From the Journal: True Gospel-Centeredness is Never Bland

At our recent Church Family Meeting I took time to reiterate our mission statement as a church,

“We are building a community of believers who are passionate about knowing, applying, and proclaiming the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ”

That is, we want to: do life as a family, know the gospel deeply, apply the gospel broadly, and proclaim the gospel boldly.

In short, we want to be a gospel-centered church!

But we must always be on guard against this being mere words that we say. I commend to you a recent article from the Sovereign Grace Journal that explores this idea some more:

Click here to read an article from the latest Sovereign Grace Journal by Jared Melinger, Senior Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (where Abigail is going for her internship!), entitled: ‘True Gospel-Centeredness is Never Bland.

Here is a short excerpt to whet your appetite:

In Sovereign Grace Churches, we can appropriately describe ourselves as a gospel-centered people who attend gospel-centered churches where we receive gospel-centered preaching and enjoy gospel-centered fellowship . We aim for gospel-centered marriages and gospel-centered parenting; we do gospel-centered work and enjoy gospel-centered leisure; I hope to live a gospel-centered life followed by a gospel-centered funeral .

All of this is good . The idea of centering the whole of our lives on Christ and his cross is essential and profoundly biblical .

Yet, we need to remember that it’s possible to say the word gospel a lot with- out ever mining the glories of the person and work of Christ in all of Scripture and without applying that message to our daily lives . Gospel-centered has been a popular Christian buzzword over the past decade, but repeating the buzzword is not what makes a Christian or a church truly centered upon Christ . Some of the most gospel-centered preachers and churches through- out history never used that term at all .

Our goal is not the lingo but the reality . We aim for a deep and vibrant focus on the living Christ and his finished work . It is a focus that ought to expand our minds, thrill our souls, and transform our lives.”

Additionally, if the gospel has lost its dazzle, i’ve got a load of copies of CJ Mahaney’s “Living the Cross Centered Life” which is an amazing book to refresh your soul in the glories of Calvary.