I never said I was a Calvinist...

To some it does not seem to matter what you call yourself, or who you really are. For that matter, I don't even know if we can honestly know ourselves. I am sure that my view of myself is more fancy than fact.

Lately I have gained a reputation as a flaming unevangelical five point hyper-Calvinist. I don't know exactly what I did to earn this reputation; I suppose it was predestined.

I left the Southern Baptist church five years ago, not over theology or political ideals. My family and I left because we were literally told, "Why don't you just go away? We don't want you here anymore." As much as I honestly wanted to fulfill my duty as chairman of the pastor search committee and hire the best man for the job (and I honestly would have recommended a loving Armenian over a Calvinist) it seems that you can't please everyone. And I have come to the conclusion that democracy in the Church is from Hell.

The stress got so bad I had to visit my doctor. What I needed was not a pill, but peace in a congregation that loved Jesus and each other. That is when we joined Christ Community, and not long after that I apparently became a Calvinist.

Christ Community has a reputation among some as the "smoking, drinking, cursing church." That bothered me the first time I heard it. If the people who made this accusation could only experience the love that my family has experienced. The funny thing is that these same practices can be found among the people at our former church, and I don't remember anyone ever calling it the "smoking, drinking, cursing church." What is more I have never seen anyone at CCC drink or smoke to excess, and only a couple use crude language (this is an area that they admittedly struggle with). The fact is that the labels just don't fit.

I really don't know why we like to label each other so much. It seems to be easier to build straw men rather than to actually have a relationship with others.

I suppose this is the reason for my blog. I hope that some who think they know me might actually get to know me, and that those who do know me might know me better. At the very least it is an opportunity to express myself (ie. Get things off my chest) without being interrupted.

Am I a Calvinist? It's your choice. You can be the judge.