Young Restless and Reformed a Net Positive?

I recently came across a post on X that suggested the Young Restless and Reformed (YRR) movement was a net positive. I was about six posts into a thread response when I realized it would probably be better responded to in long form. But my short answer is that in so many ways the YRR movement and moment has been not just a failure, but has shown some of the biggest flaws of American Evangelicalism.

But first let me offer my pedigree- I was born into the “Reformed” world as the son of a PCA pastor. I had a salvific experience at New Attitude 1999 listening to C.J. Maheny. I then spent the next nine years as a member of two Sovereign Grace Churches. While in those churches I went through three “leadership” classes over the years and was involved in leadership. I listened to Mark Driscoll while working and listened to Matt Chandler for years while running. I listened to every New Attitude, T4G, and TGC conference from 2000-2007. C.J. Maheney and Bob Kauflin borrowed my car once. I’ve known or been friends with people in both Sovereign Grace and Acts 29 that are recognizable names in those “movements”. I ultimately went to the PCA’s undergraduate college and seminary. I know both the “Reformed” world and the “YRR” fall out personally.

With all this I can’t help but look at where so many have fallen since those early 2000s.

Leadership Lost

Let’s talk about those that were leaders of the YRR movement shall we?

· C.J. Maheny- Publicly outed as prideful and manipulative. Ran away from accountability over his mishandling of sexual assault. Would not walk away from leadership of Sovereign Grace and broke that movement.

· John Piper- Consistently has had bad if not horrible responses to issues of sexual assault/abuse in marriage. Platformed Doug Wilson and Joe Rigney. Both of his hand-picked successors for his church and seminary failed. One because of the church culture Piper left and the other because he couldn’t quit Wilson’s cult.

· Mark Dever- Recently removed the “Interns” page on his 9Marks website because too many of his interns (including William Wolfe) are notorious for “bad” behavior. Also 9 Marks churches have repeated issues with scandal and abuse.

· Wayne Grudem- Even though Grudem eventually changed his mind about allowing abused women to divorce he has not apologized for the effect his teaching has had on women and children in churches that had pastors who followed him. Grudem has also maintained his belief in Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS) even as many have denounced it as being akin to the heresy of Arianism. Subsequently Grudem’s influence as a scholar has greatly diminished.

· Al Mohler- Mohler has taken to being an almost full-time political pundit having taken over the WORLD magazine editorial section. He has famously flip-flopped on Donald Trump going from “Never Ever” to being a staunch apologist for the President. Mohler has also repeatedly supported Doug Wilson at his school conferences and recently platformed Joe Rigney.

But let’s not forget the younger “leaders”

· Mark Driscoll- Unrepentant notorious leader of what was once Mars Hill church has shifted in his theology to embrace charismatic and NAR 7 Mountains ideology. Mark has burned almost every bridge due to his arrogance and self-promotion.

· Joshua Harris- Harris denounced his best-selling book I Kissed Dating Goodbye and subsequently left the faith divorcing his wife.

· Tullian Tchividjian- Stepped down from being the head pastor of Coral Ridge because of an affair. Was deemed “unfit for Christian ministry” by the PCA.

· Scott Sauls- Was forced to step down for spiritual abuse and creating a hostile work environment.

· Dane Ortlund- Has been sued for discriminatory firing.

· Matt Chandler- Has had multiple scandals mishandling abuse and child abuse in his church, was forced to “step away” from ministry for undisclosed reasons for a time.

· Kevin DeYoung- Could not bring himself to condemn Doug Wilson even over known areas of theological and historical error but instead rebuked the “Moscow Mood”.

· Joe Rigney- Was forced to resign from his position as President at Bethlehem Seminary due to his views on infant baptism and Christian Nationalism informed by Doug Wilson.

Or what about institutions?

· TGC is known for now mostly being a marketing machine for books. Its output is often rote, uninspired and uninformed articles on social issues. The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics debut author was almost universally rejected for his poor book suggesting sex as a hermeneutic.

· Acts 29- Multiple scandals regarding abuse not only in America but else ware.

· CBMW is led by Denney Burk and Colin Smothers who repeatedly engage in troll-like behavior online. Both Burk and Smothers interact with and promote members of the Conservative Baptist Network, American Reformer, Canon Press and others that are only one degree separated from white supremacists and antisemites.

Let’s Talk Ideology/Theology

One of the most problematic issues right now in “Reformed” spaces has been the rise of antisemitism and outright German loving, swastika waving, Nazi apologia among the radical “anti-woke” Christian Nationalists. It is so big that even Doug Wilson cannot pretend they don’t exist (even though he shares many of their racial views). One cannot say this is a wholly isolated phenomena when Grimke Seminary hosted a dinner with The American Reformer and the CBL (actually American Reformer) hosted a lunch at the Southern Baptist Convention. Steven Wolfe, William Wolfe, Megan Basham, all have connections with radical far right Nationalists.

