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Generously Reformed: Theology Rooted Deep and Reaching Wide
Generously Reformed offers a fresh, centrist vision of the Reformed tradition--moving beyond slogans and caricatures to reveal a theology that is historically grounded, globally engaged, and full of hope. Like a tree with deep roots and wide branches, Reformed theology is portrayed as both firmly anchored in Scripture and the catholic tradition while dynamically reaching out in witness, service, and friendship.
Ideal for church leaders, students, and those curious about the Reformed tradition, this volume corrects distortions, explores the tradition's breadth, and invites readers into a posture of joyful discipleship. Rather than offering defensive debates, Generously Reformed fosters a theological journey centered on the Triune God's redemptive story, equipping readers to inhabit the Reformed tradition with clarity and grace.
Readers will find a generous and substantial vision of a tradition deeply rooted in God's word and work, shaped by ancient wisdom, and alive with hope for today.
Ideal for church leaders, students, and those curious about the Reformed tradition, this volume corrects distortions, explores the tradition's breadth, and invites readers into a posture of joyful discipleship. Rather than offering defensive debates, Generously Reformed fosters a theological journey centered on the Triune God's redemptive story, equipping readers to inhabit the Reformed tradition with clarity and grace.
Readers will find a generous and substantial vision of a tradition deeply rooted in God's word and work, shaped by ancient wisdom, and alive with hope for today.
216 pages, Paperback
Published February 10, 2026
About the author
J. Todd Billings
13 books51 followersJ. Todd Billings is the Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan (Th.D. Harvard). His first book, Calvin, Participation, and the Gift, won a 2009 Templeton Award for Theological Promise, and his third book, Union with Christ, won a 2012 Christianity Today Book Award. His book Rejoicing in Lament (2015) offers a theological reflection on providence and lament in light of his 2012 cancer diagnosis. His later work, The End of the Christian Life, explores how authentic discipleship involves embracing our mortal limits. He is also co-author of Generously Reformed: Theology Rooted Deep and Reaching Wide (2026).
He is married to Rachel M. Billings, an Old Testament scholar (Ph.D., Harvard). They have a lively household with two children and a very opinionated cat.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 23, 2026
Sometimes you *can* judge a book by its cover. This is a delightful and generous introduction to Reformed Christianity.
It begins by addressing common misconceptions of the Reformed tradition but it also does not shy away from addressing some of the tradition's missteps. Each subsequent chapter explores a major Reformed teaching and draws out its pastoral and practical implications.
It is wise and worshipful — as theology should be. Quoting Herman Bavinck, "Mystery is the lifeblood of Christian theology" (20).
Suzanne McDonald
It begins by addressing common misconceptions of the Reformed tradition but it also does not shy away from addressing some of the tradition's missteps. Each subsequent chapter explores a major Reformed teaching and draws out its pastoral and practical implications.
It is wise and worshipful — as theology should be. Quoting Herman Bavinck, "Mystery is the lifeblood of Christian theology" (20).
Suzanne McDonald
February 11, 2026
Unless you’re a Reformed Christian, everything you probably think you know about Reformed theology is either misconstrued, inaccurate, or absolutely wrong. That’s what I learned as I read this book. Once again, I found myself convicted my assumptions about a religious tradition that originated in persons, cultures and communities rather than what the tradition actually confesses. Worth a read.
October 1, 2026
At the time of writing this review, I've held to some form of Reformed theology for about 25 years. I've morphed and oscillated in and out of various aspects, but I've always had affinities with most of the main tenets. I think of myself more as an ecumenist than anything else, but Reformed understandings of God's sovereignty, union with Christ, and covenantalism form the substructures of a lot of my thinking. As a person who is both somewhat formed by Reformed theology and also ecumenically minded, a book called "Generously Reformed" should have been right up my alley.
In some ways, it was. I appreciated the focus on justice and the restraint showed in the chapter on eschatology. The authors often did a great job of showing where even Reformed folks often misunderstand the basic tenets of their own tradition. I certainly liked parts of the book.
However, I had a lot of issues:
1. I was not always sure about the goal of the book. Was it: a) to offer a basic introduction to Reformed theology; b) to appeal to Reformed folks to be more generous and ecumenical about their approach to their own tradition; or c) to appeal to non-Reformed folks to be more generous towards Reformed folks in their understanding of the Reformed tradition? Or, was the goal some combination of these?
I see some reviews on Goodreads that refer to this as "an introduction to Reformed theology," but it's too selective to be that. Despite the confusion (created, in my view, by the authors), I think we can rule out "a." Depending on which chapter I'm reading, the goal could be either "b" or "c." The introduction states that the goal is to "answer common questions" and "correct misunderstandings," and this accounts for the seemingly random choice of chapter-topics, but I wasn't always sure to whom the authors were appealing.
