Young, Restless, Reformed
August 19th, 2008
(Review by Jesse Johnson)
Colin Hansen, an editor for Christianity Today, makes this observation (with a little hyperbole): your average Evangelical American high school student is in a youth group that emphasizes games, down plays preaching, and as a result the student does not even know the basics of the Gospel — much less the difference between justification and sanctification. But, your average American-Evangelical 22-year-old is probably a foaming-at-the-mouth Calvinist, a John Piper “fiend,” and would love to stay up all night arguing about the difference between justification and sanctification. What in the world happens to these kids between ages 18 and 22?
Young, Restless, Reformed is Hansen’s attempt to answer that question. He journeys around the country trying to figure out where all of these Calvinists are coming from, and why. He has conversations with Mark Driscoll, John Piper, Steve Lawson, C. J. Mahaney, Ligon Duncan, Rick Holland and many others. He asks them all this question: “Where does this new generation of Calvinists come from?” and their answers are surprising. He talks with dozens of students who fit this new generation of Reformed Christian, and this book tells their stories.
Despite the anecdotal nature of the book (no hard statistics here), some conclusions do emerge. High school grads who are actually Christians and who do manage to escape their cheesy youth groups realize very quickly that they do not have adequate answers to explain the basics of their faith, much less to stand up to their secular professors. When they reach the point of realizing they don’t have the answers, they generally find someone who does, and this person (or book, or CD) is usually unashamedly Reformed.
If this observation is true, and it seems to be, then this corollary is also true: the more silly youth groups are, the more people will be driven to reformed circles upon graduation. Hansen does not make this point explicitly, but it is there. Hansen shows his insight into how the God of Calvinism captures the hearts of these college students when he writes, “Calvinism has not spread primarily by selling young evangelicals a system but by inviting them to join a new way of life driven by theological convictions. Theology gives them this passion for transformation” (124).
The exact channel that brings about this transformation varies from person to person. For some it is a Passion CD, others a Piper book. Some find a Puritan Paperback, and others stumble upon an RUF campus Bible study. But all of these sources have this in common: they introduce the students to a God that is more glorious than anyone had ever told them about. Suddenly depravity makes sense, and the rest of Calvinism falls into place.
But not all transformations are rosy. Hansen tells the story about Steve Lawson’s resignation for Dauphin Way, and he looks at other young pastors that have been forced out of ministry for theological reasons as well. The most intriguing chapter is his trip to Southern Seminary—“Ground Zero,” Hansen calls it—where the reader sees the problems of infusing a new generation of Calvinists into a Christian culture that is not ready for them.
I loved this book because it was like reading my own spiritual biography. I remember the moment I found God’s Passion for His Glory, and even today I remember my thoughts as I began to realize that God was more glorious than I am, and that he chose me—not the other way around. I stayed in my previous church, hoping to disciple others and show them the doctrines of grace as well, until I eventually went to seminary.
Until Hansen’s book, I had assumed that my story was, while perhaps not unique, at least not the norm. But this book is a catalog of people who had the same experiences. In fact, the very first college student we meet is a self-described “Piper fiend” and part of a Seventh Day Adventist Church!
Young, Restless, Reformed is not a utilitarian book. It is not a polemical book, it does not argue for Calvinism. It does not seek to be objective, despite Hansen’s awkward insistence on reminding us every few chapters that he is a journalist. But what it does, it does well. It presents a series of snap-shots of the Reformed landscape in the United States, and these pictures are zoomed in on the 20-something crowd that is likely to be wearing the “Jonathan Edwards is my homeboy” shirt featured on the cover. If you have ever asked yourself, “where are all these Calvinists coming from?” then this book is for you.
As Josef declared:
Genesis 50:20
“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
I believe this principle is at work in the Church’s weaknesses and the Semi-Palagian/Armenian works; which do not answer the hard questions about the goodness, justness, mercy, grace and justice of our Sovereign LORD God.
And albeit we find it hard to live with labels:
1 Corinthians 1:13
“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
1 Corinthians 3:4
“For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?”
I am glad to be labeled a Monergist; Reformed; Calvinistic and Biblically a Spiritual Israelite who has received the gift of grace and mercy for my own personal sins at the hand of Jesus the Messiah.
