Kevin DeYoung has asked whether the RR will fly in GR. George Barna, however, suggests that, statistically, the RR isn’t flying at all. Indeed, there is no RR. Darryl Hart explains. If it turns out that there was more noise than actual, statistical substance to the RR phenomenon, then what does one make of all the noise and hoopla? Two thoughts come to mind:

1) The re-emergence of predestinarians among Southern Baptists may account for a good bit of the noise. It’s probably true that, prior to the reformation at Southern Seminary, Southern Baptists with predestinarian convictions where supposed to be seen but not heard. Their re-emergence probably created resistance and friction makes noise.

2) The visibility of the RR phenomenon may be not unlike the “First Great Awakening” itself. Some historians have made credible arguments to the effect that there was more noise than statistical substance to the 1GA. It’s worth considering.

The director of the study, David Kinnaman says,

there is no discernable evidence from this research that there is a Reformed shift among U.S. congregation leaders over the last decade. Whatever momentum surrounds Reformed churches and the related leaders, events and associations has not gone much outside traditional boundaries or affected the allegiances of most of today’s church leaders. It is important to note that the influence of Reformed churches might also be measured through other metrics that are currently unavailable, such as the theological certainty of self-described adherents, their level of acceptance toward those who are not Calvinist, and the new methods Reformed leaders are using to market their views to their peers and to the public