Seven Things to Know About Tullian Tchividjian
POSTED ON JANUARY 6, 2014 BY LIBERATE
>From February 20-23, 2014, Tullian Tchividjian will be a featured
speaker at the 2014 LIBERATE Conference. Get to know him:
1) His full name is William Graham Tullian Tchividjian.
The first part of his name “William Graham” is after his maternal
grandfather, Billy Graham. “Tullian” is after the early church father,
Tertullian. And the last name is Armenian (not Arminian–Armenia is a
country, Arminius was a man). Given the stature of the men he was
named after, it’s no surprise that Tullian constantly preaches that
we’ll never measure up.
2) Tullian’s “Pronunciation Award” goes to Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski.
Aside from Mika, almost no one pronounces “Tchividjian” properly on
the first try. Tullian believes that even his mother mispronounces his
last name. At the very least, she pronounces it in such an
unacceptable way that Tullian refuses to use it in public. The last
name rhymes with “religion” and if sounded out phonetically, would
sound like “ch-vi-jin.” He hates nothing more in this life than when
someone pronounces his first name “Toolyan”. It’s “T-UH-llian.” Make a
note of it. He wishes he could do the Usher thing or the Beyoncé thing
and just go with his first name.
3) Tullian does hour-long boxing workouts in his Coral Ridge office.
Though his employees protest, Tullian finds it invigorating to punch
someone (and get punched) while in the presence of some of the great
volumes of religious writing that he has in his library. He will
freely admit that there is nothing spiritual motivating his strict
attention to diet and fitness–it’s pure vanity.
4) Tullian loves EDM (Electronic Dance Music).
T-UH-llian is a “house music” junky…and has been since he was a
teenager. Some of his favorite “artists” are Deadmau5, Kaskade, Above
and Beyond, Paul Oakenfold, and Armin Van Burren. He still goes to
South Beach to hear these guys (and many more) any time they’re in
town “spinning” at a local club. According to Tullian, “house music”
is like the gospel: you never grow beyond it, just deeper into it.
5) Tullian is possessed of an unhealthy love for the Dallas Cowboys.
This love is unhealthy because of the oft-cited stat that the Cowboys
have only won one playoff game since 1996. Tullian often follows up a
justification-affirming Sunday morning at church with a
sanctification-challenging Sunday afternoon watching football. It’s
not all bad, though…he has shaken Jimmy Johnson’s hand (and marveled
at his hair) and vacationed with Tony Romo.
6) Tullian doesn’t mind being asked about his grandfather, Billy Graham.
“Daddy Bill,” as Tullian calls him, has been as much of an inspiration
to Tullian as he has to the rest of the country. Tullian calls him the
most humble man he’s ever met. When Tullian once asked Daddy Bill how
he was able to stay so humble in light of all he has accomplished,
Daddy Bill looked puzzled and said that he wasn’t humble. In fact, he
told Tullian that he doesn’t know anyone who is more prideful than
himself. Like the Apostle Paul, Daddy Bill’s willingness to admit how
unsanctified he is demonstrates just how sanctified he is. As Tullian
has said about his grandfather, “God’s amazing grace still amazes
him…and that amazes me!”
7) Tullian’s topic at LIBERATE 2014 is “Inexhaustible Grace for
an Exhausted World.”
Tullian thinks that people have never been more exhausted. And it’s
not just all the stuff they have going on…it’s the continuous efforts
to save themselves! During his presentation, he’ll talk about the only
truly freeing (and refreshing!) agent the world has ever known: the
one-way love of God.