"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." ~Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, 1905 Much of life is spent attempting to be like somebody else. Just look to Hollywood. People mimic hair cuts, clothing, music, style, patterns of speech, house, etc. in an attempt to be like someone we idolize or epitomizes our view of the way a certain thing should be. This happens to Christians as well. We tend to take on the personality traits of other Christians. Now, this can be a good thing but often we end up imitating the behavior and not the God who formed that within them. Instead of understanding why they are the way they are we just copy their behavior. My friend Tom Cannon at Red Mountain Church in Birmingham recently told me about his time working with Tim Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. Several pastors and churches wanted to come find out what gave Redeemer such vibrance and impact in NYC. Most came wanting to know the systems and programs (the outward actions) that made Redeemer successful. It wasn't the system. It was a focus on the Gospel and God's glory that did that. The systems were by-product of their context and how God had uniquely gifted the people involved with Redeemer. It's no different with us. Some of the best advice I have gotten in my life is this: BE YOU. Don't live out someone else's calling. Live out yours. Don't Be Your Mentor As Christians, most of us have someone we look to as sort of a spiritual father/mother who really invested in us, poured the Gospel into our lives, and helped form our beliefs. In my first couple of years as a believer, I had two men who invested in me and changed me. These two men are Ross Higgins, my youth pastor and Mark Christensen, a pastor in Salcha, AK and the godliest man I know. I owe both my life and count both dear friends. Ross is an Alabama good ol' boy (in the best sense of the label). He can make a game out of anything. He's able to communicate truth to teenagers just by picking up his Bible and going. God designed Ross that way. I'm not Ross. I'm not as "fun" as Ross. I can't just pick up a Bible and go. I love to study and prepare. So I learned very early in ministry that his style wasn't my style, and my style wasn't his. I wasn't cut from the same youth pastor cloth. I imitated that because that's all I really knew. There are things that Ross has taught me that have stretched me and I use them today but I had to realize I wasn't him...I was me. Mark is deeply spiritual and discerning. He's a counselor who drives to the heart of the issue. He's perfect for Salcha, AK. He'll pick up an axe to help a neighbor as fast as he does his Bible to proclaim the Gospel. Mark has impacted me deeply and really formed my doctrine. Mark's love for the Bible pushed me to really dive deep and grow in grace. But again, I'm not Mark. I am me. Don't Be the "Famous" Christian I tried to emulate the popular pastors or figures I read and listened to. I wanted to be like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, etc. I picked up on their subject matter, voice inflection, speech patterns. It became apparent that I cared more about who they were than what they said. I wanted to wear tweed jackets and talk like Piper. I wanted to talk about the city as Keller did. I wanted to talk tough like Driscoll. All of these men have impacted my teaching greatly. But I'm not those men. I'm me. And that's ok. I am who I am where God has shaped me with the Gospel to do the work God has called me to be. Instead of trying to be someone else, be like the Jesus who died for them (just men) and died for you. Embrace Who God Has Made You The Psalmist said: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. - Psalm 139:13-14 God designed you to be you. He gave you passions, abilities, and wired you a certain way to use you for His glory. This evident in the writing styles of Biblical authors. Paul was eloquent, diplomatic, and almost poetic with His imagery. Peter was fiery, full of passion, and vigilant. James was a straight shooter. No fluff. Each man different. Each man in a different context. Each man effective in ministry. Each man affirmed and kept in the grace of God by the finished work of Jesus. If you are an intellectual person, pursue that. If you get things done with your hands and have a missional heart, do that. If you love people, be around people. Be who God has called you to be. The Gospel Will Change You Our greatest influence should be the Gospel. I don't want to suggest is that we are to interpret the Bible anyway we want, that it's ok to continue in sinful attitude and action, or that we should have a man-centered faith. I want believers to celebrate and worship the God creative enough to shape each of us differently as we root ourselves in a biblically faithful orthodoxy. As we come to Scripture, we submit our will, our desires and pray for God to give us a right understanding of who He is and what the Gospel has done for us. What happens in this submission to the Gospel's tranformative work in our lives is we grow in grace, see sin defeated in our lives and become the person God intends for us to be, on mission for His glory. Faith should be a natural expression of the ever-changing person we are in Christ. God designed us to be a certain way because He intends to use us for His purposes in a certain place and time. Part of this is that as we trust God in faith, we see the Holy Spirit change us, making us a new creation. C.S. Lewis defines sin as a "perversion of good". Our sinfulness is a tweaking of the personality God has given us. Tyler Jones spoke at the Acts 29 Boot Camp in Nashville last week and said there's a razor thin line between good traits and sin. When God redeems a man driven to succeed as all costs, that can be focused on passion for the Gospel. When the Gospel redeems a person who finds there worth in relationships, that relational heart can be used to engage people with the Gospel in community. The Cross began the slow repeal of sin's hold on us. We have been set free and as that freedom works itself out in our lives we become more like the person God created us to be. God created you uniquely. No one has your finger prints, your ears, your eyes. God grafted each of our stories uniquely to fit in the tapestry of His sovereign plan. Live out the calling Jesus gives us, redeemed for you on the Cross. Be You - formed in Christ.