Who, or what, is an “Alpha Dude”?

There has been quite a stir about the use of the name Alpha Dude. Mostly from a few select individuals at my church. You see, I was involved in our Alpha Course for about four years. For three and a half of those years, I worked with the kids in the role of “Alpha Dude”. Everyone I knew or ran into at church would call me Alpha Dude. It was sort of embarrassing at first, since I was not used to getting that kind of attention, but after a while it sort of grew on me and I merely accepted it.

I began using the name Alpha Dude on my blog because it seemed like the natural thing to do (“Scott Trammell” blog wasn’t getting many hits) and it offered a more impersonal avenue to be able to share stories about what was happening in my life and through the ministry. People responded positively and it opened some doors to share the awesomeness of Christ in a way some folks may not have seen before. My blog, my name, is about ministry. Not self promotion. I have done the best I can to make sure that everything written in this blog directs people to God and His amazing Son, Jesus Christ.

There’s this other “Alpha Dude” named Paul who wrote in I Corinthians 10:31 that no matter what it is that you are doing “….do it all for the Glory of God”.
That is really what I am attempting to do. I screw that up a lot, which is why I am so thankful we serve such a loving and merciful and forgiving God.

In each lesson to those kids I was allowed to minister to, I made sure they knew who the REAL Alpha Dude is. In case you didn’t already know, his name is Jesus. ‘Cause, that’s what it is really all about, isn’t it. (it sure ain’t about the hokey-pokey!)
(By the way, the sidebar in my Bible says that the Main Theme of I Corinthians was for The Purification of the Church. It seems to me we could use some more of that, ya think?)

But some people just can’t seem to get past that big honkin’ log in their own eye (if you need the bible reference for that, just ask and I’ll send it to you) and go out of their way to make trouble for someone trying to do God’s work.

I’ve mentioned a particular Pharisee before. This fellow seems to think that “Alpha Dude” is a copyrighted name and that I am putting the church at legal risk for using it outside of the church, or outside of the Alpha Course. He now has our executive pastor afraid of legal ramifications from Alpha International or Alpha USA.
I’m sorry but, ministries suing each other? A ministry suing a church because one of their members is trying to promote the program and draw people to Christ? Good grief, give me a break! You’d think they would encourage such a thing!

The Pharisee made a snide remark about my “Alpha Dude” t-shirt. He considers trying to sell that shirt on my blog as self-promotion. I guess he didn’t take the time to read about where the shirt came from and why it is posted here. If he did he would know that ALL the money raised from that t-shirt is for the church and its building campaign. Our church building program gets every penny from that. I get nothing!

As far as Alpha Dude being a copyrighted name? Good luck with that.
I googled up the words “alpha dude” and got quite an education.

I also noticed from my sitemeter that the Pharisee and his cronies have done the same thing, they have also been spying on my blog to dig up whatever dirt they can.
Can you believe this type of behavior from a group of people who are supposed to “love your neighbor as yourself”? What happened to forgiveness?

It has been said (I can't remember who said it first, or I would tell you) that the two mains reasons that most people don't go to church or accept Christ is
1) they have not met a christian, and
2) they HAVE met a Christian.
Ouch.

Anyway, from the google search for Alpha Dude, I discovered the name Alpha Dude attributed to the following:

• There is a fellow who goes by the name of “The Alpha Dude” and he is a member of the muslim community (Islam) in the UK.
  
• A guy on safari who stared down a lion. (Not real smart, but there is a video showing this).
  
• Some guy, from MySpace, in a rock band from Joliet, Illinois.
  
• Alpha Dude Omega is a group on Facebook.
  
• An Alpha Dude is a computer programmer and is often referred to as the guy who fixes your computer. This Dude works with alpha and beta software, but I have yet to hear of anyone callings themselves “Beta Dude”.
  
• The Alpha Dude is also sometimes known as the best surfer on the beach. (I can surf, but I will never be called the “Alpha Dude” on the waves!)
  
