speaking

This may come as a shock to some of you, but growing up, I was a nerd.

Yes, it's true.

By high school, I'd managed to make friends with a couple of people considered cool, but I never was considered so. People who spend significant time in worlds of their own creation seldom attain popularity in this one. Add to that, I made good grades. And I spent more hours practicing an instrument than conversing with humans. I was hopeless.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me at the time. Who doesn't want to be liked?

1. I need to choose my topics carefully. God will first teach me what I intend to teach others. This began even while I was in seminary taking preaching courses--God wastes no opportunities!
2. I can't be, nor should I try to be, any one else no matter how amazing, spiritual, and used-by-God they may be.
3. I can't make the audience see who I am or who I want to be. I can work at seeing who they are.
4. When I am weak, God is strong.
5. My image is not nearly as important as God's: whom am I working to glorify?

How could I forget to tell my blogging peeps? I'll be in South Jersey (and, yes, there's a difference between North Jersey and South Jersey) June 19-29. If you want me to come speak to your small group, Sunday school class, Bible study, artist group, kennel club (just seeing if you're awake), please email me.

You can see a list of my past topics here, or we can brainstorm about something unique for your group.

Incarnating Christ's Love to a Hurting World

In Your Story...

God calls all belivers to a heroic adventure. Some of us
are reluctant, some flawed, some inexperienced.
God desires to work in and through us.
Topics include studies on biblical character and how we
can respond to the call in our story.

In Beauty...

Incarnating Christ's Love in Art and Life

In Your Story

God calls all believers to a heroic adventure. Some of us are reluctant, some flawed, some inexperienced. God desires to work in and through us. Topics include studies on biblical stories and characters and how we respond to the call in our story.

In Beauty

Created in the image of God, we have the capacity to create. Art can be used to reflect our Creator and our relationship with Him. Topics look at how art and theology intersect and how we can use art to incarnate Christ's truth.

As the Church

As the Body of Christ, the Church represents Jesus on earth and continues his work. Topics include the purpose of the Church in the world and the purpose of the church in your neighborhood.

Heather A. Goodman started writing in elementary school when she founded a writer's club (named "Writer's Block" no less!) and sold her stories in the neighborhood for a quarter. When she grew up (if one could call it that), she graduated from Baylor University with her Bachelor's in Music and Dallas Theological Seminar with a Master of Theology. At DTS she studied story structure, applied it to the Book of Ruth, and wrote a musical based on her interpretation.

She speaks for retreats, luncheons, dinners, coffees--really any place you'll feed her--Bible studies, and conferences to artists' groups, women's ministries, young adult ministries, and small groups. Her passion is to incarnate Christ's love to the hurting through story, through art, and as the Church. She's a member of Association of Women's Ministry Professionals and American Christian Fiction Writers.

She enjoys tea every afternoon, tortures herself with Pilates, and has a penchant for breaking out into song and dance. She loves wiggling her toes in sand.

And she's addicted to books.

For more information about her speaking, email her.