ROOTS

I had the fun experience last Wednesday of revisiingt my theological roots. I attended a local alumni luncheon with my seminary president at a local Christian university. It was a blast especially since I was able to share the lunch table with Dr. Bailey of Dallas Seminary and Dr. Brown of Cedarville University. Here are a few of my thoughts:

I felt like a midget among giants: Not only do I typically line up in the front row for group pictures, but I was surrounded by men and women who are smarter, more well read, more rounded and more profound (by far) than I am. It was a healthy dose of humble pie.

Dallas formed me: My 4 years in Dallas were like a continual diet of "Miracle Gro." The way of thinking, the worldview and the intensity about which Dallas approaches the Bible, the church and culture has profoundly affected how I think and live. I feel very comfortable asking tough questions of Scripture and the Church and even disagreeing with others while still locking arms with them. And I owe Dallas Seminary a debt of grattitude for this.

I have a voice: I am growing more comfortable in who I am and what I believe. My experience and my walk with Christ have given me a slant on the world that I am comfortable with. For example our lunch conversation rolled around to the emergent church and social justice and even in the presence of a university and seminary president I felt like I added to the conversation, without just kissing butt.

We all have roots that have formed how we think and act and are. I find great value in identifying the people, the movements and the ideologies that have such impact upon us. This type of evaluation lends itself to a healthier and more humble view of the self without unneccessary defensiveness that "our story" is "the story."