Steve Brown is one of my favorite people. He’s a seasoned Reformed seminary professor with incisive wit and a wide heart.
As most of you know, the Eternal Purpose of God is my central message. It’s the underlying theme of all my books, articles, blog posts, and spoken messages.
Reformed people are big on honoring God’s glory and reaffirming God’s sovereignty. Two wonderful themes.
But the understanding of the Eternal Purpose . . . the mystery of God in Christ . . . doesn’t appear to be a keynote nor an emphasis in their theology. (There may be exceptions of course, but from what I’ve heard from Reformed people themselves, it isn’t.)
Steve Brown confirmed this recently.
Related:
Matt Chandler, Ed Stetzer, Steve Brown, Ed Young, and Calvin Miller comment on JESUS MANIFESTO
My first interview with Ed Stetzer
My second interview with Ed Stetzer
My response to Mark Driscoll & Jon Cardwell
Deep Ecclesiology: My Journey in Discovering Christ as ALL
Why I Love the Church: In Praise of God’s Eternal Purpose
Michael Spencer Weighs Into the Discussion
From Eternity to Here (official website with free resources)
Beyond the “One Word Monologue”
I have to disagree. Prominent Reformed thinkers of today like John Piper, R.C. Sproul, David Platt and prominent Reformed thinkers of yesteryear like Charles Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards elevate the glory of God and the supremacy of Christ above even “saving the lost.” I don’t think they disagree with you on that point.
Josh. I think you’re missing the nuance here. Did you even listen to the audio? Yes, these men emphasize God’s glory, as does Steve Brown, but that’s not the point of my book. I suspect you’ve not yet read “From Eternity to Here.” If not, I suggest you give it a read and you’ll see the differences. It’s not a contradiction so to speak, but a completely different way of looking at the grand narrative of the Bible as Steve pointed out. Saying God’s Eternal Purpose is “God’s glory” really says very little. What does that mean and how specifically does it flesh out are the bigger questions. This is why Steve was so taken back by the book. See http://https://www.frankviola.org/frometernitytohere/ – I’d love to chat after you’ve read the book. I’m accessible.