From Generously Reformed, Chapter 1: A Reformed Theology Primer: Misconceptions and Realities

For the Reformed, contextual flexibility in confessional traditions, worship, and polity is not a crass pragmatism. The valuing of particular peoples and regions with their history and culture emerges from a set of theological convictions about creation, the Spirit, and the church. The Spirit, who moves in the whole of creation, works differently among those with different histories and cultures, even as they share the main substance of their Reformed and catholic faith. The Reformed enthusiastically affirm that worship is central to the Christian life and the church. The gathered congregation is framed as imperative in the Reformed confessions, to worship the triune God, pray, sing, preach, and celebrate the sacraments. In the words of the Belgic Confession, believers are “obliged to join [the church] and unite with it, keeping the unity of the church by submitting to its instruction and discipline, by bending their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ, and by serving to build up one another, according to the gifts God has given them as members of each other in the same body.” Participation in the life, worship, and structures of the church (which guide discipleship and discipline) is seen as vitally important.

Thus, when it comes to worship and polity, Reformed Christians seek to value the distinctive gifts within different contexts by narrowing the qualifications of what is required to be a sister church in the Reformed tradition. This narrowing is not meant to set limits on who is in or out of the communion; narrowing requirements is actually a widening that recognizes the vast range of variety in worship styles and practices, organizational structures, and polity. None of these ways of functioning determine whether or not a church or a fellowship of churches is considered Reformed, for Reformed is a designation based on the theological confession of the church. The Reformed confessions, as we refer to them in this book, usually consist of a general doctrinal statement (such as the Scots, Belgic, French, Second Helvetic, or Westminster confessions) and a catechism (such as the Heidelberg, Genevan, Anglican, or Westminster Shorter and Longer catechisms). These are the “standards” that are shared among church leaders. While the exact content of these doctrinal and pedagogical statements varies according to the region, history, and context, they share a great deal of commonality in their Reformed theology.

Admittedly, the terms flexible and contextual may not be the first that come to mind for some readers when they hear the phrase Reformed theology. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, many people in the West developed their impressions of the Reformed tradition from celebrity preachers. Search engines, friends, and neighbors are likely to name one or more well-known preachers as representative of Reformed theology. Sadly, this hides the deeper wisdom of the transgenerational Reformed tradition, with its contextual flexibility on the points we have been describing.

I recall conversations where questions were raised about the Reformed approach to women in ordained ministry or a complementarian account of family, which holds a particular view of gender roles and male “headship” in the family. Answers seemed to be ready at hand. A celebrity preacher who was outspoken on these topics would be brought up, and the conversation partners would deduce, “He is Reformed, he has this view on gender roles, thus his view is the Reformed view.” This may seem logical, according to current ways of thinking. Many churches and interdenominational ministries describe their position on these topics. So what is the Reformed view?

The question itself (and the impulse to find the answer through a representative pastor) is deeply problematic. With a Reformed way of inhabiting tradition, no individual, whether theologian or celebrity preacher, can decide what Reformed theology teaches. Sources of authority (beneath Scripture) are shared communally in confessions and catechisms. A search through historic Reformed confessions and catechisms shows that there is no Reformed confessional position on these topics. These documents seek to portray and communicate historic Christian theology in a Reformed way. They do not focus on presenting a singular model for church governance, or a shared understanding of gender in relation to the family. Churches and denominations in the Reformed tradition are welcome to develop policies that relate to gender in church governance. However, differences along that line cannot, by definition, define whether one is Reformed theologically, but only whether one conforms to one particular polity or another.

We think that, overall, this flexibility is an asset of the Reformed theological tradition, though at times this ambiguity has led to fierce infighting among Reformed communities about modes of worship and polity. In addition, in an age of digital media and communication, this flexibility can often lead to misunderstanding and confusion, even from well-known preachers and teachers who are known for giving expositions of Reformed theology.

Content taken from Generously Reformed by J. Todd Billings, Suzanne McDonald and Alberto La Rosa Rojas, ©2026. Used by permission of Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group.