About Me

The Lord is risen! And that makes all the difference.

Welcome! My name is Dwight Gingrich. I’m married to the lovely Zonya, we have three dear daughters, and Atlanta, Georgia, has been our home since 2016. I have a couple part-time jobs teaching piano and working for Choice Books, and our family is part of Cellebration Fellowship, where I help with music ministry. I have Mennonite roots and, despite branching out a little and aiming to live first as a catholic Christian, I still carry an identity that is recognizably Anabaptist as I process life and theology. Most of my words here are written with my own heritage in mind, though I trust my words will be helpful for anyone seeking to follow Christ.

A Brief Autobiography

For those who want to know me better, here’s a super-quick telling of my life story—minus things like brief terms at Bible schools, lots of musical adventures, and various joys and heartbreaks probably best shared in person.

I was born in the lovely “near north” region of Ontario, Canada, the second son of Ken and Elaine Gingrich, with two brothers and one sister. The church of my boyhood was first associated with the Conservative Mennonite Church of Ontario, then with Midwest Mennonite Fellowship. I have fond memories of the church of my childhood and was baptized there when I was fifteen years old. My young adult life included seasons as a welder/draftsman at Kropf Industrial, a volunteer at Northern Youth Programs (1994-97), and a student at Nipissing University (1998-2003), where I graduated with bachelor’s degrees in English Literature and Education, received more musical training, and helped lead a non-denominational Christian student club.

After graduation I moved to New York City, where I was a public high school teacher in the Bronx for three years and private piano teacher in Queens for another four. During that time I re-met Zonya (we first met at Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute) and we got married in the high school auditorium over spring break. I also became increasingly active first as a trainee and then as an associate pastor at Followers of Jesus Mennonite Church, a Biblical Mennonite Alliance congregation in Brooklyn.

This highly-formative season ended when we moved to Zonya’s home state of Iowa in 2010 to help support her parents. There we attended a Beachy Amish Mennonite Church and my work included building storage sheds, selling pies at farmer’s market, and writing curriculum for Open Hands. During this time I also intentionally compiled a personal library of biblical studies books and listened to many hours of biblical teaching. Our Iowa time was an important period of reflecting on the diverse experiences of life and church we had traversed thus far.

As I approached midlife, I decided it was time to begin sharing some of the questions and conclusions that were brewing in my heart, especially about exegesis (biblical interpretation) and ecclesiology (church theology and practice). And so, I made an announcement on my birthday: “I decided a good way to celebrate turning 40 would be to start a website where I could post my thoughts on the Bible and the Church—along with anything else that I might wish to foist upon the unsuspecting world. Ready or not, here I come.”

Looking back, I suppose that if anyone was not ready for all the changes that blogging would bring, it was me and my family. Blogging literally set the course of our lives as it led to an invitation to move to Atlanta, with all opportunities and challenges that have followed. Through it all, God has been faithful, and I do not regret the decision to start writing in earnest in public. To the contrary, I believe more strongly than ever that thoughtful biblical teaching in written form is a vitally-needed ministry and part of the work that God has for me to do. As I look ahead—to the next 10 years? to perhaps a book?—I am glad to entrust myself, my family, and my writing dreams to the good Shepherd of our souls.

Thank you for stopping by! I welcome your interaction and prayers as I aim to faithfully handle—and heed—God’s written word.

For Christ and his Church,
Dwight Gingrich

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8 thoughts on “About Me”

  1. Was really impressed with your review of the Anabaptist identity conference as I just listen to all the talks except maybe one or two. I think such a crituque of that meeting will be very helpful to them. Love your concern for truth being preached and lived! Would like to talk to you on the phone!

    Blessings and keep writing
    Roman

  2. I read briefly and also printed off your review of the NIV Zondervan Study Bible and the comparison with the ESV Study Bible. I greatly appreciated the quick read so I will read carefully as I think that the NIV would really be my choice. D.A. Carson is a Theologian and Pastor who I confidently read.
    The problem with the Large Print does seem to be a Problem in terms of size and especially for a senior which I am, but I will perhaps choose to use the NIV Study Bible at home for my Bible reading and study at home.

    I am very impressed with your taking the time to respond to individuals who have read your reviews and I did go to: Dwight Gingrich Online and your kind and warm responses did speak to me of a your personal interest in those who contacted you.

    I was actually doing a search on D. A. Carson and Biblical Theology when I found the review by you on the NIV Study Bible.

    My keen interest is to read the Puritans, Church History, and Scottish Divines! I am from Scotland so I am very blessed to read about Robert Murray McCheyne and others. The Bible has unlimited study so I am not limited to the above mentioned subject areas because I want to:

    ” grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

    Thank you for your excellent review of the NIV Study Bible and the work done to draw comparisons with the ESV.

    1. Hi Charles and Mary! Zonya was delighted to hear from you. 🙂 I’ll give her the email address you provided and you’ll likely hear from her within a few weeks, after some August rush slows down. Thanks for investing in my wife’s life long before I ever knew that’s what she’d be! Come see us in Atlanta sometime.

  3. Thank you for quoting William Mounce about “believing into”. I was thinking of checking out what he would say about this issue. I and everyone in my church mainly read the Jay Green Literal version of the NT. He may not be consistent, but quite often he translates “eis” as “into” when it comes to believing Christ, Jesus, God, etc. The Bible used by Living Stream Fellowship (witness Lee) translates that way as well. My pastor was always very insistent on taking these words as they were written in Greek, being quite picky. I was disappointed in the answer I got from Peter J Williams about this, although I did not contradict him, but told him I would consider his answer. He seemed to trivialize the differences, as if they all were the same (eis, en, epi, etc.) in the context of believing. My pastor also said that it is better to translate awkwardly than smooth something over, as it can show us potential problems in our understanding of the original meanings and intentions of the Apostles.

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