2. In the introduction, the authors appear to suggest that the best way to relate to the historic Christian tradition is to relate to one of the "older" traditions. This seems a remarkable lack of self-awareness of the relatively recent (by historical standards) creation of Protestantism and Reformed traditions. Why can't a new tradition of, say, ecumenism develop as a reaction against sectarian tendencies in Christianity by incorporating wonderful aspects of seemingly divergent traditions? Why "must" Christians choose from one of the available traditions, especially when we consider that what eventually became Protestantism was exactly a "new thing" comparable to the Roman Catholic tradition from which it evolved and diverged? The logic of this was never explored. In fact, on page xxii the authors even state plainly that existing outside of one of the current historic traditions functionally places "the self" at the center - in other words, it's a choice motivated by arrogance or selfishness. This is a false choice and exceptionally manipulative reasoning. On the next page the authors state that to opt out of one of the current historic traditions is to "stand on the sidelines." Again, this is a false choice and extremely manipulative. One can absolutely envision a new way forward while being faithful to Scripture and active for the good of the gospel.
3. On page 28, the authors refer to seeker-sensitive, attractional, and new-monastic communities as "trendy programs" that lack "transcendence" (whatever that means). I found this to be a mean-spirited characterization and deeply unhelpful generalization of these approaches.
4. I found the use of Scripture and biblical terminology to be often inadequate. For example, in the baptism chapter, the authors refer to infant baptism as an "adoption into the family of God." They clarify that baptism does not save, but fail to note that "adoption" terminology is used in the Bible only by Paul, and only in three places, and he ALWAYS uses it to refer to salvation. Adoption comes with the reception of the Spirit and full resurrection life. This same problem exists when they use Scripture in the baptism chapter. They utilize passages like Rom 6 and Col 2, which relate baptism to full salvation.
I'm not saying that the authors are wrong about infant baptism. Their arguments about the Roman household codes and family baptisms in Acts are well made. But, the use of Scripture was often lazy and did not take well enough into account the literary and historical contexts of various passages. There were other examples, such as that on page 65 where the authors suggest that the "little children" blessed by Jesus as models of kingdom citizenship "are incapable of expressing faith" and that this somehow serves as evidence for infant baptism. In my view the point of those passages is precisely that those children can express faith in a model way, not that they cannot express it at all. On page 82 they use Deut 7 and Rom 9 to make arguments about election that seem to include and relate to individual salvation, but they fail to note the persuasive (and probably correct) arguments by many scholars that both of those passages refer to the election of "a people" and not "persons" (Israel in the case of Deut, and the inclusion of gentiles in the case of Romans).
5. On page 63, the authors argue that baptism should be done in front of a congregation. However, this contradicts their own earlier uses of the culture of the household at that time as an argument in favor of baptizing infants as members of households. In the first-century Jewish and Roman culture, there is no reason to assume that many (most?) baptisms were not done within the household. Some baptisms might have been done with a wider house-church present, but there is no reason given in Scripture that a baptism cannot be a private family affair done within the household family or wider household unit (which included some servants, slaves, and extended family in some households). That it should only be done in front of a congregation says more about the need to ordain and control all aspects of believers' lives than it does an express conclusion drawn from Christian witness. This is further indicated on page 70 where the authors state that baptisms should be done by someone who is "authorized." Authorized by whom and by what standard? We have every reason to assume that (non-"ordained") fathers often baptized their own children in their own homes with none present other than the household unit, the extent of which was largely dependent on class and wealth.
6. On page 67 the authors argue that those who hold to believers' baptism hold to a baptism that ratifies the work of the individual rather than the work of God. This is a wildly unfair characterization and should pass past the eyes of someone who holds to believers' baptism before being printed. A more generous approach would understand how deeply this claim would be disputed by those who hold to believers' baptism. On page 68 it also looks like the authors reject the notion that Reformed Baptists are "really" Reformed, but the conclusions on that page are wishy washy and I wasn't sure if that's how far they were taking it.
7. I found many of their explanations to be strained. Especially in the chapter on soteriology, they used the typical Reformed oxymorons that always fail to convince (such as "captive free-will"). Many of their definitions were hair-splitting, such as their distinctions between the "sufficiency" and "efficiency" of the atonement. The result is the same whether you separate these or not. In the end, they never get around in that chapter to answering the most vital question of all: whether a person can reject the effectual call of the Spirit. I found similar incoherencies in their chapter in God's providence, but you get the idea.
