In the summer of 2021, the evangelical world discussed the “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.” Embedded in that narrative was a reference to John Piper’s famous “seashells” sermon. Many of us who came to Calvinism during that time remember this sermon. The message was that people should not waste their lives on hobbies like collecting seashells.  Rather, they should invest their time in missions or something equally radical and dangerous.  The discussion reminded many of us that the Reformed faith was more than just Calvinism. It is also a specific way of viewing the Christian life. The proper response to a message like that, as one Reformed author pointed out, is not how radical I can be for Jesus, but what God in Christ has done for me.

Matthew Redmond wrote God of the Mundane amid the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” (YRR) phenomenon.¹ He does not address YRR in this text, but one can reasonably surmise it was in the background. This book is in the vein of, though in many ways quite different from, Michael Horton’s Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical World.²

In terms of Reformed theology, piety, and practice, this book addresses practice. Unfortunately, it does not directly anchor the otherwise good practices in Reformed theology.  Moreover, it is light on the actual praxis of the Reformed life: the nurturing fellowship of the church and sacraments. It does make many good points, to be sure, but these omissions prevent Redmond from making an even stronger case for a Reformed praxis.

The book is structured around fifteen chapters. He addresses everything from “The Question of the Mundane” to “Be Nobody Special.” Each chapter is three to four pages long and has at least one personal anecdote. Each chapter is a variation on the theme that “quiet is okay” and “the Christian life sometimes can be boring.”

Redmond’s thesis is that God does not need us to do something radical.³ In fact, he notes, “the Apostles are writing to normal people.”⁴ This message should give hope to the harried mother who is busy changing diapers or to the man stuck in what he feels is a dead-end job.  The laity do not need to be told to be radical at their jobs.⁵ Redmond concludes this section by asking a very pointed question: “If all Christians are missionaries how come plumbers never speak at missions conferences?”⁶

Redmond’s answer is Jesus’ kingdom. Our lives as Christians take on fuller meaning because we are now in the kingdom, and this kingdom orientation “changes everything.”⁷ We can enjoy and appreciate the mundane moments because of this. In other words, God has already provided the normal Christian life with what it needs.  We do not have to seek for spiritual ecstasy.  As R. Scott Clark has regularly urged, we do not have to go on a “Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience.”

This is not the only book on the mundane. Michael Horton has contributed as well, although Redmond’s book came out two years earlier. Horton’s book focuses more on God’s story, particularly covenant theology. Redmond’s book is more basic than that.  His goal is to free Christians from “the myth of an easy life.”⁸Redmond tempers our expectations with realism, especially concerning the effects of the Fall. He concludes this section of the book with an email correspondence to a young mother with four children. The mother is realistic about her struggles yet exudes a real joy. She does not need to go on a radical mission trip, nor is she deluded about an easy Christian life.

Analysis

Redmond’s main thesis—God does not need our life to be radical—is sound.  In fact, he does break new ground, at least regarding one definition.  Redmond notes that, “the category of ‘mundane’ only exists in relation to other categories.”⁹ For the American evangelical, there is the “extraordinary” category and the “ordinary” category.  When well-meaning pastors call us to live extraordinary and radical lives, this usually turns out to be a call to inhabit other people’s stories.  What we need is to orient ourselves to God’s story.

Redmond recaps God’s story with the creation narrative (Genesis 1–2), noting the ordinary stewardship of Adam and Eve.¹⁰ To be sure, our own labors do not exactly match those of Adam and Eve.  Their stewardship was pre-Fall; ours is not.  Being created in the image of God, we still have a steward-like role in the world. Unfortunately, this is where Redmond’s main thesis does not deliver on the minor points.  He began with a very strong point, urging us to find our story in God’s story, but he does not flesh out God’s story.  Presumably, he might think we know what that story is.  Whereas other authors on this topic explain our role in God’s story by discussing his prior action of establishing covenants with his people, Redmond’s analysis stops short.

He mentions that the kingdom changes our story and adds meaning to mundane actions.  That is true.  He never expands, however, on just why that would be exciting.  What he could have said is that we, as pilgrims in a dark land, inhabit an ancient story filled with prophets and kings.  We look forward to the King’s return.  When we languish from our journey, this King seals his promises to us by giving us bread to eat and wine to drink.

This illustrates that the Reformed life does not simply make a promise to give value to the mundane.  It does do that, to be sure.  Rather, it does that by the story of covenants. This covenant theology would then allow Redmond to discuss the sacraments. He does not do any of that, and the book is weaker for it. To anchor this Reformed view of praxis, we needed a discussion of the Reformed covenant theology.

Even though he makes good points on the Christian’s vocation, I do not think he draws the correct conclusions. For example, he says our common labors “push back” against sin in the world.¹¹ He is correct in using the category of “common” in the Christian life.  Common does not mean bad or neutral.  It means distinct from the church. What is not clear, though, is how our common labors push back against the sin in the world. He does not quote Scripture on this point.  Moreover, such a view undermines the very commonness of our labors. Being a good plumber, for example, is simply that.  It does not need to push back against the sin in the world.

Conclusion

In the book’s most beneficial section, Redmond urges us to find the value in living quietly, noting that quiet is as much about tone as it is volume.¹² Its conversational style and short length (72 pages) make it ideal for giving away to friends who have questions about God’s will or a healthy approach to sanctification. In comparison with Horton’s longer volume on the same topic, it lacks some theological depth. On the other hand, the book is a good introduction to Reformed praxis for those coming from American evangelicalism.

©Jacob Aitken. All Rights Reserved.

Redmond, Matthew B.  The God of the Mundane: Reflections on Ordinary Life for Ordinary People. San Francisco: Kalos, 2012.

Endnotes

¹ Collin Hansen, Young, Restless, and Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinist, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).

² Michael Horton, Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical World, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014).

³ Matthew B. Redmond, The God of the Mundane: Reflections on Ordinary Life for Ordinary People, (San Francisco: Kalos, 2012), 7.

⁴ Ibid, 16.

⁵ Ibid, 30.

⁶ Ibid, 33.

⁷ Ibid, 50.

⁸ Ibid, 53.

⁹ Ibid, 24.

¹⁰ Ibid, 25.

¹¹ Ibid, 29.

¹² Ibid, 36-37.

Resources

• Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button
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• The Heidelblog Resource Page
• Heidelmedia Resources
• The Ecumenical Creeds
• The Reformed Confessions
• The Heidelberg Catechism
• Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008)
• Piper’s Sea Shell Sermon Illustrates How Far The YRR Movement Was From The Reformation
• Resources On The Young, Restless, And Reformed and New Calvinism Movements
• Office Hours: Horton On The Ordinary As An Alternative For Young, Restless, Radical Christianity
• Resources On The Nature/Grace And Sacred/Secular Distinctions