Hand in hand with Nationalism and a resurgent white supremacy you have a prioritizing of genders and women’s “roles” that is becoming for many a religion unto itself. There are decided, coordinated movements in especially the SBC and PCA to make gender roles, not just “a” defining conviction, but “the” and almost “the only” real defining demand of fellowship. For any “movement” that supposedly was focused on the “gospel” to devolve into whether women can have the title of “pastor” (while doing the work) or can even have ANY position of authority in ANY church AT ALL, or even be able to pass out elements of the Lord’s Table, one has to question what importance the “gospel” has at all. Is the “good news” about Jesus or about gender roles?

Those two previous things would be enough but the descent of many into culture war alongside some form of Nationalism or obsession over gender is also evident. A perfect example is the pre- election sermons given by Matt Chandler, Josh Howerton and others. Howerton and at least three other pastors gave essentially the same message prior to the 2024 Presidential election. What should be even more of a concern is that Howerton admitted to being directly “inspired” by Mark Driscoll. Even Chandler while not plagiarizing from Driscoll gave a similarly themed sermon as well. The express purposes of all these “sermons” was to tell their congregants from the pulpit that essentially they could not vote Democrat and be a Christian. All of these men, while not publicly endorsing Donald Trump (like Mohler and Grudem) indicated that voting for the Democratic candidate was worse than voting for the Felon, fraud, rapist that was running as a Republican.

It isn’t About the “Gospel” Anymore

The mixture of racism, varying levels of misogyny, and culture war identity politics spewed by undereducated, arrogant, and in many cases unrepentantly ignorant chronically online men is the legacy of the Young Restless and Reformed movement. The army of anonymous trolls with “Reformed” and “1689” and “pastor” in their X bios that unrepentantly say some of the vilest things online is the YRR legacy. The gross misogyny of Geneva Commons and the Nazi embrace of Stone Choir is the legacy of YRR. TGC promoting a book that suggested the Holy Spirit was like semen is the legacy of YRR. The formation of two mini pseudo denominations (CBN and GRN) within other denominations that don’t have the courage to stand on their convictions and leave but work to force their denominations to their will is the legacy of YRR. The adoption of right-wing media attitude and tactics on online blogs where slander, speculation, and false accusation is normative is the legacy of YRR.

For all of the publishing and books printed over the past 20 years I can think of less than a handful of popularly produced by those in “Reformed”/TGC/Acts 29/PCA/SBC publishing that even seriously impacted me much less I believe will stand any test of time. Even now books by Piper, MacArthur, and even Tim Kellar and R.C. Sproul are being lost to their ineffectualness in time. To say nothing of the ephemera of DeYoung, Maheney, Driscoll, Chandler among others. Evangelical publishing, especially in the “Reformed” and popular space is an ouroboros eating it’s own tail. Most books are published only for the consumption of those who already believe the material they are reading and are reading only for the self fellation of being affirmed in the beliefs they already hold.

Then there is the matter of abuse. Beyond the reality of sexual and spiritual abuse that are known issues in Acts 29, 9 Marks, PCA, OPC, and the CREC there is the repeated reality of the cover up of abuse in these same places. The stories are so familiar now as to be cliché, yet there remain people who claim that their theology, their system of church governance, is still working despite story after story of corruption and cronyism. For me this isn’t theoretical, I know personally at least two cases where the church didn’t just enable harm, it actively harmed and abused women and children.

Everything is not “Situation Normal”

I can look back at my time during the heyday of the “YRR” moment and there are things I’m grateful for. I am still broadly Reformed (though no longer Complimentarian). I am grateful for the “gospel” proclamation even as I look back and see very problematic issues that were evident even then.

There is an enduring problem in the “Reformed” world to maybe look at one’s own church or one’s own church experience and assert that there are far more positives than negatives. That the “problems” are mostly outliers and “overall” things are a “net positive”. This ignores the fact that the current resurgence of Kinism and antisemitism is coming out of “Reformed” spaces. Reformed theology hasn’t prevented abuse and the misuse of church power (and in many cases it has enabled it). A so called “passion for the gospel” has not kept organizations and pastors from legalism or making their churches about the culture war.

For those of us who are the participants and heirs of the YRR moment I believe it is incumbent on us to acknowledge it’s failure. If for no other reason than to not repeat the harm that is currently evident.

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