The Deformed Reformed Church

I remember I had a class with the president of Reformed Theological Seminary and he said,

“The Church forms, she Deforms, and then needs to be Reformed.”

I think that the time for Reform is now, and the corruption needs to be addressed. There is too much spiritual abuse, bullying, and pride in the name of theological correctness. This Deformed church doesn’t feel like it reflects the heart of most of the sermons given on hills by our Lord and crucified Savior.

I became a Christian ten years ago, and then soon after I accepted Calvin into my heart. This is obviously a joke, but to some it isn’t an overstatement. I was saved and converted in the heat of the Young, Restless and Reformed movement coupled with the Neo Calvinist Church of the Gospel Coalition, the Resurgence, Mars Hill, Desiring God, and even attended Reformed Theological Seminary after attending a Reformed college. Whew.

So I am not an expert or professionally Deformed, but I do have a LOT of experience in the tradition.

In fact, before I got married, my will when I died gave all my money to the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). I put most of my eggs in one basket, but I’m afraid I was part of the problem for most of my journey in the church. The Neo Calvinist movement has some distinctions that I think are good, but also some strong-held beliefs that have become Deformed.

Some of the most glaring deformities that I have seen, been a part of, and recently witnessed in their ugly forms, are as follows:

1. Right Thinking Makes You Right. Deformed. Just because what you believe is true doesn’t make you right… if we believed this it would be works-righteousness and a form of Gnosticism. So often we hear from Deformed pulpits, “So it says in the Greek” … “Well, in the ESV translation” … “The Commentary by _____ (Dead Theologian) says”. I mean this is serious stuff, and it should be well studied. But the way that so many pastors go about this explaining to the sheep is thick with arrogance…