8. One of my biggest issues was the lack of methodology for defining the gospel in the chapter on mission. The author defines his version of the gospel, does not define the methods for describing the gospel the way he does, and entirely ignores the places in Scripture where the actual terminology of "gospel/good news" is used. On page 131 the author, almost by accident, refers to the "gospel of the kingdom of God," probably because this is such a common refrain by Jesus, but the kingdom does not meaningfully factor into the author's definition of the gospel.
This is one of my longer reviews, and is more critical than I'd like, but I really struggled as I read through this book. I applaud the authors for their aim to offer a "more generous" vision of Reformed theology, and sometimes, when they correct TULIP or discuss eschatology, they offer a compelling ecumenical vision. At other times the authors unfairly characterize other traditions (such as new-monasticism and the Reformed Baptists), therefore sacrificing their own generosity.
In some ways, it was. I appreciated the focus on justice and the restraint showed in the chapter on eschatology. The authors often did a great job of showing where even Reformed folks often misunderstand the basic tenets of their own tradition. I certainly liked parts of the book.
However, I had a lot of issues:
1. I was not always sure about the goal of the book. Was it: a) to offer a basic introduction to Reformed theology; b) to appeal to Reformed folks to be more generous and ecumenical about their approach to their own tradition; or c) to appeal to non-Reformed folks to be more generous towards Reformed folks in their understanding of the Reformed tradition? Or, was the goal some combination of these?
I see some reviews on Goodreads that refer to this as "an introduction to Reformed theology," but it's too selective to be that. Despite the confusion (created, in my view, by the authors), I think we can rule out "a." Depending on which chapter I'm reading, the goal could be either "b" or "c." The introduction states that the goal is to "answer common questions" and "correct misunderstandings," and this accounts for the seemingly random choice of chapter-topics, but I wasn't always sure to whom the authors were appealing.
2. In the introduction, the authors appear to suggest that the best way to relate to the historic Christian tradition is to relate to one of the "older" traditions. This seems a remarkable lack of self-awareness of the relatively recent (by historical standards) creation of Protestantism and Reformed traditions. Why can't a new tradition of, say, ecumenism develop as a reaction against sectarian tendencies in Christianity by incorporating wonderful aspects of seemingly divergent traditions? Why "must" Christians choose from one of the available traditions, especially when we consider that what eventually became Protestantism was exactly a "new thing" comparable to the Roman Catholic tradition from which it evolved and diverged? The logic of this was never explored. In fact, on page xxii the authors even state plainly that existing outside of one of the current historic traditions functionally places "the self" at the center - in other words, it's a choice motivated by arrogance or selfishness. This is a false choice and exceptionally manipulative reasoning. On the next page the authors state that to opt out of one of the current historic traditions is to "stand on the sidelines." Again, this is a false choice and extremely manipulative. One can absolutely envision a new way forward while being faithful to Scripture and active for the good of the gospel.
3. On page 28, the authors refer to seeker-sensitive, attractional, and new-monastic communities as "trendy programs" that lack "transcendence" (whatever that means). I found this to be a mean-spirited characterization and deeply unhelpful generalization of these approaches.
4. I found the use of Scripture and biblical terminology to be often inadequate. For example, in the baptism chapter, the authors refer to infant baptism as an "adoption into the family of God." They clarify that baptism does not save, but fail to note that "adoption" terminology is used in the Bible only by Paul, and only in three places, and he ALWAYS uses it to refer to salvation. Adoption comes with the reception of the Spirit and full resurrection life. This same problem exists when they use Scripture in the baptism chapter. They utilize passages like Rom 6 and Col 2, which relate baptism to full salvation.
I'm not saying that the authors are wrong about infant baptism. Their arguments about the Roman household codes and family baptisms in Acts are well made. But, the use of Scripture was often lazy and did not take well enough into account the literary and historical contexts of various passages. There were other examples, such as that on page 65 where the authors suggest that the "little children" blessed by Jesus as models of kingdom citizenship "are incapable of expressing faith" and that this somehow serves as evidence for infant baptism. In my view the point of those passages is precisely that those children can express faith in a model way, not that they cannot express it at all. On page 82 they use Deut 7 and Rom 9 to make arguments about election that seem to include and relate to individual salvation, but they fail to note the persuasive (and probably correct) arguments by many scholars that both of those passages refer to the election of "a people" and not "persons" (Israel in the case of Deut, and the inclusion of gentiles in the case of Romans).
