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Mark Dever on the Resurgence of Calvinism

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Written By Tim Brister

Tim has a missionary heart for his hometown to love those close to him yet far from God. He is husband to Dusti and father to Nolan, Aiden, and Adelyn - fellow pilgrims to our celestial city.

A couple of months ago, I asked folks why they are (or how they became) Reformed. Mark Dever concludes today his ten-part series, “Where’d All These Calvinists Come From?” Here’s how his series shapes up:

1.   Charles Spurgeon
2.   Martyn Lloyd-Jones
3.   Banner of Truth Trust
4.   Evangelism Explosion (and D. James Kennedy)
5.   Inerrancy Controversy
6.   Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
7.   J.I. Packer
8.   R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur
9.   John Piper
10. The Rise of Secularism and Decline of Christian Nominalism

Having really enjoyed this series, I wonder if there were any other leading influences that you think were not mentioned that should have been mentioned. Justin Taylor believes that the Internet played a major role in the resurgence of Calvinism (and I agree).

Let me offer a couple for starters:

11. Founders Ministries
12. Al Mohler and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
13. Monergism.com
14. Passion Conferences

So what say you? Any other leading influences?

29 thoughts on “Mark Dever on the Resurgence of Calvinism”

  1. For me personally the Holy Spirit opening my mind and heart to the reality and truth of what scripture teaches.

  2. I would agree that the internet has been a huge factor in the resurgence. I think Dever neglected this factor, especially in his write-up of Piper. Desiring God.org wasn’t mentioned. Their resource library is a constant companion in my study and teaching.

    The only one I might add would be James White & A&O Ministries. For me and many of my close friends, White’s apologetics have been very influential, particularly in defending the doctrines of grace.

    Your numbers 12 and 14 are great. I would broaden 14 to the entire Passion Movement or 268 Generation or whatever Giglio calls that stuff. Of course, this one is tied very closely to Piper as well, being the gateway to his writing and teaching.

  3. The only reason I can fathom why SBTS or Al Mohler is not on the list would be that it would not help SBTS to be on the list. Dever is or has been a trustee at SBTS. Perhaps Dever was doing Mohler a favor by leaving him off.

    But SBTS should probably be in the top 3 of influences.

    KBH

  4. Personal experience of being ask the direct question – “does God predestine events?” followed by “God would never predestine anything event or otherwise – I do not want to hear that term used in my Sunday School Class….” Having not thought in those terms nor having heard the word used within the walls of any church I had been a part of the search and study began resulting in what only could be a total change of my understanding of God and His Word. Many that you listed especially RC Sproul and I would add Alistair Begg were influencial in this journey.

  5. James White (Alpha and Omega Ministries) definitely should be up there somewhere. I would say that his responses to Dave Hunt and Norm Geisler made big splashes in the sea of theological inquiry.

    Passion Conferences and the whole movement have become the gateway to Calvinism for this generation no doubt, and the internet has been the engine that has fueled the pursuit of truth.

    Although it is somewhat new, I think Acts 29 will continue to increase as an influencer in Reformed theology. IOW, five to ten years from now, if someone does this series again, it will likely be in the top five. Right now, it is have a great impact although it is not very well known.

    The fact that Mohler and SBTS is not on the list is puzzling to me as well. Perhaps SBTS does not want to be known in the SBC as the leading influence for the resurgence of Calvinism, but it’s no denying that it has become the dominant epicenter for Reformed thought and has attracted folks both from within and without the SBC to quickly become the largest seminary in the world. That reality has a symbiotic relationship with the Reformed Resurgence that would be really hard to disprove.

    As far as the internet goes, I just don’t think we will ever know how influential it has become. You can gauge books sold, conference attendance, and seminary enrollment, but the Internet is so exponentially bigger and harder to quantify that one is only left to wonder how this medium has served the purpose to help Christians understand the doctrines of grace.

    I would also add that the Reformed world for the most part dominates the Christian/evangelical blogosphere.

  6. KK,

    That is so true. So we could say that a top reason for the resurgence of Calvinism would also be the attacks on Calvinism coupled with a passion to know the truth. Perhaps the doctrines of grace become understood and embraced more in defense than in offense.

    An anecdotal note: My wife loves Alister Begg (you know, loves his preaching and all – not loves him!). She listens to him every morning on the way to work and is excited to tell me what he preached on that day’s show. Plus he has a really cool accent. 😉

  7. Pilgrim Radio…truth for the Journey.

    Many of the authors that have been mentioned are freguent featured speakers on programs like Morning and Night Classes and Speakers Platform. It was this resource that had the greatest influence on me, and I did not even know it was happening until the fatal mistake I made in trying to explain man’s autonomy to my daughter. The conflict between what I saying and the insistance of Reformed teachers concerning the forknowledge of God, was truly the watershed in my understanding. Since I have only been on line for eight months, I cannot say that the influence of the net was the greatest. I has become, though the greatest resource available. It is global and freedom to express and publish cannot be stayed simply by dismissal, dictum, or law. I would not say that if the net did not exist it would not have come to this, for the light will always shatter the darkness.

  8. One thing people seem to be overlooking is that people of our age (or our generation, whichever) are developing more and more friendships with those of a Reformed persuasion. We value those friendships and do not want our theology to divide us. So what did we do?

    We studied the theology our friends held, seeking to understand it rather than demonize it or prove them wrong. For some of us, the results of this study meant jettisoning many of the beliefs we held ignorantly or unquestioningly and embracing a more Reformed perspective if not flat-out becoming Reformed.

  9. Ipods and MP3’s coupled with 1000’s of hours of teaching and sermons from all of the above making commutes, dog-walkings and workouts a time of learning Reformed truths.

