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emphasis on knowing God from the heart, and his openness to an unmediated, "mystical"
experience of God can be very helpful in minimizing the danger of an over-emphasis on the
cognitive and the intellectual in Reformed spirituality.
And finally, Reformed sanctification as it is practiced has all too often become
overly individualistic. Though Reformed thinkers can identify the fellowship of the church as a
means of grace in the process of sanctification,
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most commonly Reformed groups tend to be
individualistic. The responsibility for my sanctification, insofar as human effort is called for, is
mine both in being transformed through the renewing of my mind (Rom 12:2) and in the
mortification of sin (Rom 8:13). But the corporate dimension of spiritual renewal is often under-
emphasized. Small groups become first and foremost (and sometimes only) Bible studies,
valuable for learning, discussing and applying biblical truth, but not communities of believers
seeking to foster the kind of mutual encouragement, exhortation, burden-bearing and spiritual
friendship that leads to holistic spiritual transformation. Reformed pastors tend to see
themselves first and foremost as preachers and teachers of Gods truth in Scripture, and the care
of souls that leads to the sanctification and spiritual formation of the flock is far down on the
priority list. Now to be fair, both the Kewsick and the Wesleyan models can also be quite
individualistic. The nature of the crisis experiences central to sanctification in these two models
truth alone is not sufficient to form and nourish the Christian soul. What the inner man longs for
is knowledge of God that comes from encountering, grappling with, participating with God in all
levels of human experience mind, body, and spirit." [BD, 52 emphasis original.]
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E.g. Sinclair Ferguson, "The Reformed View," in Christian Spirituality, 72-73.