Theology Leadership – Articles on Theology and Leadership

The Power of Preaching the Gospel

February 2, 2025 / Chris / 0 Comments

Today, I entered the sanctuary running late and low. It was all I could do to muster the mental energy to get ready and out the door. It’s been a busy season, and I feel used up and worn out. However, I made it, and the simple proclamation of the gospel did its ordinary, miraculous means of grace work on my heart and mind.

How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! At our little Lutheran church, the music program isn’t as spectacular as the church down the road, and we don’t have a youth program because there aren’t many youth. But we have what God has called for the church to have: word and sacrament. The good news of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners is proclaimed every week. We gather around the altar rails to receive the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

As I listened to the sermon today, I was grateful that the pastor didn’t settle for preaching about the gospel, missing the gospel forest for the exegetical trees, or sacrificing the gospel to be relevant. This downtrodden and enslaved heart had the atoning death of Christ pronounced for my liberation! The pastor proclaimed it in live time, and I was free! Were my problems solved and my underlying discouragements dissolved? No, but the gospel did its resurrecting work as I was reminded that Christ’s work was sufficient.

The power of preaching the gospel does not lie in the exegetical prowess of the preacher. Nor is it contained in amusing anecdotes. The power of preaching the gospel is in the promise of God that His word does not return void and that this gospel is the power of God unto salvation. I’ve sat through many sermons about the gospel as some aspects are described like a textbook definition for a Master of Divinity student. Such a description has its place, but this is not the point of a sermon where the pastor must care for souls.

Today’s text was from chapter two of Hebrews. While the sermon was engaging and relevant, it was also faithful. It was faithful to the text and it was a faithful proclamation of the gospel. The opening reflection discussed tyrants and slavery while encouraging us to think about how the recently released hostages felt in their newfound freedom. As the backdrop of Hebrews attested, the new followers of Christ during that period of history found themselves in a unique situation. Should they return to their old Jewish ways or persevere as followers of the way of Christ? We, too, were encouraged to reflect and respond as those who have been delivered through Christ! He is a merciful and faithful high priest who Himself was the propitiation for our sins. We are free!

Don’t underestimate the gospel. Don’t assume the gospel. Don’t relegate the gospel. Don’t settle for preaching about the gospel. The good news of Christ is for all people, and it resurrects our hearts and minds into the reality of a right-side-up kingdom in this disheartening, upside-down world.

Christ as Cultural Adjective

January 26, 2025 / Chris / 0 Comments

Christianity finds itself perpetually distracted by the the latest undercurrents of cultural dialogue. Christian nationalism and Christian masculinity are two of the most recent. We fail to realize that when we make “Christian” an adjective, we make Christ merely a modifier. Are these issues worth consideration? Absolutely. Are they worthy of the level of attention and importance we give them? Only Christ is worthy of that.

Christian Nationalism

Christian nationalism has been a topic of contentious debate in recent months and years. Are we pilgrims and sojourners in a foreign land or cultural conquerors? Eschatological and soteriological considerations factor into our perspective on answering that question; regardless of our view of end times, the gospel should never be a secondary or tertiary priority.

The discussion of Christian nationalism is the second coming in many ways. However, it’s the second coming of the moral majority movement, not of Christ. Our proclivity is to pine for the effects of new wine but to forget the true power that bursts the old wineskins. We prefer to put the unshrunk patch of cultural impact onto our ecclesiastical garment but seem dumbfounded at the ensuing tear.

Prioritizing the gospel is not an abandonment to be salt and light in a world of decay and darkness. It focuses on spiritual cancer instead of cultural rashes. Why would the church exchange the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ for a wet matchstick? Beware of putting your hope in the moral and cultural pendulum swinging because it can and likely will swing back in the other direction. Christ is steadfast.

Christian Masculinity

Christian masculinity is almost laughable as a standalone issue. It is relevant, and extremes are on either side of the cultural thought process. Are “Christian” men cantankerously devout with a scroll in one hand and a stone in the other? Should they be workaholics with a newspaper in one hand and a Bible pendant in the other? Which era should define manhood? The 50’s or the 1950’s? Or perhaps the postmodern perspective is the ticket. Should the very concept of gender be stripped from our cultural and philosophical underpinnings? G.K. Chesterton would describe this as being so open-minded that our brains fall out.

In the movie Star Trek First Contact, Zefram Cochrane said, “Don’t try to be a great man, just be a man and let history make its own judgment.” I suggest a slight modification to fit the current cultural church moment: Don’t try to be a Christian man, just be a Christian. Am I arguing against Biblical manhood and womanhood? No. I’m calling us to put the emphasis where it belongs.

