The Gospel, Mission, and the Church

At this year's Gospel Coalition Conference, Moody hosted a discussion between Matt Chandler, Kevin DeYoung, Jonathan Leeman and Trevin Wax on Gospel, Mission, and the Church.  At almost an hour, it is a little longer than most of the things I post here, but it is, in my opinion, a conversation that helps us greatly in the definition of our categories.



(HT: Timmy Brister)

The Mission of the Church

Here is a helpful video from The Gospel Coalition in which a trio of young pastors discuss the issue the mission of the church. It seems to me that in the end, Kevin DeYoung, Greg Gilbert, and Ryan Kelly hit the nail on the head as they emphasize the centrality of the proclamation of the Gospel, namely Jesus' life, death, burial and resurrection.

This is not to say that there is no place for a life of good works.  Indeed we are commanded to live as salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13-16), to love our neighbor as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37-39) and to live lives marked by the good works which God has prepared  in order that we might walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).  What is crucial is that these works are seen neither as "the Gospel," nor as an end in themselves.  They are never a means by which we might earn the favor of God, but rather ought to be only and always a thankful response to his gracious love.


The Mission of the Church from Ben Peays on Vimeo.

The Gospel Roots of March Madness

The Wall Street Journal yesterday had an interesting article about Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. Note the specifically gospel-directed emphasis of Naismith's work:

As a young Christian, Naismith received a master's degree from Montreal's Presbyterian Theological College. Convinced that he could better exemplify the Christian life through sports than in the pulpit, he moved to Springfield, Mass., to serve as a physical-education instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association's International Training School for Christian Workers (now Springfield College). Naismith's vision? "To win men for the Master through the gym."

Read the whole article here.

(HT: City Church)