I Am Who I Am Too

When Moses didn’t know what to tell people who asked him why he thought he had so much authority, God responded, “You tell them ‘I Am Who I Am’ has sent you.’ The implication? If the self-sufficient Creator has commissioned you, you don’t need any other authority. God is whom God is. He never changes or compromises. He is Himself at all times and is completely sufficient within Himself.

I am whom I am also, but in a different way. My sufficiency can never be found in myself because I’m flawed. Depravity and finiteness prevents our speaking in the same tone and meaning as God on this subject. I can, however, define myself as I relate to my all-sufficient Creator. And as I am in Christ, I really am. I am nobody else. I owe apologies to no one for who I am, only to God for my sinfulness – and that has been washed in Christ’s blood the moment I came into a right relationship with God.

So who am I? I’ve thought about this a lot lately. I don’t think you can always boil life down to mere labels, but labels are inevitable and they do help us to present ourselves to the world around us with some definition. So here goes… here’s how I choose to define myself to you…

I’m a follower of Jesus Christ

That’s how I define myself, first and foremost. I’m saved, redeemed, transformed, and born again. I’m a new creature. I have repented and believed in Jesus and I’m forever different.

I’m a husband

I love my lovely wife. I see msyelf as a “husband before God.” I’m responsible to Him for how I treat the bride He gave me, and how I love her should show the world how much God loves His bride, His people.

I’m a Dad

God has given me a precious little girl to raise, and I love her deeply. Angie and I have prayed for more children. We’ve prayed about our options. We’ve agonized over this, but we ultimately praise God for the one awesome little girl He has entrusted us with. I am proud to define myself as Angie’s husband, and Ella’s Dad!

I’m a man

That’s right! You got a problem with dat? What I really mean is, I’m human and I’m male. I have a somewhat quiet disposition but I’m also enormously passionate about certain things, and I’m thankful for how God has made me.

I’m a Pastor

And I love it! I serve Bethel Baptist Church in Bentonville, Arkansas to the best of my God-given ability. I love God’s people. I’m not a perfect Pastor, far from it, but at the end of the day, if I could do it for free and still be a provider, I would!

I’m a leader

This is included in being a Pastor, but it’s also larger and encompasses various areas of my life, including my family and even my hobbies. I want to be a person of influence. Not power or control or authority – influence.

I’m a reader

I love to read, starting with the Bible, but extending into all kinds of books, magazines, articles, and blogs. I love to read and review what I read and pass on resources to others.

I’m a designer

I design stuff. That includes sermons (they ought to be designed, not just prepared), logos, and websites, as well as an occasional paper airplane. I enjoy it and love it. I don’t hunt, fish, or golf – I design.

I am a PC

Not by choice, but by economic limitations. I’d prefer to be a Mac.

I’m a kid sometimes

I try to retain the dignity of the pastoral office as much as possible, but man do I love to laugh and have a good time too!

There are more labels I wear, but that will suffice to make some points…

• I define myself by my relationship to God, and by the relationship of all the things in my life to God.
• I make no apology for any of the above labels – they are who I am.
• Your labels aren’t my labels, and visa versa.
• I am not a label only – I’m more than can be defined in a blog post.

Now, who are you?