Yahoo released an excellent article yesterday discussing the rise of calvinism in the church, which means the rise of churches focusing on nothing more but the Gospel and proclaiming Christ as a believers treasure and a God completely in control of all aspects of life.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
Welcome to the austere – and increasingly embraced – message of Calvinism. Five centuries ago, John Calvin’s teachings reconceived Christianity; midwifed Western ideas about capitalism, democracy, and religious liberty; and nursed the Puritan values that later cast the character of America.
Today, his theology is making a surprising comeback, challenging the me-centered prosperity gospel of much of modern evangelicalism with a God-first immersion in Scripture. In an age of materialism and made-to-order religion, Calvinism’s unmalleable doctrines and view of God as an all-powerful potentate who decides everything is winning over many Christians – especially the young.
Twenty-something followers in the Presbyterian, Anglican, and independent evangelical churches are rallying around Calvinist, or Reformed, teaching. In the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant body, at least 10 percent of its pastors identify as Calvinist, while more than one-third of recent seminary graduates do.
New Calvinism draws legions to the sermons of preachers like John Piper of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. Here at Captiol Hill Baptist Church, the pews and even rooms in the basement are filled each Sunday, mostly with young professionals. Since senior pastor Mark Dever brought Calvinist preaching here 16 years ago, the church has grown sevenfold. Today it is bursting at the stained-glass windows.
The article even share what a Sunday service looks like at Mark Dever’s church stating:
This pattern – convict worshipers of their sin, then show them spiritual elation – has a gripping effect on the assembly. After the service, churchgoers linger for an hour, hugging and sharing heartfelt conversation. “I’ve come to believe and understand that God is not fundamentally about me; He’s much bigger than that,” says Dan Wenger, a government employee. “The teaching at this church has helped me to see that in context of the whole story of the Bible, not just the parts that make me feel good.”
Dever acknowledges that people might well ask, “Why would God make anybody who is going to go to hell?” His answer captures the essence of New Calvinism. “I don’t know,” he says. “I didn’t do this. I’m just trying to tell you what I think is true, not what I like.”
Lastly, the article demonstrates how the congregation does not treasure “Calvinism” but they treasure CHRIST! This is the biggest thing to remember. Churches holding to these beliefs do so, because it creates a great love for Christ and exults his name greatly. Here is what some of the congregation had to say:
“The resurgence of Calvinism indicates that America hasn’t changed so much as some might suppose,” says Collin Hansen, author of “Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists.” “American Christianity has splintered in myriad directions since the Puritans settled New England. But the God they worshiped – attested in the Bible, sovereign in all things, and merciful toward sinners through the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ – still captivates believers today.”
For all its controversy, predestination is something New Calvinists accept as part of their take-it-all-or-leave-it approach to the Bible.
“Today we have more Bibles and more study guides to Scripture than ever before, but people know the text itself less and less,” says Bray. “This is disastrous. Calvin’s deep and expository approach to it is therefore more necessary than ever.”
At CHBC, several members say they became authentically Christian only after a friend studied the gospel with them verse by verse. “As I studied the Bible, I saw that God has every reason to send me to hell,” says Connie Brown, a kindergarten teacher. “God broke me down – and renewed my heart.”
New Calvinists talk about their sin a lot. Despite that – or rather because of it – they exude not guilt but great joy. Their explanation: If we play down our sinfulness, we’ll play down our gratitude for the magnitude of God’s love and forgiveness.
To read the full article you can find it here.
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