Last night I received the following comment on this blog,
“How sad you are to radical for the reformed, but far to Baptist-Reformed for the Vineyard compared to John Wimber. No offense but, Who are you Dave?”
I found this comment to be very challenging and also very sad. Challenging because it’s a good question, “Who am I?” (Even though if you read through this blog you will get to know who I am. I’m pretty transparent here.) I’ll address that question in a bit.
But this question was also very sad. Sad because we like to identify people with labels, and labels do not adequately describe or identify anyone. People are a lot deeper than the label that is often attached to them, and a label can never completely describe a person. (By the way, In the Christian community we really like to throw out labels. We like to categorize people. We like to put them in boxes. Then, once a person is in a box, we get mad at them and tell them they should really be in our box. It’s a very lovely experience.)
Well, back to the question, “Who are you Dave?” Here’s my response…
Dave is not…
- a follower of John Calvin or John Wimber. Last time I checked neither man said, “follow me.” I admire what both of them have written, and agree with a lot of what both of them have written.
- a Republican or Democrat. I have voted for both in my lifetime.
- simply Reformed, Baptist, Vineyard, Charismatic, Pentecostal, Non-Denominational, Presbyterian, Methodist, or Catholic.
- going to let a simple label fully define who I am. Because I do appreciate parts of the Vineyard Movement AND the Reformed denomination!
- in competition with other believers and other churches. Last time I checked we are on the same team.
Dave is…
- a follower of Jesus. He is the only one who has died for me so that I can be forgiven, and is the only one I will follow and give my life to.
- daily, trying to be obedient to God’s word and what it says.
- constantly in need of forgiveness because I am a sinner.
- trying to listen and follow the Spirit of God on a daily basis.
- influenced by gifted teachers in many different denominations. I like listening to people that disagree with each other. (For example, Rob Bell and Mark Driscoll don’t really get a long, but I like listening to both and I can learn from both.)
- not 100% correct on his theology, and neither are you, and neither are any of the people I listen to. The only person who was 100% correct was Jesus, and that’s why I follow him.
- passionate about Jesus.
- disgusted with religion and hates it when followers of Jesus argue over petty issues. What does this communicate to the world?
- deeply saddened when people reject Jesus and the abundant life he offers.
- the husband of a beautiful woman named Ceci, and she is my best friend.
- the father of three beautiful girls. (No, we are not going to keep trying until we have a boy. I hate it when people ask that question.)
- a runner.
- in love with God and tries every day to demonstrate that love to others.
So, that is who I am. Honestly, there’s even more to me than that. I’m not “reformed.” I’m not “vineyard”. I’m a follower of Jesus!
By the way Mr Anonymous, you ask, “Who are you Dave?” I think the better question is “Who are you?” I would love to chat with you sometime about your question and would love to get to know you. I’ll even buy the cup of coffee. Feel free to e-mail me at daver@lakeshorevineyard.org. Oh, and one more thing, I wasn’t offended by your question. I appreciate you asking and wanting to get to know me.
Last Sunday, one of the points of my message came from Mark 8. In that passage, Jesus asks his disciples, “who do you say I am?” When I first read that question, it hit me. This is a question that everyone will have to answer. In my message I shared what my response to that question would be. Here’s my response…