This post is part of a series that highlights people who have influenced me. See the list of Influences here.
Who is Gayle Erwin to me
Gayle Erwin is a preacher and author.
He was the first preacher I liked listening to because he’s funny. It wasn’t until years later that I read any of his books.
His first and most popular book, The Jesus Style, is also the primary topic he speaks about. I won’t list off all the bullet points in his talk, but the gist of it is that Jesus’s nature was to be a servant to people.
Examples of Gayle Erwin influencing me
- My first website, bondChristian: I created it to share practical suggestions for serving others. I already liked the idea of a bondservant from the Old Testament, someone who chose to be a servant, but Gayle Erwin’s teaching is what influenced me the most in understanding that Jesus’s nature is, more than anything, to serve those around him.
- More subtly, I think his way of teaching through humor and stories also played into how I try to approach teaching and public speaking. I’m not always good at it, but he helped show me what’s possible.
Where to find Gayle Erwin
His website is a decent place to go, but this four-part series (from who-knows-when in the ’90s) is really the core of what he teaches. There are some updated versions on YouTube, but this series is the original I first saw of him.