5. On page 63, the authors argue that baptism should be done in front of a congregation. However, this contradicts their own earlier uses of the culture of the household at that time as an argument in favor of baptizing infants as members of households. In the first-century Jewish and Roman culture, there is no reason to assume that many (most?) baptisms were not done within the household. Some baptisms might have been done with a wider house-church present, but there is no reason given in Scripture that a baptism cannot be a private family affair done within the household family or wider household unit (which included some servants, slaves, and extended family in some households). That it should only be done in front of a congregation says more about the need to ordain and control all aspects of believers' lives than it does an express conclusion drawn from Christian witness. This is further indicated on page 70 where the authors state that baptisms should be done by someone who is "authorized." Authorized by whom and by what standard? We have every reason to assume that (non-"ordained") fathers often baptized their own children in their own homes with none present other than the household unit, the extent of which was largely dependent on class and wealth.
6. On page 67 the authors argue that those who hold to believers' baptism hold to a baptism that ratifies the work of the individual rather than the work of God. This is a wildly unfair characterization and should pass past the eyes of someone who holds to believers' baptism before being printed. A more generous approach would understand how deeply this claim would be disputed by those who hold to believers' baptism. On page 68 it also looks like the authors reject the notion that Reformed Baptists are "really" Reformed, but the conclusions on that page are wishy washy and I wasn't sure if that's how far they were taking it.
7. I found many of their explanations to be strained. Especially in the chapter on soteriology, they used the typical Reformed oxymorons that always fail to convince (such as "captive free-will"). Many of their definitions were hair-splitting, such as their distinctions between the "sufficiency" and "efficiency" of the atonement. The result is the same whether you separate these or not. In the end, they never get around in that chapter to answering the most vital question of all: whether a person can reject the effectual call of the Spirit. I found similar incoherencies in their chapter in God's providence, but you get the idea.
8. One of my biggest issues was the lack of methodology for defining the gospel in the chapter on mission. The author defines his version of the gospel, does not define the methods for describing the gospel the way he does, and entirely ignores the places in Scripture where the actual terminology of "gospel/good news" is used. On page 131 the author, almost by accident, refers to the "gospel of the kingdom of God," probably because this is such a common refrain by Jesus, but the kingdom does not meaningfully factor into the author's definition of the gospel.
This is one of my longer reviews, and is more critical than I'd like, but I really struggled as I read through this book. I applaud the authors for their aim to offer a "more generous" vision of Reformed theology, and sometimes, when they correct TULIP or discuss eschatology, they offer a compelling ecumenical vision. At other times the authors unfairly characterize other traditions (such as new-monasticism and the Reformed Baptists), therefore sacrificing their own generosity.
March 2, 2026
Baptist outside appreciator
I'm a Baptist (ABC-USA), and an outside appreciator.
This book is an accessible introduction for an audience familiar with the basics. If you've read, say, Justo Gonzalez's introduction to Christian History (or are familiar with the basic names and movements of the Protestant Reformation), you will follow this book very easily.
I appreciated the irenic argument. And for the most part, I think the authors defended infant baptism while generally understanding the historic and biblical arguments against it. I was not ultimately persuaded, but I did appreciate the chapter.
The best part of the book was explaining the Reformed tradition's emphasis on election and Providence. The chapter responding to David Bentley Hart was especially good. Your head may spin with talk of primary and secondary causes, if you're not accustomed to those concepts.
But as someone familiar with Jonathan Edwards, it was fascinating to see how he, and those influenced by him, we're and are different from both Calvin, Dort, and other Reformed thinkers on the topic of the nature of God's decree and whether "things could have been otherwise" when it comes to human action and evil.
I read this book in part because I had read other works by the authors. I found the read engaging and worth my time. If you're interested in Reformed theology beyond the megachurch pastors or more shallow online takes, this book is for you.
I'm a Baptist (ABC-USA), and an outside appreciator.
This book is an accessible introduction for an audience familiar with the basics. If you've read, say, Justo Gonzalez's introduction to Christian History (or are familiar with the basic names and movements of the Protestant Reformation), you will follow this book very easily.
I appreciated the irenic argument. And for the most part, I think the authors defended infant baptism while generally understanding the historic and biblical arguments against it. I was not ultimately persuaded, but I did appreciate the chapter.
The best part of the book was explaining the Reformed tradition's emphasis on election and Providence. The chapter responding to David Bentley Hart was especially good. Your head may spin with talk of primary and secondary causes, if you're not accustomed to those concepts.
But as someone familiar with Jonathan Edwards, it was fascinating to see how he, and those influenced by him, we're and are different from both Calvin, Dort, and other Reformed thinkers on the topic of the nature of God's decree and whether "things could have been otherwise" when it comes to human action and evil.