Needless to say we need not the labels; but the clear Spirit given conviction of the Scripture as the Very Word of the LORD; which often leads to us having a defining label
Soli Deo Gloria!
I’ve been wanting to read this book–thanks for the review! It’s been so encouraging and refreshing to meet many ‘young, restless and Reformed’ believers in recent years!
I remember how odd and out-of-place I/we felt back in the mid 80’s when we were first introduced to Edwards, Owen, Valley of Vision, etc. while at DTS during the “Lordship debates”.
Calvinist site; please visit/comment. TheAmericanView.com
JLof@aol.com
P.S. I’m old, rested and, by God’s grace alone, Reformed
**much less to stand up to their secular professors**
So would you say that college educated Christians are the ones becoming Calvinists. This would definately describe me, and it would explain why many non-educated or non-college grad Christians see our problems with youth ministry in today’s churches as “divisive.”
Many who do not attend college do not have to fight for their faith on a DAILY basis, especially in cases like mine where I don’t go to a “Conservative” or “Christian” school. I began to study the Bible and found that “Purpose Driven” lies do not lead to Jesus Christ, only to the type of youth groups described in the book.
I will definately pick up this book. Thanks for the review.
This sounds like a very good read! Just like Mr. Johnson, I thought my experience wasn’t common, but it is great to see that there are other young people out there who are diving into theology and living their lives for Christ!
I have to wonder if it is the natural pendulum swing away from all of the faddish, shallow teaching of the past couple of decades. I find myself craving more meat and less milk even during the Sunday sermon. But, the upside of that is that it has spurred me to seek out better teaching and more in depth study on my own.
The same thing happened with me. However, our youth pastor, as hard as he tried to preach the truth, still relies on games and events to lure youth in. What we should have been doing was making disciples to send out into the culture to present others with the gospel, so that more disciples could be made, and so on. If you haven’t checked out the new wave of (non-cheesy, theologically sound) Christian rap, I suggest you listen to the following: Flame, J’Son, shai linne, Evangel, Cross Movement, Ambassador, Phanatik, Lecrae, Tedashii, Trip Lee, Sho Baraka, Azrielicia, Dillon Chase, Thi’sl, and more. I was at the Legacy Disciple-Making Conference in Chicago this past weekend, and the reformed christian hip/hop community was in force! We were there for solid biblical teaching. There were different workshop tracks, and here are the titles: Basic Bible Doctrines, Evangelism, Community Impact Ministry (the one I took), Hermeneutics, Basics of Disciple-Making, Spiritual Disciples, Biblical Manhood, and Biblical Womanhood. Where did this come from? An earnest desire to know the truth about who God is and how he saved us. Praise God that there are brothers and sisters willing to go out into culture with the gospel message without watering it down.
http://www.crossmovement.com
http://www.reachrecords.com
http://www.lampmode.com
http://www.christ-in-a-hip-hopper.com/
http://www.json116.com
http://www.flame314.com
That book does sound interesting… I never belonged to a cheesy youth group, but I did indeed latch on to the “doctrines of grace” during that time period (18 onward).
However, since then, (I’m now turning 22) I have woken up to the fact that these doctrines are of man more than they are of grace. Reform is what we desperately need, but it is an ugly mistake to stop at Calvin, Luther or the Puritans and not go all the way back to the apostles.
This is an excellent book that well depicts the disharmony between Arminianism and Calvinism among the young and restless today. Moreover, it reports on the ever-increasing restlessness with a man-centered theology that seeks to merely entertain young adults. The first chapter tells the story of a young Seventh-day Adventist who was a theology student at Southern Adventist University.
Since Calvinism is a bad word in SDA circles, he could no longer remain the sole Calvinist among his SDA ministerial peers. His intently listening to many sermons by John Piper gave him the final compulsion to become a Calvinist. God is calling many, out of even cultic religions, as never before seen. Truly, we serve an awesome and prayer-answering God!
Dear Brother Jacob,
The Reformation (and truly reformed theology) does not in anyway subvert or replace the God-breathed (Apostolic) teachings! In fact, the sole mission of the great reformers was to point us to Christ and the first century church as the true model for worship and praise!
