I've tried to shy away and avoid using the common labels--Calvinism, TULIP, et al--because I want to reach people (Christians and non-) at more than the level of labels, and also because these terms are highly misunderstood. I can't say that I fully understand the Reformed, Biblical faith, obviously, and when all that many people have heard about "Calvinism" and the "TULIP" are characterizations and misconceptions, I cannot expect to communicate on the basis of such labels. I think Reformed is synonymous with Biblical; I recognize that witnessing to other, different Christians is not about winning debates and getting them to accept a Reformed orthodoxy, it is about pointing them to Christ as he truly is in every part of Scripture and life.
Actually, getting past the labels is the largest hurdle I have had in witnessing, because for many Christians and non-Christians, their worldview does not go much deeper than a set of labels. I am friends with many people in my fellowship and especially those whom I will be living with. What makes it a challenge, however, is rooted in a concept I took from James Sire called "plausibility structures". It basically means that the more people around you that believe what you believe, the easier it is to believe it and the harder it becomes to question it. So when most of the fellowship either absolutely hates "Calvinism", or could care less about doctrine or beliefs, then I find myself outside of a bubble that is nearly impossible to penetrate, regardless of how humble and friendly I am (which is something I need to work on anyways). As hesitant to "fly my true colors" as I have been, so to speak, I have still already found myself loosing friends, loosing respect, loosing tolerance, over my Reformed beliefs. I am willing to do that, but I am afraid it compromises my witnessing.
