Influences on my Faith

I have had many influences in my life that have impacted my faith. However, in the last 20 years, two individuals stand out to me as far as how God used them strategically in shaping my thinking about the Christian life. I'd like to recognize them here.

• Michael J. Murray, philosopher and Christian apologist. Michael was my adult Sunday school teacher at Blackhawk Evangelical Free Church in Madison, WI. I was there less than a year, but Michael's approachable style and depth of knowledge awakened a hunger in me that I didn't realize I had. Most of my years growing up in the evangelical church (not the Ev. Free - I was raised Southern Baptist), I had been socialized to view the life of the mind as something a Christian needn't worry about. Questions either went unanswered or dismissed as the thoughts of a marginal believer. Although Michael was "just" teaching a Sunday school class, he was in fact influencing my thoughts in ways he probably never imagined - including my journey towards a more Reformed understanding of salvation and grace (I am most aligned with John Piper in his particular views on most things, hence my citation). Thanks, Michael, for doing a good job in what may have seemed pedestrian and mundane.
• Dave Geisler, Christian evangelist and equipper of saints in this post-modern era. Dave has been, and remains, a close friend. I think in the past 30 years, I can count on one hand the friends I've had who I consider as close as Dave (my wife excluded). Dave's main contribution to my life has been to think both strategically and tactically in how I articulate my faith and interact with others about it. Dave's techniques in talking to people about Christ (and more importantly, how to listen) and his gospel have proven not only effective, but indispensable in how I approach these conversations. Dave's tutelage, patience, and dialogs with me personally have made a life-long impact on me. Thanks, Dave - for being not only a teacher and mentor, but for being a good friend and willingness to put up with some of my perspectives that don't always match yours (see my Reformed theology reference above!).

There are many others who have made a significant difference in my life, but Michael and Dave have been the most catalytic in my thinking and general orientation to my faith. Thanks guys!