Young, Restless and Reformed
This past May, I attended the New Attitude single's conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The theme of the conference was "Embrace a Humble Orthodoxy." Speakers challenged us to "rediscover what has always been true." This emphasis on doctrine and biblical truth empassioned me in a way I had not experienced since college. During the conference, I had the opportunity to sit down with pastors Mark Dever and Joshua Harris. Their unflinching commitment to the Gospel impressed me.
These two Christian leaders, along with John Piper, Al Mohler and C.J. Mahaney, were featured in this month's Christianity Today cover story. The article, "Young, Restless and Reformed" by Collin Hansen, explains the resurgence of Calvinism among those under 30. The following Joshua Harris quote captures the heart behind the hype:
The theological depth attracted Harris. "Once you're exposed to [doctrine]," he said, "you see the richness in it for your own soul, and you're ruined for anything else."
He notices the same attraction among his cohorts. "I just think there's such a hunger for the transcendent and for a God who is not just sitting around waiting for us to show up so that the party can get started."
I relate to this desire to know a powerful God. In my experience, doctrine feeds my faith and motivates me to follow Christ more devotedly. The Calvinist/Arminian debate seems destined to endure, but no matter which camp you find yourself in, I believe the craving for doctrine and truth is a very positive step for our generation. What do you think?
HT: Justin Taylor
posted by Suzanne @ 1:56 PM
5 Comments:
I agree. One thing that attracted me to Sovereign Grace was the depth of theology. Another thing I appreciate is that even though I haven't settled the Calvinist/Arminian debate in my own thinking/theology, I am comfortable going to a church that is Calvinistic, because of the way they teach it.
Hey Suzanne. I think I ran into you at lunch during Na?
I thought the article was very interesting. I loved that many of the pastors interviewed were humble in their theology. Realizing that God is solely responsible for our salvation should make us humble, not arrogant.
Thanks for writing! =)
Thanks for stopping by, Ricky. I do remember meeting you — the guy with the clever program prose. :) Thanks for the encouragement!
Suzanne, it seems I've finally caught up to this one, a week or so late. This seems like a great article -- and I've long been wondering how come so many 20-somethings-and-younger have found Reformed theology so engaging. I've also found Reformed theology so engaging, but I'd like to know why.
"Jonathan Edwards is my homeboy." -- LOL.
Meanwhile, it seems the Sovereign-Grace aspect of Reformed thought is resulting in new little "Calvinists" not turning (at least not yet) into those annoying little Frozen Chosen types. Yes, I believe we have all encountered them, and for me, those types -- bless their stone-cold hearts nonetheless -- were quite the turn-off to anything they had to say about doctrine.
Now, this "new" form of Reformed thought -- the Piper/Mahaney/Harris/et. al. "hybrid" -- seems to keep the arrogance in check. How could one be arrogant anyway, when no known reason exists for God to "choose some and not others"? ... and so on. This is, in fact, exactly what Harris maintained during the New Attitude conference.
Therefore, I believe that as long as these persons of Reformed perspectives maintain that "humble orthodoxy," their doctrines and spirit of love can only attract even more interested individuals.
when i was in college (i was an arrogant little thing) i got in an discussion with my theology prof- my point was that this would never happen- that "young" (and by that i mean anyone who would say that they weren't old) would never turn from fluff and towards reformed theology...he said "we" would...i have... and i feel like an idot everytime i remember that conversation...
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