Tethered to the Center

The last issue of Christianity Today has a short article on the Gospel Coalition. Because the Coalition’s statements reflect “a broadly Reformed perspective and expects that men lead churches and homes, it will not appeal to every evangelical,” says the article. However, the ministry statement tackles all the right issues, like contextualized ministry, consumerism, and theological and moral relativism, and works toward a holistic view of the Gospel.

The article describes what effective ministry could look like, but admits that few of us fully model that vision for ministry. “So the Gospel Coalition’s first goal might be aligning its own churches with these standards” – no small task.

The last paragraph of the article gets me:

Imagine an evangelical movement lead by churches that grow by multiplying, preach with theological substance and winsome apologetics, encourage holiness among members, engage their communities in areas such as politics and art, and even share economic resources and welcome the poor. Who can argue with these aims? If the Gospel Coalition’s churches can pull this off, they will have a much easier time persuading other evangelicals to return to the theological center.

That’s worth dreaming about, praying for, and working towards.