How Old School Christianity Has Helped Me Ridiculous Things Replaced Generations Ago By Less Ridiculous Things Are Making Huge Comeback Among Self Identified Ridiculous Segments Of Society, Poll Finds For some strange reason it seems that certain segments of our society are embracing something called “the old school.” From tattoos, to fashions, to the cars people drive, this return to “old-schoolism” is an interesting development in a society so often focused on the next big thing. Less than six months ago I actually came across an article suggesting that monocles are coming back among the young and trendy… you can’t get much more old school than that, just ask perennial old school capitalist, Mr. Peanut.  An Actual Example Of The Old School Junk That Graces My Office Now, though I am an admirer and collector of old school eclectic vintage junk (just ask anyone who has stepped into my office) I do not see the point of old-schoolery for its own sake. That is to say, I don’t see any reason to embrace old things – be they clothes or cars, shoes or songs – unless said old things are better than new things... And I attempt to apply this same principle to my beliefs as a Christian. Yes, I am a pastor with a clerical collar. Yes, I like some very old hymns. Yes, I love church history. No, I do not think that older is better just because it is old... Now, having said all of this, there is something of an old school movement afoot in Christianity that I do like. In my opinion it embraces old-schoolism for all of the right reasons. Allow me to introduce you to something called the Young, Restless, and Reformed Movement (sometimes called New Calvinism) and let me to tell you that I am a BIG fan. If you haven’t heard of this movement it is basically a grassroots doctrinal uprising within a large segment of Evangelicalism seeking to return the church to the fundamental teachings of the Protestant Reformation. In addition to this it is also a movement that seeks to bring our transcendent biblical beliefs to bear upon contemporary culture.  Over the last decade and a half and without a great deal of fanfare this movement has gained so much steam that even the overtly secular, Time magazine had to sit up and take notice. In March 2009 the massive groundswell of evangelicals returning to the teachings of the Reformation was included as one of the “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now.” If statistics compiled since 2009 are to be believed a massive swath of the most vibrant, evangelistically-fruitful, and healthy churches in America are churches discovering (or perhaps, rediscovering) their true Reformation roots. As I mentioned earlier, I am a big fan of this movement and it has helped me in a number of ways. Among other things, it has helped me personally gain a better grasp of what we Christians believe and why we believe it. In addition to this it has helped me gain a better sense of our historical heritage as Protestants.... surely without these understandings, All Souls Church would never have come into being.
 Wildly Popular T-Shirt My point in mentioning all of these things is to stress that I have greatly benefited from the Young Restless and Reformed Movement – and not because I came of age in a church that was in any way sympathetic to the teachings of the Reformation… but because I compared the teachings of the Reformation with the Bible and found that they made sense. But now, perhaps, you're asking, what is this movement about? What are its hallmarks? How can I identify a church shaped by the Reformation? Below I offer some key distinctives that may be helpful. ( adapted from http://www.federaltheology.org/sof.htm )  Monocle Usage Among Aging Hipsters At Record Levels To Be A Reformed Church Means....
To affirm the great "Solas" of the Reformation. To affirm and promote a profoundly high view of the sovereignty of God. To affirm the doctrines of grace. . . to see God as the author of salvation from beginning to end. To be creedal. . . to affirm the great creeds of the historic, orthodox church. (See e.g. the Nicene Creed) To be confessional. . . to affirm one or more of the great confessions of the historic orthodox church. (see e.g. the Westminster Confession) To be covenantal. . . to affirm the great covenants of Scripture and see those covenants as the means by which God interacts with and accomplishes His purposes in His creation, with mankind. (see Covenant Theology) To take seriously the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20. . . to affirm the primacy of mission and understand that mission. To have a distinctly Christian worldview that permeates all of life. To be properly old-school... to go back to the bible and back to the teachings of the Apostles... old-school enough to embrace the faith once for all delivered to the saints. |
Rev. R Crabtree"...a son, a husband, a father of 6, a friend, a Presbyterian Archives
November 2022
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