How do we describe ourselves?

What was Steve Baughman's first clue that something wasn't right about Ravi Zacharias?

His credentials.

A few examples:

• In 1974, Ravi was promoting himself as "The Billy Graham of India."

• In 1982, he called himself "chairman of the department of evangelism and contemporary thought at Alliance Theological Seminary." No such department existed.

• Starting in the 1980s, Ravi represented himself as having a Ph.D., but in fact, he had only received honorary doctoral degrees. 

• Later, Ravi claimed he was a "Visiting Scholar at Cambridge University." Closer investigation revealed he was merely on sabbatical for a couple of months at Ridley College.

(Check out Baughman's book Cover-Up in the Kingdom for more).

By contrast, consider how James describes himself in the book that bears his name.

For context, Dr. Douglas Moo (Ph.D., University of St. Andrews) argues that the author of James is the brother of Jesus and a primary leader of the church in Jerusalem. 

Now suppose you were the brother of Jesus, writing a pastoral letter to Christians needing encouragement. Might you be tempted to name-drop your personal connection? 

But instead, we read this:

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

Moo points out that it is a great honor to be God's servant; to claim to represent God's perspective is no small matter!

Still, as I think about James, it does require an unusual humility to acknowledge that you are your brother's servant. 

Two examples for our consideration:

1. Dr. Ravi Zacharias, Visiting Scholar at Cambridge University

2. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

Which one do you want to imitate?

Easy answer, right?

But before we wrap up, please allow me to make it a bit uncomfortable. I know we can get this answer right on a quiz. Still, Ravi led a nearly $40M global ministry.

So the question is, how will we start to get this answer right in our lives and communities?