Both of these topics are important, but they are nowhere near the level of importance we’ve allowed them in the Christian conversation. The current sociological struggles in these areas are symptoms of missing the bigger picture, and the more we treat the symptoms, the longer it will take to “find” the cure.

We in the Christian community far too readily allow the core of our faith to become an adjective as we rush toward the verbs at breakneck speed. So, lest I be guilty of what I’ve identified here myself, allow me to point you to Christ crucified for the forgiveness of your sins. Look to His sinless life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection as the object of your faith, and live in light of that death-to-life transformation. Look to Jesus, who will return to set everything right, riding a white horse. I assure you He is more transformative than any of our cultural hobbyhorses. His is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, no mere adjective.

Holly Jolly Melancholy

December 25, 2024 / Chris

Tis the season to be jolly. What if you fall somewhere between Buddy the Elf and Ebenezer Scrooge? Christmas is a time for remembering and focusing on family and faith. However, each of those areas can be cause for sorrow and joy.

Family

Old emotional wounds tend to flare up at Christmas like achy joints that feel a change in the weather. Others may have difficulty understanding why dark clouds hover over the Christmas decorations and events. While everyone else is singing along with Bing and Mariah, perhaps we’re feeling a bit more like Billie Eilish.

What is it about family that can bring out the best and worst in us? Cherished memories and haunted flashbacks can surface as we attend gatherings or even think about them. Reminiscing is a double-edged sword, and it cuts through to our soul as we long for what is gone and ache for what never was. Our faith would typically be a reservoir of joy, but it can also highlight our struggle.

Faith

Sometimes the cultural goodwill softens the heart during this time of year. Other times, our faith is as distant and cold as the North Pole. Unresolved pain, being hurt by the church, guilt, or shame might leave us ironically feeling far away from God in the season we emphasize God with us.

We’ll likely have Christmas Eve services, lots of Christmas hymns to sing, and advent sermon series to bring the incarnation into the spotlight of our spiritual lives. Yet, if we’re already feeling disconnected from God, these expressions of faith only serve to underscore the distance. Thankfully, our God seeks us out, draws us in, and reminds us that Christ has bridged any gap between us.

Foretold Joy

For those of us who tend to lean toward melancholy, lights and tinsel aren’t enough to lift our spirits. Faith and family can lead us in the opposite direction of the candy cane forest or the tenderness of a manger scene. Nonetheless, we have a tremendous reason for peace and joy. The foundation of our hope is found in something ancient and perpetually new.

We must look past all the family baggage and celebrate our spiritual family heritage. We have to look beyond our faith to the object of our faith. We must listen anew to the angel’s pronouncement of old. “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). Zechariah’s prophetic words unpacked some of the substance of that good news.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,Luke 1: 68-70

I’m happy for everyone who is able to slide into the Christmas spirit effortlessly. For those who find melancholy sprinkled into this holly, jolly season, our hope, peace, and joy can only be found where it’s always found, in Christ.

The Breath Mint Gospel

November 30, 2024 / Chris

Imagine walking into a restaurant and specifying to the waiter in no uncertain terms that you were starving and wanted the chef’s best. The waiter goes into great detail about the special of the evening and leaves your mouth watering and your stomach in a state of anticipation. Ten minutes pass, and finally, the domed luxury entree arrives, and the unveiling is set to begin your feast. As the cover is lifted, all you see in the center of the plate is a lone, pitiful after-dinner mint.

How often in our churches do we treat the gospel like that little pastel mint that quickly dissolves and never satisfies? How many sermons drone on and on with theological data only to throw a thirty-second “gospel” bone to starving souls? Recently, I saw a social media post making rounds highlighting the absurdity of saying people couldn’t sit through long sermons when they could listen to three-hour podcasts. There is an ironic truth to that sentiment; however, the real issue is when hour-long sermons only make the gospel a footnote. If we relegate the gospel to an afterthought, we’ve thought wrongly about the gospel.

We might debate whether or not a sermon should be an hour long, but there shouldn’t be a debate regarding whether or not the proclamation of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins and sinners in live time should be the main course on any given Sunday. Sinners starve for the gospel throughout the week in a merit-based world. We sit through sermons that give us information any systematic theology textbook could or that only chastise us with the law’s condemnation. The theological data might be beneficial, and the law’s condemnation is the prerequisite to what is needed: our redemption by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone. If sermons are an hour long, why wouldn’t we make the gospel the core aspect? It’s not as if there is no time.

