My favorite communicator?

I received a questionnaire to fill out from a church I had submitted my resume to. In it they asked who my favorite Christian Communicator was. Very interesting question, especially for me. I've always had a slight aversion to focusing on an individual, especially one with a more 'mainstream' reputation, as a spiritual authority. So the question made me stop and think. I thought about how in the past, when I was in my mid-teens, I had really been influenced by Promise Keepers and Bill McCartney. Then when I was in college I was really interested in John Maxwell and his leadership stuff. But at present I have no mainstream individuals to whom I really look up to and allow to influence me spiritually.

Why? You might ask? Well, let me give you my thoughts on a few of the Christian Communicators that popped to mind when I started to think about my options - and I'll also tell you why I discarded them.

Joel Osteen - Okay, never been a fan of his because he blinks so much when he speaks. I just keep remembering some random thing I heard that some people blink when they're lying. But look at the title of his bestseller: "Your Best Life Now." Definitely not a biblically based philosophy. In fact, the more I think about it, the more it feels almost like heresy...

T.D.Jakes - Here's one I was actually starting to enjoy. Well, that is until I was taught some basics of bible study in seminary and I read a book called "Religious Affections" by Jonathan Edwards. Then all of his teaching began to show a very poor exegetical technique, with very dangerous spiritual philosophies being born out of them. And then my theology teacher pointed out that T.D.Jakes didn't seem to believe in the Trinity. With that in mind, Jakes becomes and even more dangerous "pseudo" christian communicator.

Rick Warren - actually, I kind of like this guy. Though I think some of my reservations have to do more with how he's structured his church (more of a pastoral concern for the unity of the body due to their many different services).

So who did I say where my present favorite communicators? The pastor at my church, Larry Trotter, an elder at my church who is also a professor at my seminary, Mark Leiderbach, and my Theology professor, David Nelson. These men all ground everything they teach in the Word and encourage you to search out the Word yourself, not just to accept it because they say it's in there. And I think I chose them as well because they are individuals whom I can watch live out their faith on a regular basis.