Who am I?
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.
- 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.
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.
7 comments:
Applauding! YES! Great post/response! Great grace, especially considering you have to respond to "anonymous" (that's weak) comments. As one who really knows you, you nailed perfectly who you are (and aren't). I'm inspired. I'm drawn to and admire and am okay with the honesty. The Jesus denomination is where it's at!
Dave is also pretty darn sexy. Not to mention the best husband a girl could dream of. And sometime, ask the girls how they feel about their daddy. They certainly don't care what denomination he is, or isn't a part of...or who is on his i-pod. All they seem to care about is how much he loves them.
I do hope anonymous takes Dave up on his offer for coffee, because to sit with him for 5 minutes is to love him. He never would ask you to agree with everything he says, but he would ask that you be kind. Because he is kind. In fact, probably the kindest person I know...
Great thoughts Dave. It seems you agree doctrinally with Eternal Security, Baptism of the Holy Spirit is NOT a second work after salvation crowd which leads one to believe you are not charismatic like John Wimber. The Vineyard was built as a more charismatic movement, this can be found in the "Vineyard Statement of Faith" Number 7 Page 3. I believe wanting to know where someone stands doctrinally does not necessarily place a label on them. The role models you listed also support a more conservative non charismatic doctrine. I must admit I really enjoyed Steven Furtick of Elevation Church. He has a passion and love for people. His doctrinal statement embraces "eternal security" and does not believe in a current Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but his heart was commendable and personal story amazing.
This was a honest question to you and not meant to offend or judge, and you handed it with integrity and class. Thank You. Maybe Ill take you up on that coffee.
Mr Anonymous;
Thank-you for your comment, but you are making an assumption based on the few pastors I highlighted on my blog. These are not the only people who have influenced me through their writing and speaking. Some others include Rich Nathan, Tri Robinson, Jack Deere, Mike Yaconelli, Dave Roberts (not me, another Dave), and Francis McNutt to name a few. I share this with you because you have again put me in the wrong box, and missed the point of my post.
I would love to share my views with you concerning eternal security, baptism of the Holy Spirit, and whether all dogs go to heaven, but I'm not going to do that on this blog. I would really appreciate it if you sent me an e-mail and then we can have a conversation.
One more thing, I do consider myself "Vineyard." I agree with the core values, but the biggest reason I like the Vineyard is because they strive for a balance between the word and the spirit - something John Wimber was definitely about. In fact, he called it the "Search for the Radical Middle." That's where I want to be, and by the way, that was a good book too.
Sincerely;
Dave Roberts
Nice Dave :)
Wow anonymous, that is an intense knowledge of Vineyardism. I am not sure whether to say nice job or just sit and wonder if you know scripture that well too... if you did that would be awesome!
Anyways, I think we all want to be able to classify people in our minds. As Dave said it is human nature, he does it, I do it, anonymous does it... maybe not on purpose but it happens And honestly if we tried hard enough we could probably manage to squeeze someone into a box or label. Yet all that being said I am not sure why it all matter so much. Like Dave said, it is about Jesus... I know there is more to Christianity than that but that is the bottom line.
Great spirited and mature dialogue everyone! Kuddos! And what a wife you have Dave! She's awesome. And I agree, you are sexy. And kind! You're a brilliant balance of Jesus heart and sharp mind. And Mr. Ananymous is actually a great converation sparker/engager. May you guys bless and inspire each other if you ever do sit down for a cup of joe!
I like you, Dave, and I love reading your stuff.
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