Neither Jesus, Paul, nor Peter made the gospel an afterthought. Jesus identified the focal point of the prophets, law, and Psalms as Himself, His resurrection, and the forgiveness of sins through repentance (Luke 24:27-47). Paul’s decision to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified in his proclamation in Corinth parallels his robust articulation and ardent defense of the gospel in his letters to Rome and Galatia. Peter affirmed that the living, abiding word of God that lives forever is the good news (1 Peter 1:23-25), much like his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41). Other examples of this gospel-emphasis feast abound. Ask yourself if what you hear on a given Sunday serves the good news as the main course or more like a breath mint.

Our main issue isn’t bad breath. We cannot pop the gospel like a tic-tac and cover up the stench of our fallen nature. We are dead in our trespasses and sins, and we need the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:13-14). The breath mint gospel is an underestimated, misunderstood application of the breathtaking good news of Christ crucified and risen for sinners.

Reformation Thoughts for Today

October 31, 2024 / Chris

The history of the Reformation has much to teach us in the present. But more importantly, the theological truths need fresh consideration and application. As we take time to remember and meditate on the implications of the protestant reformation, it is also imperative that we avoid assuming a posture of complacency. There are several patterns of thought that we, the ecclesiastical posterity of the Reformation, would do well to consider.

Think Big

Ideas and worldviews are powerful enough to reshape the world. We don’t often think about this and get swept up in the practical details and issues instead of their glorious foundations. The doctrine of justification by faith alone was the centerpiece of the Reformation, and Luther even criticized Wycliffe and Huss for seeking moral reform when what needed reforming was the doctrine of the church.

We might offer the same critiques of our modern church reforms. There is a push for values reform from conservative circles. More than focusing on the family, however, we need to put the focus back on the foundation of our faith. There is a push for relevance reform from the seeker-sensitive movement. Leadership gurus, survey analyses, and pastoral fashion consultants replace confessions of faith. Liberals push modernity reform and seek to modernize scripture to fit our “evolved” understanding of morality and society.

The church today is splintered into a staggering number of groups with various philosophies of what modern reformation should be. Do we reinvent, repackage, or reapply? Even in circles that boast of Christ and Christ alone, we find ourselves with sociological peashooters instead of being armed with the sword of the spirit. Instead of getting bogged down and pulled in these directions by minutia, we need to think gospel big.

Think Deeply

Too many of our churches affirm justification by faith alone in their doctrinal statements and carry out their ministry as if we are justified by our efforts. A cursory nod to justification by faith alone won’t do. We fail to mine the riches of the glorious gospel in the same manner that Paul did in the first eleven chapters of Romans before he gets to the appeal to practical living in chapter twelve.

Instead of continuously meditating on and applying the gospel in all its depth, we tend to tip our hats to it and hurry along to the real business. Luther reminds us that our right standing before God by faith is an ongoing need and a subject that is never exhausted.

We can never learn this truth completely or brag that we understand it fully. Learning this truth is an art. We will always remain students of it, and it will always be our teacher. The people who truly understand that they receive God’s approval by faith and put this into practice don’t brag that they have fully mastered it. Rather, they think of it as a pleasant taste or aroma that they are always pursuing. These people are astonished that they can’t comprehend it as fully as they would like. They hunger and thirst for it. They yearn for it more and more. They never get tired of hearing about this truth.

While the church splashes about in the puddles of philosophical eclecticism, there is an ocean of truth to be explored in the atoning work of Christ alone. Instead of settling for the shallowness of merely acknowledging the gospel, we need to think gospel deeply.

Think Clearly

Syncretism abounds in our society and, unfortunately, in our churches. We have a dab of the gospel, a pinch of relativism, and a dash of marketing principles. Before you know it, the gospel is indiscernible. Thinking clearly means understanding the depth of the gospel with the simplicity of a child’s faith.

More than clever pitches to make the gospel palatable today, we need the undiluted, works-shattering good news of Christ crucified for sinners. How might we think clearly amongst all the chaos?

First, we should return again and again to the fundamental truths of the reformation. We should be committed to being unoriginal regarding these core doctrines. Second, we should not fear the intimidating thought police of our age. Theologians without a trace of theology will ridicule us for holding to such primitive notions of reconciliation. At the same time, preachers of tolerance show no tolerance for anyone who holds truth claims of exclusivity. Rest assured that these glorious truths cannot and will not be forced into old wineskins without soon bursting. Third, simplicity is not the antithesis of depth; shallowness is. It’s okay to be simple. When we needlessly complicate things, we convolute the gospel.

The church must sometimes feel as if its head is reeling from all the voices calling for it to follow the culture’s cries for change. Scripture is the authority, and the good news is the clarion call, so the church must quiet all the other societal noise and think with gospel clarity.

