There’s been a lot of discussion in the last year (and the last week) of what it means to be winsomely reformed. And, sadly, the loudest voices have been undeniably against the idea of being winsome. It has been critiqued as wishy-washy, a failed cultural strategy, or as an expression of weakness rather than strength.
While this is certainly an important conversation for any evangelical right now, it is particularly relevant for Reformed Theological Seminary because we have historically emphasized the importance of being winsomely Reformed.
Indeed, I can still remember that I was asked about this issue in my original faculty interview, back in 2001. The concern was not just that we hold firmly to historic Reformed theology, but that we do so with a posture of grace, warmth, and respect—especially with those we disagree with. It was clear to me at the time that this value extended back to the earliest days of the seminary.
So, whatever one might say about the desire that we be winsomely Reformed, I don’t think it can be chalked up to recent cultural pressures. RTS, at least, was concerned about this back in the 80’s and 90’s (and before)—long before social media, Trump, and recent divisions in evangelicalism.
So, I thought it might be helpful to lay out what it means to be winsomely Reformed, and why that matters.