Some of you are accustomed to receiving my occasional rambling on issues that I feel are relevant to ministry leaders and church development. For the most part these ramblings have been birth out of my own convictions or personal struggles but today I hope you all find my thoughts to be more substantiated. This morning I went to the Relevant Magazine website (www.relevantmagazine.com), as I do most mornings, and read their feature article "What is an Evangelical?" which was written by their Web Content Developer. Usually their articles don't take on such a global topic but after reading the article and doing some of my own research I really enjoyed what I read. So, with that said, I would like to invite all of you to read the article and do some of your own digging into 'The Gospel Coalition' this article speaks of.I never knew such a 'coalition' existed and from what I gathered in the article, it hasn't existed before 6 months ago or so, at least not formally. To entice your reading appetites I would like to share the closing remarks from The Gospel Coalitions "Foundational Documents:Theological Vision for Ministry" (Conclusion; page 13,14)
"The ministry we have outlined is relatively rare. There are many seeker-driven
churches that help many people find Christ. There are many churches seeking to
engage the culture through political activism. There is a fast-growing
charismatic movement with emphasis on glorious, passionate, corporate worship.
There are many congregations with strong concern for doctrinal rigor and who
work very hard to keep themselves separate from the world. There are many
churches with a radical commitment to the poor and marginalized.
We do not, however, see enough individual churches that embody the full,
integrative gospel balance we have outlined here. And while, in God's grace,
there is an encouraging number of bright spots in the church, we see no broad
movement yet of this gospel-centered ministry. We believe such a balance will
produce churches with winsome and theologically substantial preaching, dynamic
evangelism and apologetics, and church growth and church planting. They will
emphasize repentance, personal renewal, and holiness of life. At the same time,
and in the same congregations, there will be engagement with the social
structures of ordinary people, and cultural engagement with art, business,
scholarship, and government. There will be calls for radical Christian community
in which all members share wealth and resources and make room for the poor and
the marginalized. These priorities will all be combined and will mutually
strengthen one another in each local church."
I realize that the content within the article and The Gospel Coalition website may totally contradict what you and I may believe however you must realize this a call to unity. It is their desire as I'm sure it is your desire to "champion this gospel with clarity, compassion, courage, and joy gladly linking hearts with fellow believers across denominational, ethnic, and class lines." I'm sure it won't be their decision we question rather their process.
I truly hope that each of you will make the time to read the article and visit The Gospel Coalitions website (www.thegospelcoalition.org) and share with me your thoughts, comments, or concerns.
