Being “gospel-centered” is in. Today you can find books or blogs on gospel-centered marriages, gospel-centered families, gospel-powered parenting, gospel-centered ministry, gospel-centered discipleship, a gospel-centered life, leading a gospel-driven church. There’s even a publishing house committed to gospel-centered publishing.
This is a beautiful thing, and in my estimation, every one of those resources is to be commended. But the ever-expanding use of the term “gospel-centered” raises a few questions in many minds: What precisely does it mean to be “gospel-centered”? How is this different from what many evangelical churches have focused on before? And perhaps more specifically, is this idea any different than the older, more common expression of being “Christ-centered”?
Philippians 1:27-2:4: A Gospel-Centered Church
“I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please. Not too much—just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted. I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust. I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture. I want ecstasy, not repentance; I want transcendence, not transformation. I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those from different races—especially if they smell. I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged. I would like about three dollars worth of gospel, please.”
– D. A. Carson, Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 12-13.
The sentiment captured in this rather tongue-in-cheek portrait of Christianity sadly describes the approximate value of the gospel for many North American churches and church-goers today. We want a gospel that’s more about us than Jesus. But this is far cry from what Paul is after in the central exhortation of his letter to the Philippians: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27).
Philippians 1:18b-26: Jesus Is Everything
Some games we play for fun; others we play for a prize. If a fun game gets hard, we lose interest pretty quickly, and find something else to do. Other games we stick it out, persevering through pain, trials, and set backs, because the prize is worth it. The Christian life is not a game, but it still requires a clear goal and compelling motivation if we are to finish well. According to Paul’s testimony in Philippians 1:18b-26, Jesus is both the goal and the motivation, and anything else will result in serious disappointment.
The Price of Global Missions
This Sunday concludes Westgate Church’s fall missions conference. I’ve heard this quote several times, and each time I am struck by how selfish I am and how small my value for God is.
Here is what Adoniram Judson, missionary to Burma in the 1800’s, wrote to the father of the woman he loved and wanted to marry as he was preparing to leave for the mission field:
An Unfinished Mission
This Sunday launches Westgate Church’s annual Missions Conference (Oct. 16-23). One of the many things that excited me about coming to Westgate last spring was its strong emphasis on global missions. I’m so thankful for the men and women who are laying their lives down for the gospel in cross-cultural contexts. You can find out more about the conference and all that will be going on here.
As we give focused attention to missions over the next couple weeks, I want to share an excerpt from John Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad, which has done more than any other book to fuel my desire to see God’s Church passionately engaged in missions. There lies before us an unfinished task, and what’s at stake is nothing less than the glory of God.
Philippians 1:12-18a: Is Our Striving Losing?
Nobody likes to lose. From the tears of disappointed fans on the sideline, to the awkward consolation prize on the game show, to the child who dumps the board game at the sign of imminent defeat, no one likes coming up short in competition. The sentiment is obvious, if not universal: losing = bad, winning = good.
But what happens when we lose in our efforts to advance the gospel? What happens when our words are dismissed as irrelevant or goofy, or our ministries are sabotaged through political motions or slander campaigns? What happens when we find hardened opposition instead of eager reception? Are we losing the battle? To frame it with the words of Luther’s great hymn: Is our striving losing? This is the question Paul wrestles with in Philippians 1:12-18.
Thinking Like a Church Plant
Next week I’ll be attending the Plant New England conference in Boston, cosponsored by several different ministries: The Gospel Coalition, NETS, 9Marks, and Sovereign Grace. Though I’m not a church planter, I’m really excited about this conference, largely because I want to learn how to think more like a church planter. Click here to read what I shared over at The Gospel Coalition Blog: 5 Ways Established Churches Should Think Like Church Plants.
What is the Gospel? Part Four: Grace
Note: From September 9–11, a large chunk of Westgate Church traveled up to Lake Winnipesauke in New Hampshire for our annual Sandy Island retreat. The focus of our time was “What is the Gospel?” Since not all were able to attend (and not every reader attends Westgate), I have been posting the sessions here. Part four completes the series. Click here for Part One: News, Part Two: Kingdom, and Part Three: Cross.
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WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? PART FOUR: GRACE
So far in this series we have seen how the gospel is NEWS about God’s KINGDOM which he establishes through the CROSS. So the question remains, how do we come to participate in the gospel message of God’s kingdom, and what effect does the gospel have on us? How do we find our place in the story? Our key word for part four is GRACE. Read more…
What is the Gospel? Part Three: Cross
Note: From September 9–11, a large chunk of Westgate Church traveled up to Lake Winnipesaukein New Hampshire for our annual Sandy Island retreat. The focus of our time was “What is the Gospel?” Since not all were able to attend (and not every reader attends Westgate), I’m posting the sessions here—one per day for four days. Click here for Part One: News, Part Two: Kingdom, and Part Four: Grace.
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WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? PART THREE: CROSS
In part two we saw the unfolding biblical story of God establishing his kingdom. This kingdom was compromised in the fall (Gen. 3), but we saw how God’s plan to redeem his kingdom was moving forward through Abraham, Israel, and David, and how that kingdom will ultimately be fully realized in a new creation. So what is it that takes us from the partially realized kingdom of Israel, which plummeted back into judgment in exile, to the gloriously perfected kingdom at the end of the Bible? What is the heart of the story? That is our question for part three. Read more…
What is the Gospel? Part Two: Kingdom
Note: From September 9–11, a large chunk of Westgate Church traveled up to Lake Winnipesauke in New Hampshire for our annual Sandy Island retreat. The focus of our time was “What is the Gospel?” Since not all were able to attend (and not every reader attends Westgate), I’m posting the sessions here—one per day for the next four days. Click here for Part One: News, Part Three: Cross, and Part Four: Grace.
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WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? PART TWO: KINGDOM
“For without the Old Testament, Jesus quickly loses reality and either becomes a stained-glass window figure—colourful but static and undemanding, or a tailor’s dummy that can be twisted and dressed to suit the current fashion.” – C. J. H. Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament (Downers Grove: IVP, 1992), 251.
Jesus is the heart of the gospel, but we cannot assume that people know who Jesus is. Read more…
in the meantime 