  10. Thomas,

    I have not heard of Pilgrim Radio or truth for the Journey. Do they have a website?

    Josh,

    Dittos.

    Stephen,

    I agree with you, but I also think that it is helpful to be able to have healthy dialogue with non-Calvinists because these brothers (and sisters) help us see the errors in our thinking and challenge us to be able to support our convictions with Scripture while answering the hard questions that those who often pat your back will never ask. But there has definitely been a considerable intellectual resistance to theological inquiry fostered much by pragmatism in our lifetime. Those wanting an efficient gospel have the tendency to develop a sound-byte theology that sells well by doesn’t sit well with Scripture. Perhaps the reason why some have been antagonistic towards Reformed doctrine is because they know if they do embrace it, their methodology would change and the gospel would not be as manageable.

    Chris,

    So Steve Jobs should be on the list? 🙂 Yeah, the massive amount of MP3’s out there is staggering. I didn’t join the iPod revolution until January of this year, but it has definitely been a great tool for personal edification.

  11. Calvinistic campus ministries like RUF and Campus Outreach. In addition, not a few Campus Crusade, InterVarsity, and Navigator staff members are Calvinists.

  12. definently James White, I can’t beleive he’s not on there…. I would also have to say the Holy Spirit….hehe 😉

  13. I think it may shake down that the purpose driven stuff and willow creek may have a huge influence in getting folks to look at calvinism/doctrines of grace. I am not trying to throw bombs, but after a little while it comes across as cheesy. I don’t know the theological word for that. However, you sense that and then you run into a Piper sermon, Sproul’s “Holiness of God”, and Whitefield’s biography and suddenly you’re like,whoa! Or maybe, woe,as in woe is me!

  14. Nathan,

    Indeed. I remember Collin Hansen telling me how distinctively Reformed many of the college ministries have become, especially in the South. Although I was not a student at the University of South Alabama (USA), I was quite involved in their Campus Outreach which is affiliated with the PCA. It as through that campus ministry I was exposed to a true Reformed understanding of the gospel, and it was through their Christmas Conferences I first heard John Piper (2000). That conference was monumentally life-changing for me.

    D. Taylor Benton,

    If I were an Arminian, I would never want to debate James White. In fact, I wouldn’t want to debate James White on anything for that matter.

    Thomas,

    Thanks!

    James,

    That’s really funny. I was in a Books-a-Million last Friday before watching the Bourne Ultimatum (go see it) and saw John Piper’s books next to Joel Osteen! I remember five years ago when I would walk through the Christianity section of BAMM and B&N how little discernment I had and how much money I wasted. It is one thing to read The Purpose Driven Life; it is another thing to read The Life of God in the Soul of a Man by Henry Scougal. I had many “woe is me” moments in that process!

  15. I have seen God use Dr. Richard Belcher’s book “A Journey in Grace” extraordinarily. Simple yet profound in its ability to speak to the common or intellect, it continues to convey the ‘Doctrines of Grace’ in a timeless fashion. More importantly, Doc has modeled the core of the gospel of God’s loving grace through a life poured out in fellowship and discipleship with those of us he has taught, continuing to be an instrumental guide through a wilderness of Godly male relationships.

  16. Having felt almost isolated when I came to first understand and then share the doctrines of grace, this discussion reminds me that the Lord has reserved to himself 7000 that have not bowed the knee.

    It is good to know the many roots and branches that are striving together to keep the Reformation reforming.

  17. R.C. Sproul’s books started me and my husband down the reformed path, starting with my husband. Through his many questions about _Chosen By God_, I at first was confused and skeptical, but then it clicked for me (really, it was just like that). R.C. is the ‘new’ old-school, but I love his books!

    *Letitia*

  18. Letitia,

    I agree. Sproul’s books will be (if not already considered) classics in Reformed literature. His writing ministry has impacted many, many people as has been evidenced in my previous survey.

  19. i was going to say sproul as well. and i think the passion movement is an excellent observation, if only because of its emphasis on worship and the greatness and holiness of god and what the bible says about those things will necessairily lead honest scripture searchers to these truths.
    also having piper speak each year doesn’t hurt them.

    too bad so much of the recent passion music has started on a “jesus makes me feel ____ ” over done metaphor trend.
    this is a different topic completely, but i think giglio, tomlin, et.al shot themselves in the foot by starting a label. now, instead of writing and leading quality songs whenever they come about, they are forced to have at least 10 tracks when when someone says its time for another album, when before, they could wait and be more critical about what to release.

    -stephen

  20. Timmy, love the site. Piper, Sproul played a huge role. But one man stands above the fray: Robert Morey. His old radio show in LA did a lot for me. Check out his blog at biblicalthought.com Oh, and reading Romans and Ephesians did it too. I guess Paul deserves a mention!

  21. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the surge in popular Roman Catholic Apologists. Devout Catholics who follow Scott Hahn (Rome Sweet Home) and Marcus Grodie (The Journey Home)are giving Catholics so many resources to try to convert their “seperated brethren”. My friend tried for two years to convert me. At first some of the resources she sent seemed very convincing because both of these men were protestant pastors who ‘saw the light’ that the Catholic church was “the church”. However, after much prayer and Bible study my husband and I decided to study the Protestant Reformation and find out why the Reformers left the church in the first place. I don’t know how you can come out of studying the Reformation without being Reformed. Another big movement that has not been mentioned is the Christian Home School Movement. In an attempt to teach our children a solid foundation, many homeschoolers are turning to the catechisms. The Westminster Shorter Catechism is probably the most popular. Also, very popular is the ministry of Vision Forum which produces a lot of reformed books, cd’s and DVD’s for families.

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