Did you catch Time magazine’s latest list: "10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now"? Four are predictably connected to the flagging economy. One is about ecology. One is about health. Two about world markets. One about society’s obsession with anti-aging. And one about "New Calvinism." As odd as anything can seem in such an eclectic list, this nod to Protestant theology seems just that—odd.

An acquaintance of mine pointed me to Time’s recent list just after I had written about church worship and the drivers behind recent trends. So it struck me that Time saw one of the same ideas propelling today’s evangelical worship that I saw—theology.

"If you really want to follow the development of conservative Christianity, track its musical hits," writes David Van Biema. "In the early 1900s you might have heard ‘The Old Rugged Cross,’ a celebration of the atonement. By the 1980s you could have shared the Jesus-is-my-buddy intimacy of ‘Shine, Jesus, Shine.’ And today, more and more top songs feature a God who is very big, while we are...well, hark the David Crowder Band: ‘I am full of earth/ You are heaven's worth/ I am stained with dirt/ Prone to depravity.’"

Obviously this is simplistic. It’s a top 10 list. Readers love those. Theologians—well they like things in more complex forms, such as Luther's 95 theses and so on. Still, Van Biema’s point is valid I think.

"Calvinism is back," he says, "and not just musically."

Appeal of predestination

What is appealing about this five-centuries-old idea that hits some people in the shins with predestination? Maybe it’s the T-shirts. (Don't click on that link unless you are ready to chuckle.) More likely, and what Van Biema alludes to, is the surrounding doctrine that comes with it—that God is in control of everything and that we are fulfilled in our purpose by glorifying God. Even more specifically I think the appeal is to the statistically significant group of people who desire more theological depth out of their church, their faith and the teaching they get.

Church Central has published this idea repeatedly. Here is one article from Thom Rainer’s research that illustrates the reality that the unchurched want more than soft-sell Christianity. Of course, that may not necessarily equate to Calvinism. But somewhere along the course of deepening disciples, the predestined elephant in the room is bound to come up. Rather than fearing complex or potentially divisive theological ideas, evangelicals would do well to face them, converse about them and study them.

I heard a Christian radio caller this morning pose another complicated theological question that would be better answered in a church, a small group, a Bible study—anything really. However, here it was lofted into the air waves—the age old conundrum of why and how a good God can let bad things happen to people he loves.

These are difficult discussions. But they are the places people ultimately go to on the faith trail. Addressing these questions with solid teaching is a key component of a healthy church. It may well be the enduring appeal of the church.