So I am reading this book and trying my best to try and put it down. Reading stories how people my age are swinging back to the reformed faith is exciting. I remember in college feeling like I was the only one that was a Calvinist. Now I am reading the ones that I was fighting between the years of 1997-2000 have been "born-again" in the reformed delivery room. They are finally hearing something with some meat.
I know that some of you reading this may get a little offended by the following statements: but those in their teens, 20's & 30's are flat-out sick of the church that preaches how to be moral. How to have a good marriage in 5 easy steps; a topical sermon (& pathetic one at that) on sex; a sprinkle of Scripture here and there; and finally a sermon that is 12-15 minutes long, is just not that good. It just doesn't grip us. These budding Calvinists see that Scripture has a lot more to offer... let me further that statement; God has a lot more to offer!
This book just re-energized my beliefs that true hope really comes from biblical theology that is reformed. It is the only way to approach Scripture. It is the only theology that puts God high on the throne and man at the foot of the cross.
And then my grandmother died. The book was put down for a few days as we buried that lovely saint of our Lord Jesus Christ. The beautiful lady (grandma) that taught me so much of what Christ-centered, the Sovereignty of God, and how gorgeous the Scriptures can be... had died. Why? Why had she died? Sin. And if she could communicate to us today she would say, "I was ordained to die on April 24th, 2008." She would also say that she was chosen to be one of Christ's sheep before the foundations of the world. She loved reformed theology and preached the truth until sin had killed her body. You see this grand theology can rejoice that my grandmother was predestined to eternal life while in the same breath affirm she was predestined to die of cancer. To me... the reformed faith brings great comfort. To know that her whole life was in the grip of an almighty hand, both good and bad, is extremely comforting. God is sovereign... GOD is Sovereign... GOD IS SOVEREIGN!
So this book just pushed me into laughter at the stories that were told, it also pushed me into adrenaline as stories of that are reaching so many by Calvinistic soteriology (theology of salvation). It also pushed me in awe of our God. Story after story of broken people lead to the Lord with God-centered, Christ-centered, and Spirit-centered teaching is inspiring.
The journalist, Collin Hansen took 2 years of traveling throughout the country interviewing pockets of Calvinistic theology that is rumbling like a soon-to-be California earthquake. It is ready to explode and I can't wait for our church to be apart of it. Hansen goes to Yale (it used to be a hot-bed for rich biblical theology) to Minneapolis with John Piper (you NEED to read his stuff) to Gaithersburg, Maryland where charismatics are becoming reformed! There are even pockets of hip-hop/rap theology that are beat-boxin to John Calvin.
I read of an account where a pastor in a large non-denominational church in California developed reformed convictions. His youth began asking to read Jonathan Edwards (a reformed giant during the 1st Great Awakening) and John Calvin (not the inventor of Calvinism... umm the inventor is God, but one who systematized it so brilliantly). This gave me chills as I remember one of our youth asking, "Can we study about limited atonement?" (Limited Atonement is the 3rd point in the 5 points of Calvinism) This movement is not a movement like ripped-jeans from Hollister that will soon be replaced, but a budding revival. This is what I am praying for anyway. This reformed movement can simply fade like a worn ball-cap, but I am very confident it may very well be the tip of an iceberg. Wouldn't that be amazing?
So I finished the books minutes before I started typing and I want to encourage you to snag this book. But before you do, you might want to grab some reformed theology. See what in the world we are talking about here. You might have no idea what reformed/Calvinistic/Augustinian theology is... and that's ok. What is not ok, is if that understanding remains static. I would be happy to help you get your hands on some solid books.
Reformed theology will give you a God you could never have imagined. A God that is so grand and awesome you will stand up in awe of His glory and also want to bow before His majesty. Make no bones about it... we serve an awesome God. Wouldn't it be incredible if we actually knew and understood how awesome He really is?
Young, Restless, Reformed is a must read. A+
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