I read this book in part because I had read other works by the authors. I found the read engaging and worth my time. If you're interested in Reformed theology beyond the megachurch pastors or more shallow online takes, this book is for you.
April 16, 2026
I read this for a book talk by the authors. As an elder in the Presbyterian Church, I was familiar with many of the concepts in this book but I realized that if someone asked me to define reformed theology, I would have a hard time doing so.
I feel better equipped after this book, but it also had its flaws.
The book did a good job of covering many of the basics -- infant baptism, communion, social mission versus conversion, even the end times.
It shared two problems I have seen in other books. Because it was a multi-author book where different authors took different chapters, the quality of the writing varied significantly depending on who the author was. I have also felt for many years that religion books tend to be overwritten and that was the case here as well. The chapter on social mission, for example, kept repeating the same ideas and could easily have been half the length. I think that was true of other chapters as well
Nevertheless, the scholarship is impressive and I particularly liked the portion that dealt with the dual grace of justification (Christ's saving action on the cross) and sanctification (the work of the Holy Spirit in directing our lives to more and more closely follow God's way).
If you come from another faith tradition or have no religious background, I think this is not a bad introduction, although it is obviously written more for insiders than outsiders.
A mixed review, to be sure.
I feel better equipped after this book, but it also had its flaws.
The book did a good job of covering many of the basics -- infant baptism, communion, social mission versus conversion, even the end times.
It shared two problems I have seen in other books. Because it was a multi-author book where different authors took different chapters, the quality of the writing varied significantly depending on who the author was. I have also felt for many years that religion books tend to be overwritten and that was the case here as well. The chapter on social mission, for example, kept repeating the same ideas and could easily have been half the length. I think that was true of other chapters as well
Nevertheless, the scholarship is impressive and I particularly liked the portion that dealt with the dual grace of justification (Christ's saving action on the cross) and sanctification (the work of the Holy Spirit in directing our lives to more and more closely follow God's way).
If you come from another faith tradition or have no religious background, I think this is not a bad introduction, although it is obviously written more for insiders than outsiders.
A mixed review, to be sure.
March 10, 2026
The authors of Generously Reformed have produced a volume that not only explores the roots of Reformed theology, but also shows how there is a lot of misunderstanding about what being Reformed means. Most of the time, our thinking is too narrow, or we have bought into catch phrases that cannot do justice to the breadth and depth of Reformed theology. Their emphasis is always on the triune God and His work in the unfolding of the Covenant of Grace, from Genesis to Revelation.
Though I have been of the Reformed persuasion for many years, and have read a small library of books on the subject, this one is particularly refreshing. It relies on the works of a plethora of Reformed authors and theologians to give a well-rounded overview without leaning too heavily on any one person. In other words, though the writings of John Calvin are helpful, Calvinism ≠ Reformed theology. This book doesn't just propose an adherence to Reformed theology in the abstract. It shows how rightly understanding doctrine should overflow into the generous way we treat others and seek to reach the lost.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Though I have been of the Reformed persuasion for many years, and have read a small library of books on the subject, this one is particularly refreshing. It relies on the works of a plethora of Reformed authors and theologians to give a well-rounded overview without leaning too heavily on any one person. In other words, though the writings of John Calvin are helpful, Calvinism ≠ Reformed theology. This book doesn't just propose an adherence to Reformed theology in the abstract. It shows how rightly understanding doctrine should overflow into the generous way we treat others and seek to reach the lost.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
May 20, 2026
A fine but mixed volume, and this makes sense as the book has multiple authors. The chapter on election is gracious but inaccurate (which is typical of Arminian vs "Reformed" slop), while the chapter on evangelism and social justice is quite satisfying and nicely integrates Calvin's (and Wesley's??) emphasis on justification with sanctification. They cannot be separated, and social justice is an integral part of being a Christian, which Rojas states well. Not a bad place to start; perhaps the goal was to reach a wider or lay audience.
May 10, 2026
Most of all I appreciate the gracious, generous tone that does reach across traditions and times. Secondly the focus on God and his grace and goodness does root the book in deep truth. The authors do a really good job of showing the breath of Reformed theology, beyond TULIP or Calvinism or Covenant theology.
April 29, 2026
Accessible and enlightening overview of Reformed theology.
August 22, 2026
Very well done. I found it helpful.
June 10, 2026
I have been a Reformed Christian for many years and have a good grasp on the what the Reformed faith is. I still appreciated this book as it thoughtfully addressed common misconceptions about Reformed theology in several areas. It was an accessible read for the average Christian. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews