Five Scary Trends (Pt 2 Reformed Revolution)

Yesterday we kicked off a series on Five Scary Trends that have the potential to shipwreck the American church. As I said yesterday I am excited about much of what I see in the church, but if we are going to actually impact the growing percentage of people who don’t care about God or church we have to sharpen our game. Yesterday we looked at Multisite Mania, today let’s dive into trend two:

Reformed Revolution

I never thought that theology could be trendy, but now if you are young and cool you are Reformed. Since I am neither young nor cool I may miss this wave. My problem with the Reformeds, however, is not theology (I'm too much of a light-weight to argue there), but with attitude. I'll call it PLA (Pharisee-ic Legalistic Arrogance)

First is the arrogance I see among some young Reformed protégées. I recently shared Thanksgiving dinner with a young man invited by another family member. When he discovered I might have a non-Piper bent he decided somewhere between the stuffing and the cranberry sauce this would be the perfect setting to argue the finer points of Calvinism. Instead of expressing gratitude for grace and provision we spent the latter part of the meal sparring over limited versus unlimited atonement. I am sure he walked away feeling vindicated; I just wanted more apple pie. I have run into this combative theological mindset among many in the TULIP field. This type of theological gunfighting does not draw people to Christ nor does it promote unity in the body. There are some things we need to agree to disagree about and get on about the business of pointing people to eternal Kingdom citizenship.

The second challenge in the Reformed Revolution is a leaning toward legalism. There seem to be certain theological litmus tests that have to be passed before you can be accepted in fellowship in some Reform circles. I have stumbled into one of these tests on more than one occasion when my egalitarian slip begins to show. The relational temperature int he room drops suddenly as I explain that my family first came to know Christ when my grandmother responded to a salvation appeal from a lady evangelist traveling through Oklahoma in the 1940s. Eventually my grandfather became a Christ-follower and then a pastor. All of his children and grandchildren became pastors. Thousands of lives around the world have been impacted by the sermon of that faithful Pentecostal preacher who happened to wear a skirt. Can we at least have a conversation about the role of women in the church? Or should I be shunned? Shunned I say, shunned.

Pharisee-ic Legalistic Arrogance is not the sole property of the Reformeds; every tribe has its ego. But the current popularity of this stream among young evangelicals brings PLA into bright focus. If not checked it will slow down or even strangle our joint mission to see our communities turn back to God. Let’s stack hands on the essentials, agree to disagree on the non-essentials and focus on the work at hand.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at Scary Trend Three: Worship Worship

 

Comments

[Matt Steen]

Thank you for saying this, Geoff.

[Jon Clayton]

I certainly agree with bit of you points about the Reformed movement. I find it disturbing...

[Jan Owen]

Geoff, I so agree. I have been very hurt by young guys with reformed leanings that are long on arrogance and pride and short on love and listening.

I used to be on staff at a church - for 15 yrs. I did this. I was a worship pastor who occasionally preached. I was pretty naive about the whole thing. After I preached one Sunday, I realized one of the faithful young men in the congregation had been missing. He never missed so the next Sunday I was talking to him and just said "Hey I missed you last week." He proceeded to tell me (in front of my 15 year old son whom he led in a youth small group) that he had decided not to attend because I was preaching. He said "If a homosexual had been preaching I wouldn't have come either." Well, that put me in my place. I remember feeling like it was hard to breathe. I was humiliated. Hurt. Confused. Tears spilled down my face as he walked away. Later he sent me an email to apologize (don't get me started!) which included the line "since you may have never studied this issue in the Bible, here are my proof texts" - along with a list of 15 scriptures or so. I was at a loss as to how to reply to this.

This was my first brush with the new reformed revolution. This young man left our church, joined a VERY reformed congregation and is now in reformed seminary......where his attitudes are being sadly encouraged.

I almost cringe at John Piper's name now....

BTW, I for one appreciate your egalitarian views and championing of women in ministry and in the church. We need you!

[Shawn Wood]

Great post Geoff.

I agree that arrogance in general really is hurting the church. I see it in the "too hip" church crowd, the "traditionalist" crowd and the "call those two crowds out crowd" which I am a card carrying member of!

As someone who would consider myself both reformed in my Theology and complementarian in my view of Elders (not leaders in general) I have been embarrassed on so many occasions by the arrogance and ignorance of those who have decided to make it a "camp" rather than simply a view. I have also been amazed as well at the shunning that also comes from people in the crowd I often run in when they have found that I have those views...weird world the church world is isn't it?

