I recently made a point about our tendency towards overreaction. This is especially true among young fathers, whom I have seen accumulate numerous theological perspectives and a host of church membership cards. The fundamentalist reading “The Sword of the Lord” yesterday is now listening to lectures on iconography from his new favorite Eastern Orthodox podcast. They are about to take their spouses and families through emotional roller coasters because the latest thing to shine on X is calling them; the new movement is drawing them from yonder.
While I would love to see a worldwide Reformed revival, I am firstly committed to a worldwide ecclesiastical revival. I want to see men who love their wives and children at home, their congregations in service, their shepherds in submission, and their worship in faithfulness and joy.
The CREC is experiencing an enormous boost in attendance and interest; many come from standard independent and evangelical backgrounds. If they leave their flocks for legitimate reasons, my immediate encouragement when they arrive in our pews is to avoid making radical decisions in the first year. Sit. Learn. Ask. Read.
You should stay close to the common. Don’t dig into 2002 Federal Vision controversies, Barth’s Romans commentary, or Leithart’s Constantine biography. Read your Heidelberg Catechism. Read your R.C. Sprouls. And read to stay near to the roots before wandering into the forest. There will be time for that, but before you explore, you must solidify who you are and from whence you came. This will provide a strong foundation for your journey.
I’d recommend five resources for the Reformed newbie:
a) R.C. Sproul’s “The Holiness of God”
b) The Heidelberg Catechism
c) J.I. Packer’s “Knowing God”
d) John Piper’s “Desiring God”
e) Herman Bavinck’s “The Wonderful Works of God”
The latter will be a bit more demanding as a systematic treatment, but it will ground you and keep you from entering into foreign territory too quickly. The others will provide the theology and piety needed to avoid the temptations to shift.
Theological journeys require stability of mind and strength. They are not shape-shifting games because they touch the very core of who you are. The double-minded man will always seek the next thing and never ultimately be satisfied. His instability will damage everything and everyone around him.
