About Tim
Perhaps I'll give my personal history in a later blog post but here is a little about my influences.
​
I have a varied Christian background: born into a Mennonite family, answered an alter call at a Pentecostal church age ten or eleven, attended a non-denominational church in high school, spent my twenties sitting under the teaching of my mentor who has a doctorate in theology, served in a voluntary role the young adult ministries at a Baptist church in my early thirties, then found myself for seventeen years at a Free Methodist church where I
attended and served until I moved to North Carolina a little over three years ago. There aren't any local Free Methodist churches so I prayed and God lead me to a local non-denominational church.
​
With my background, aided by Renovare and Christian authors with a variety of backgrounds, I have a Christian ecumenical mindset. As for myself I am a Wesleyan-leaning theologically conservative Protestant with a high view of Scripture. But I have respect for other Christian viewpoints. One of my favorite authors, Larry Crabb, was Presbyterian. Henri Nouwen, Peter Kreeft, and Brennan Manning Catholic. Richard Foster Quaker. We can all learn a lot from each other and the central thing is the central thing: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
​
In addition to the aforementioned, influences include authors Dallas Willard, AW Tozer, James Bryan Smith, and CS Lewis. And Renovare.org is a fantastic resource. You will see links in the Resources section of this site.
​
A few years ago Peter Kreeft's "Three Philosophies of Life" got me thinking about my relationship with God from His point of view. How does He experience His life with me? We often talk about our relationship with God but what about His with us? Does our relationship bring Him joy the way it does me? I concluded that I want His relationship with me to be a source of joy for Him, and an ever increasing source of joy.
​
My heart is that I want to help God have a closer relationship with us. He desires it so greatly and treasures it so much. (His Plan A is always "with", a gentle invitation to join what He is up to.) I also want us to have a closer relationship with God, because we need it and because it is the only source of real abundant life. And I want for the Church, the people of Christ, to do that peacefully with each other, loving and serving each other and the world at large, living from His kingdom in Our God-Bathed Life.
​
And so the idea for a website and podcast were born.
​
*For now, Our God Bathed Life is not a non-profit, though that may change in the future. For now, it is a part of Tim Bergey, LLC.