I have tried to see these things as lenses that I see the world through not camps to build and keep people out and occasionally it is very helpful to look through someone else's glasses.

I am also grateful that I have had the privilege to have some of my best friends in the world and mentors (you being one) share completely opposite views which has both kept me humble and intellectually honest.

And to Jan, In the end I think mean people are just mean. They are like butter. They need something to spread their meanness on but in the end it really does not matter what bread it is...sorry you had to experience that...

Shawn Wood

[Geoff Surratt]

Hopefully this won't become a discussion about women in ministry. I have no problem with either side just the attitude we use to defend our turf.

Jan, that is one of the most hurtful stories I have ever heard. I have friends in the reform camp who would hunt that young man down and hurt him bad if his name became public. Thanks for sharing.

Shawn, as always I respect your right to be wrong :) Thanks for your comments, great insight.

[Casey Tygrett]

Kudos Geoff. Thanks for talking this through and taking it on from your position and visibility. We need more discussion on how theology impacts and is impacted by culture, especially the culture of acceptance or rejection that seems to be the death blow for the church of past generations.

[Allen Henderson]

Thanks for sharing this Geoff. There is a book that I have found very helpful on these issues. It's Renewal Theology: Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective ...
J. Rodman Williams

[A Facebook User]

Great post, Geoff! Some of the Reformed influence you're referring to we even feel on our side of the pond. I am happy there are many good humble Reformed guys here too, though.

[David Kinnon]

Reformed theology is a conundrum to me. TULIP was not an invention of Calvin but of later students of Calvin after huis death. I do not believe Calvin would share the views of some who call themselves reformed, whose ignorance of scripture hardly justifies their position. On the other hand, we cannot simply rule out the properly Reformed position on the 5 SOLA's. Sometimes the clarity of our message simply blurs when we misunderstand the importance of rigour in matters of salvation.

[John]

About the skirt preacher Gods full of Grace he uses Sin. Its like thanking a heroine dealer for selling a guy heroine and that guy becomes christian after he gets convicted of his sin. That kinda thing.

[Al Eddy]

I believe i would fail their litmus tests too. i have seen new Christian's hurt and run off by people who think they are the kosher police. Just one question is the KJV only on your list?

[Chuck]

I think the real trends to watch for in any movement is what is coming from the leaders of said movement. Young people are young, pridefull, arrogent by nature. It seams that no matter what the believe in, they will typically carry that belief out in an immature manor. I don't see this arrogance in John Piper and several other major leaders of the Reformed movement. However, I do know that it exists. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. The young people of the Reformed movement may be arrogant and prideful but Reformed theology in general is an attempt to view God and man from a biblically accurate perspective.

[Damon Cinaglia]

Sadly, this is true of people who sometimes represent the Reformed position; they forget that the driving impetus behind the Reformed faith is GRACE.
That being said, Geoff's position here is akin to saying that a disturbing trend among Christians is that they bomb abortion clinics. With all due respect, Mr. Surratt, not everyone who holds to a Reformed position is argumentative, arrogant and legalistic. I would encourage you to research any Acts 29 pastor to see your claim is simply not valid.
Finally, I'm a little concerned that it seems Geoff disagrees with Reformed doctrine, and is using the opportunity to take the manner in which it is presented to somehow discredit it. His being disturbed with the how arguments are presented don't mean that Reformed doctrine isn't valid. An intelligent study of limited atonement would show that it is actually Biblically sound.
Thank you, everyone, and may God continue to bless us all with a deep knowledge of, and relationship with, himself... whether we subscribe to the Reformed faith or not. :)

[Matt G]

As someone who leans reformed, I am disgusted by the examples of graceless, immature, legalistic behavior from those who share some of my views. However, I would imagine that you (Geoff) have been equally disgusted by some of the practices and beliefs of those in the attractional/seeker-sensitive/multi-site church movement and would not want to be painted with the same brush.

[Rich Wilkerson]

Geoff ...love this post...U hv touched a nerve that arouses deep interest in ALL the GRACE CAMPS..As an evangelist for a hundred years I've always felt drawn to the Disenfranchised whether they are in the public schools or America's inner cities...during all these years of ministry NOT ONE LOST PERSON has ever asked me my opinion on Grace.. To a lost person Grace may b the name of their Grandmother but otherwise it's not in their vocabulary . NO...what they have asked about and who they NEED is JESUS... I've always been accused of being 2 simplistic.. But I must say that when Jesus is at the center of the theological discussion... The discussion moves us quickly from the classroom back to the streets.