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Young, Restless, Reformed

By May 18, 2009July 16th, 2014No Comments

COLLIN HANSEN, Crossway Books, 160 Pages, Paper, $22.99

We GARBC Baptists are not Reformed in theology, yet we should not be oblivious to what adherents to this belief system uphold. In recent days a noticeable number of young people in non-Reformed churches, including pastors, have become enamored with at least some aspects of Reformed theology. Tim Challies writes at the front of this book, “Weary of churches that seek to entertain rather than teach, longing after the true meat of the Word, these young people are pursuing doctrine and are fast becoming new Calvinists.” The book goes on to describe some of the happenings and leaders in this movement.

Young, Restless, Reformed notes both perceived strengths and weaknesses of this new wave. A son of well-known writer and pastor John Piper is quoted, “It seems that many people . . . have begun to worship John Piper and those like him more than they worship the God these men are desperately striving to point people toward. It is a misplaced fixation on the mouthpiece of truth, the by-product of which deadens the message itself.” Another statement reminds us that “Reformed theology runs afoul when zealous activists would rather score debate points than worship God with holy lives and love for their neighbors.”

The book should be a call to all of us to examine what we believe and change things that may not be right, whether it be sloppy worship, loose theology, or general lack of focus on God Himself. If we will do this, people of our beliefs shouldn’t have to go looking somewhere else to find something that “satisfies.”

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