Still fashionable: young, restless, reformed

In 2006, I wrote a column for Southern Cross, the monthly Sydney Anglican Newspaper, called "Diary of a Novice Minister". One of my columns, titled "Hey - I'm fashionable", was about my surprise at discovering that Calvinism was making a comeback among young ministers. It was a response to an article by Collin Hansen in Christianity Today.

Hansen's now published a book: Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008). He investigates the new evangelicals in their teens, twenties, and thirties, who enthusiastically, passionately embrace Calvinist-Reformed theology. He traces the influence of teachers and their associated ministries: John Piper, Bethlehem Baptist Church and the Passion Conference; Al Mohler and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; C. J. Mahaney and Joshua Harris of Sovereign Grace Ministries; Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church in Seattle; continuing interest in, and research on, Jonathan Edwards.

Basically, what I said in 2006 still stands. When I transferred from Anglicanism to Presbyterianism, I thought I was making a unique, bold, courageous stand for true Biblical, Protestant theology and ministry. Now I discover that - I'm not unique at all; everyone's doing it. (*Gloom*).

Oh well. I still stand by how I concluded my article: what I really want is to be Christian, whether it's fashionable or not.

Comments

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