Welcome to Mortification of Spin, a casual conversation about things that count.

With Carl Truman, Todd Pruitt, and Amy Bird, Mortification of Spin is a weekly podcast from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

Let's join this week's conversation. Well, thanks for joining us today.

My name is Todd Pruitt, and I'm joined as always by Carl Truman and Amy Bird, and we're so glad that you took time to listen to us.

One of the things that caught our attention as we were wondering about what to talk with you all about today was a little blurb in a post by Tim Chalys, where he talked about trends, themes, challenges for reformed folks coming into this year. And of the three things he lists,

one of them is, quote, the growth of charismatic practice. And he writes this. In 2018,

Reformed Christians who hold to charismatic theology will increase their distinctly charismatic

practices.

Traditionally, Reformed theology has been cessationist,

teaching that though God can and does perform miracles in today's world,

the miraculous sign gifts such as prophecy, healing, and speaking in tongues are no longer operational.

Yet modern day Calvinism has long been marked by ministries and leaders who insist those gifts remain operational.

A majority or large majority of new Calvinists consider themselves, quote, open and cautious, believing the gifts are operative.

These people want to practice those gifts, yet avoid the excesses of the wider charismatic movement, end quote.

All right.

So, Carl and Amy, this is interesting to me because I identify with so much of what he's

writing.

I followed a similar path that so many

reform folks do. I was Baptist, of course, you know, not charismatic, but you also don't want to put

God in a box. And one of the things I had to wrestle with in grappling with reformed theology

and historic confessionalism was how is I going to understand the so-called sign gifts or the

miraculous gifts or the apostolic gifts? And having arrived at my position of cessationism,

...