• Alpha Dude in various writings refers to the “Alpha Male” of a species, the head guy of a group or organization. The “Top Dog”, if you will.
  
• If you go to a website called alphadude.com, you’ll find a site selling t-shirts and other merchandise about being a hunting, fishing, outdoorsman type of Alpha Male.
  

In many of the writings I found, Alpha Dude is also commonly used to describe a man who is tender-hearted, loving and caring. In these writings, the female writer used the name “Alpha Dude” as a term of endearment in reference to her husband.

The Alpha Dude is the provider, the protector, the head of the home. The one guy that each member of the family can turn to in their times of need. The Alpha Dude is comforting, caring, understanding, nurturing, while at the same time providing a strong male presence in the home.

I have a son, and he is a young man now. He still lives at home and I am, without question, the Alpha Dude in our home. I have never had to make that statement, and I have never had to enforce or defend that position. Because things in our home are in line with biblical standards, the formal establishment of who is the Alpha Dude has never been necessary.

Sometimes my wife even calls me her “Alpha Dude”, but we won’t go into that here!

So who is an Alpha Dude? He is a man who adheres to the following:

I have chosen to follow the example of my heavenly Father (through His Word).

In my own family, I have chosen to follow God’s example by being 1) Slow to anger, 2) Gracious, 3) Compassionate and 4) Abounding in Love.

As a husband, I have chosen to honor my wife and lift her up daily, to God, clean and unblemished. To love her unconditionally, and completely and to remain faithful to her only. To be a “One Woman Man”. I have burned my ships, and continue to burn my ships daily. Semper Fidelis.

As a father, I have chosen to love my children and to raise them up in the teachings of the Lord “that they may never part from it”. One of the greatest gifts I received from God when I was very young was the earthly example in my stepfather. I will consider myself a success as a Dad if, as the song says, I can be “half the man he didn’t have to be”.

As a servant of the Most High God, as a man of God, I would like to be remembered, like David, as a man who sought after God’s own heart. I desire to serve only Him and to live my life in a manner that would bring glory to Him on a daily basis. What I do for a living doesn’t matter. How much money I make doesn’t matter. The size of my house doesn’t matter. It all takes a back seat to Christ.

I desire to be, like James and John, a Son of Thunder. I have decided to make as much noise as I can for the cause of Christ. That everyone I meet will be exposed to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I desire that when people meet me, they will have met Christ. Because I am a child of the King, made in His image, when people meet me, I want them to recognize Him, before they recognize me.

By divine appointment, I am the spiritual leader of my household. I am, scripturally, the example of God’s teachings to my wife and my children.

Yet I was born a sinner. I have been redeemed by the cleansing blood of Jesus and have my name written in the Book of Life. But because of my sinful nature, I often, daily, stumble and fall. Desires, intentions, wants and best laid plans are not enough. Please, pray for me to continue making that constant conscious daily decision to follow my Savior and pattern my life after Him.

So that is what it means to be an Alpha Dude.

The Pharisee had me removed from the Alpha ministry and promised that I will not be allowed to serve ever again (his words) on our church’s Men’s Retreats. I was asked (instructed) to remove all references to the Alpha Course, or Alpha Ministries in general, (which is why the joke book is gone) or any "official" anything pertaining to our church or Alpha, from my blog and Facebook page. So, from this point forward, you will not find any information or links to Alpha on this site, and I have deactivated my Facebook account.

Many people at our church, and the children as well, still call me Alpha Dude.
In light of what you’ve just read above about what it means to be an Alpha Dude, I have chosen to continue to go by that name here on my blog. (If you still don’t understand why, let me know and we’ll pray for you.)

It should be understood that the name Alpha Dude on this site is not affiliated with any church, group, or ministry organization. I am merely a follower of Jesus Christ, the real Alpha Dude.

If you are okay with this, please come back as often as you’d like.
If not, then you certainly have the freedom not to return.

Blessings.