunday, preachers like myself and Jacob have to put ourselves out there. It is such an odd thing to do when you think about it. And most of the time, it's probably rubbish what I say from here. But all of the time I can say this it is exhausting to put yourself out there. But I say this because I do believe that there's somebody out there here who struggles with claiming who you really, really are, or you struggle with what the repercussions might be if you do claim who you really, really are. In fact, I have served as one of the pastors here for almost eight years. And so I can say, I believe, with some sense of authority, that most, if not all, of you fall into one of those camps. And the thing is, we have a choice. We have a choice. We could play it safe. We could blend in. Maybe people won't notice us, maybe people will overlook us. Or we could go a different route. And it is risky and exhausting and tough, I get it, but we could go a different route and look and be different in the world and lay claim to the radical faith that binds us all together. There's a quote that I read when I was getting ready for the sermon this morning. I really liked it. It's short to the point, unlike my sermons, but it is it makes sense. And it says people want to make a difference, but they don't want to be different. People want to make a difference, but they don't want to be different. And I think the writer of Peter knew that to be true: that in order to make a difference in the name of Jesus Christ, it means we have to be different. It means we have to act different. It means we have to look at things differently. And I believe that means what that means for us as a church is that we together cannot blend in. We are a people set apart, it says here in Peter. We have to act differently, we have to do things a little differently than the rest of the world. We have to look out for people differently, a little differently than the rest of the world. We have to see things differently than the rest of the world, because that's what the Savior, who we are actually setting out to imitate, did. He did and saw things differently. And you know what? People might scoff and people might judge. In fact, they will judge and they'll ask questions. And if they do that, you know what I say? Let them. Let them do it. Let them blend in with the crowd. Let people feel what they're going to feel. We are not here to imitate them. We are here to decaffeinate them of that which fuels their cynicism. And to give hope to the world that there is a different way, even if that different way renders us vulnerable to the court of public opinion. The court of public opinion is what put Jesus up on that cross, and last I checked, he's the one we're here to imitate, not the crowd who got him wrong. Kimberly Asbell shared a story with our staff. She and Jenna Edy is on our staff as well. They attended something called the Caffeinated Church Conference. And you should ask them all about it. But Kimberly shared a story with us about that conference, a workshop she attended on what for so many Presbyterian churches, the workshop she attended is centered around a subject that so many Presbyterian churches in my experience find to be almost taboo. And the word was evangelism. And at that workshop, the leader told a story. Two men who worked for a different denomination, although it could have been Presbyterian, but in this case they worked for a different denomination. And they were having a chat, these two church workers were having a chat on the property of a parish in the state of Colorado. And while they were having this chat, all of a sudden, this horde of cyclists came rumbling by. So that they could come in and use their restrooms. Think about that for just a second. One of the workers for the church saw them as annoying. The other one looked at them and at the world quite differently. And the other one thought differently. And acted differently. You are a royal priesthood. You are a people set apart. Insist on yourselves. Never imitate. Unless, of course, it is he that you are imitating. See the world differently, just as Jesus does. Lay claim to your identity and be yourself, church.