I believe Reformed Christians may be more willing than ever to take a closer look at our evangelism to ask why it is that other movements, especially Pentecostalism, seem so much better at drawing unbelievers. And, of course, there will be many surprises along the way as issues arise within and outside the church.

For good or for ill, 2017 is in the rear view mirror and a new year is upon us. As we set out into 2018, I find myself pondering some of the issues that may be especially pertinent to Reformed Christians in the year ahead. I am no prophet (see number three below), but do keep my ear to the ground, and am willing to predict a number of issues that I think will prove prominent.

So, here are three themes I predict will prove important for Reformed Christians in 2018.

Further Defining Complementarianism

In 2018, Reformed Christians will further define complementarianism. Complementarianism is, of course, the view that God created men and women to be complementary in both form and function. In this view, God calls men, rather than women, to take leadership roles within the home and church. This theology has been associated with this Reformed resurgence from the outset, but was initially assumed to be complete, a kind of fait accompli as defined in John Piper and Wayne Grudem’s tome Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. But it’s not so simple.

In the past few years we have witnessed many challenges to Piper and Grudem’s understanding and application of the doctrine. Some challenges have come from people who deny the core principles of complementarianism, but many more have come from people who affirm them. Some wish to nuance certain emphases while others wish to massively expand its boundaries to include, for example, women who preach as long as they do so under the authority of male leadership. This year will bring discussion, clarity and, unless we are patient and charitable, potential splintering.

• Questions: What are the boundaries of complementarianism or the core beliefs and practices that must be held to wear the label? Does complementarianism apply only to the home and church or does it have much wider applicability? And, returning to a debate not yet solved, what do we do with the doctrine of the eternal subordination of the Son and its application to complementarianism?

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