Calvinism is not a denomination of the Christian faith. It is a philosophy of pursuing the biblical truth that was supremely evident and practiced during the Apostle Paul’s lifetime.
Many thanks to Mr. Johnson for the great review!
In Christ,
Dan…
“But, your average American-Evangelical 22-year-old is probably a foaming-at-the-mouth Calvinist, a John Piper “fiend,” and would love to stay up all night arguing about the difference between justification and sanctification. What in the world happens to these kids between ages 18 and 22?”
Well, I’m 22 years old and I’m decidedly Calvinistic based on the clear teaching of Scripture. I was dead in my sins and trespasses until the age of 20. I didn’t grow up in a bible saturated home. My father isn’t a believer. My mother taught me about the Bible at a young age and forced me to go to a somewhat charismatic church a few times here and there. She was never very committed to any church though. I had certain Calvinistic (biblical) convictions about God before I was even a true believer – some are common sense, even to the natural man. (For example, at a young age I sort of understood election and I remember pondering why God chose me to be born where I was, with a mother who taught me about Him as opposed to the heathen in Africa. Obviously if God is sovereign, surely He chooses those who will believe.)
After a several years of drinking, marijuana addiction, good grades, bad relationships with girls, and outstanding sports achievements, God showed me the pain and vanity associated with all this world has to offer and by the grace of God, Jesus Christ became my only treasure (Matt. 13:44). I wasn’t too excited about church after my conversion so I listened to teachers on the radio instead. John MacArthur instantly stood out and I fell in love with Him and his immense gifts. I’m a John MacArthur/John Piper/ RC Sproul/ CH Spurgeon/ Jonathan Edwards/ DM Loyd Jones/ John Calvin “fiend.” I would love to stay up all night be speak about the Word – but not argue. God also led me to a wonderful church where the Bible reigns supreme and where the Word is preached without compromise – consequently some of these men I listed are almost always quoted by our Pastor.
This is a great book. Dennis Fischer(see his post above) and I both come out of an Adventist background similar to Robin Treto mentioned in the book in the first chapter.
Calvinism is the perfect antidote to Adventism and Arminianism in general.
Dennis and I post on a blog that is specializing in introducing the doctrines of grace to current Adventists as well as former Adventists at http://www.forthegospel.org
Soli Deo Gloria!
Stan Ermshar
(I’m a little behind on this discussion, so perhaps a long comment may be a little more acceptable).
My story is pretty similar to what has been described. I grew up in a presbyterian (non-reformed) church with some modern mennonite family influences. I was home-schooled which was great, because of all the freedom I had to learn on my own and to enjoy life playing and working outside, as well as spending quality time with family. My Christian thinking was mostly shaped by reading the Bible. I didn’t read it all, or even that much, but I could remember what I read very well. I hated youth groups. Everything we did was worldly and had absolutely no (or at least very little) spiritual significance. Everybody in my community thinks they are Christians because they said the sinner’s prayer. All the little kids say it when they are very young.
When I got to college I was into drugs and alcohol. I began reading the Bible on my own, and Romans thrust through my heart like a double-edged sword. After that, I was unsatisfied with the evangelical church culture, because I had been so profoundly changed by reading the Bible. I used to listen to MacArthur and Sproul on the radio in Pittsburgh (I had never heard them before). After tha,t I joined an evangelistic enthusiastic group from the “international churches of christ” sect. Through those years, I experienced a lot of theological ‘agonizomai’ (intense struggle). That sharpened my understanding of the Bible and church history. (I was in art college during this time for graphic design).
Well, to make a long story short, I encountered the doctrines of grace through the most evangelistic and fired up group of out-of-the-ordinary Christians. They were intensely evangelistic, ex-roman catholic, and their Bible study was on fire with Scripture, and they were lowly, not extremely educated people. My heart was lit up with joy after getting clear, Biblical teaching on the very doctrines I had long ago come to believe and cherish, yet could not articulate or understand Scripturally very well. It was only after I grew to value the doctrines of grace that I became better acquainted with the books and audio of John Piper and John MacArthur. I am still a very small minority in the evangelical world in Pennsylvania. Most people are anti-theological and semi-post-modern-charismatic.
Thanks for the encouragement!