An Unexpected Journey

It has almost become a new genre in Christian biography--"telling my story." Young writers like Lauren Winner (Girl Meets God) and Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz) have made huge entries in the Christian book market (Miller especially) with their sometimes interesting, somewhat stream-of-consciousness, reflections and personal insights on becoming a Christian and their own experiences living the Christian life. The reader comes away with a pretty good understanding of who Lauren Winner and Donald Miller are.

In the last couple of months, I've had an opportunity to read two books that would land in the Christian biography category that have conveyed personal experience in a profound, insightful way that directs the reader back to God. One of those books was Things We Couldn't Say by Diet Eman, a woman who worked in the Dutch Resistance during World War II and spent time in prison for her efforts. It's an amazing story of courage and love, and I would encourage young women, especially, to read it and find another great heroine.

But another book that has left a wonderful impression is by W. Robert Godfrey, president of Westminster Seminary in Escondido, California. The book, An Unexpected Journey: Discovering Reformed Christianity, is a warm, personal look at his experience of embracing Calvinism and the Reformed faith. As a person who grew up in the Baptist church, finding the Reformed faith in my twenties, I connected immediately with the author's experience. It also helped that I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Godfrey this fall at Reformed Fellowship's annual meeting and heard him lecture about his passion, John Calvin. I was struck by Dr. Godfrey's genuineness, and while it is immediately clear that he is incredibly learned and intelligent, it doesn't prevent him from communicating on a very down-to-earth, personable level.

It is an interesting experience, coming from the "outside" to the Reformed faith, especially the Reformed faith of the Dutch variety. Dr. Godfrey grew up in California, and his parents were Methodists who only occasionally attended church. As a junior in high school, Dr. Godfrey met his "first Calvinist," a co-member of the high school swim team whose family were members of the local Christian Reformed Church. Reflecting on his preliminary reading, the author explains: "I believe that one particular part of Calvin's message appealed to me. It was the teaching of a great and sovereign God who was truly in charge of all things." God used these early encounters with a Reformed family and a Reformed church to form Dr. Godfrey into a man who now is a great scholar, educator, and minister in the United Reformed Churches.

And yet this book is not a high-minded, intellectual exposition on Calvinism. Godfrey sets out to give a personal account of what it is to be Reformed: "For too many, Calvinism has seemed either an intellectual exercise in theology or an inherited and often unexamined religious commitment. But as I have experienced it, Reformed Christianity is not simply an inherited tradition or an expression of intellectual theology. I believe that Reformed Christianity is the best, fullest form of biblical religion." This introductory claim is developed throughout the rest of the book as Godfrey explores different aspects of the historic Reformed faith, such as congregational life, Christian disciplines, and worship.

It would seem that the intended audience for this book would be those who want to understand what the Reformed faith is and what it means to be a Calvinist. But I thought as I read how helpful and encouraging it was to be a committed, Reformed Christian reading this book, being reminded of just how precious that faith is.

Michael Horton's endorsement on the back cover of the book sums it up well: "Although written in autobiographical form, this book is really about God. Regardless of one's theological background, any believer can read with great edification this hymn to God's grace in Christ."

And that is the significant difference in this contribution to Christian biography: Dr. Godfrey drives the reader back to God, His Word, and His truth and how blessed we are to live in the comfort of that truth. What a great gift to the church both Dr. Godfrey and this book are.