The Reformation is over 500 years old, but if we think big, deeply, and clearly, then we twenty-first-century followers of Christ may yet feel the world-shaking impact of justification by faith alone in the days ahead.

Simple Faith

September 18, 2024 / Chris

I remember sitting in a coffee shop (I know that’s a major shock) and hearing the group next to me introducing the topic of their meeting. I overheard phrases like, “This will change your life” and “game changer,” so I was naturally curious. In anticipation, I tried to lean in covertly, but the big reveal was that this life-altering practice was the art of couponing. Who doesn’t love a good deal? Still, it was anticlimactic from the opening sales pitch.

My reaction was an internal eye roll. Yet, in retrospect, perhaps I was too harsh on that group. Simple things can be life-changing. God works through the simple means of grace to bring life. Who could imagine that ordinary water, bread, wine, and preached words would have such powerful effects? Yet they do.
For most of my Christian life, theology was a concept to be studied and an abstraction for discussion. Now, it’s more like the daily bread needed for sustenance. I enjoy discussing, studying, and applying scripture and its overarching truths, but what I need is Christ crucified, proclaimed, and delivered to me.

Simplicity is not synonymous with shallowness. I tended to favor debating the philosophical side of theology to embracing the tangible simplicity of God’s gospel spoken and administered. If your theology bristles at indiscriminately proclaiming the forgiveness of sins to everyone on account of Christ, then you’ve elevated reason above scripture. The wisdom of God is the foolishness of the cross. We grow most in spiritual maturity when we become childlike in faith.

While studying is valuable, believing is greater. Faith is better than knowledge. That day in the coffee shop, I was snarky and dismissive of the coupon conversation. However, that conversation could have led to families making ends meet that week. How much greater are the sacraments our Lord has instituted to grant and sustain faith? Lord, forgive me for being too skeptical of simple faith in all its iterations. Help me to seek you in knowledge, faith, and love.

A Prescription for New Wine

August 31, 2024 / Chris

After nearly thirty years as a believer and fifteen in the ministry, this is perhaps the most difficult topic I’ve felt compelled to address. The difficulty comes because of the pharisaism in the first half of my Christian walk and ministry. As one childhood friend put it, “you’re so uptight if you ate coal, you’d get a diamond.” He was right. After a lot of study, ministry, failure, sin, and experience, I’ve come to understand that the gospel is the antithesis to the rigidity and self-righteousness I espoused, and that still haunts the hidden corridors of my heart.

A Prescription from Pharisees

The Pharisees sought the protection of their image and heritage. They were more concerned with the appearance of righteousness than actually possessing it. So, their call was to follow the rules. Wash your hands, abstain from healing on the Sabbath, and by all means, don’t associate with tax collectors and sinners. However, their prescription only addressed the symptoms and failed to understand the underlying cause of dead works.

If I’m honest, I’ve handed out more than my fair share of diagnoses and remedies over the years. More concerned with ensuring everyone toed the line, I was obsessed with behavior modification even if it was for the glory of God. What I misunderstood was that glorifying God involves more than merely doing what God has commanded. Amos 5:18-25, Hosea 6:6, and Psalm 51:16-17 reveal that there is a way to offer God precisely what He has commanded that does not please Him. Jesus’ intensification of the law in Matthew 5:17-48 demonstrates the need for a righteousness that exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees.

A Prescription for Pharisees

Jesus’ prescription for the Pharisees was not righteousness, but rather a recognition of their unrighteousness. His prescription was new wine; a wine that would explode the old wineskins of their expectations and religious bureaucracy. When Jesus pronounced forgiveness of sins to the paralytic in Matthew 9, the scribes cried, “blasphemy!” When the Pharisees saw Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners they questioned His disciples. Jesus’ response is a quote from Hosea that should strike us with the same force that it struck them: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice’” (Matthew 9:13).

Then, John’s disciples approached to inquire about fasting. When Jesus replied, it was clear that something explosively new had come. What need is there for fasting when the incarnation of the entirety of your faith is right in front of you? What the Pharisees needed instead of obedience was to actually understand the very nature of God’s mercy as put on full display in the person of Jesus. That kind of divine mercy transforms one from the inside out and produces vibrant and joyous obedience instead of stale and begrudging obedience.

A Prescription for New Wine

Beware the arrogant, self-righteous ones who care more about you affirming their interpretation of scripture than understanding the gospel in all of its offensive glory. They hand out verses of scripture as if from a prescription pad like they wrote it themselves. Ironically, they miss their sickness and the real healing power of Christ’s atoning work. Like archaic doctors, they still attach leeches to their patients and seem dumbfounded by the resulting death.

The new wine of the gospel doesn’t offer a panacea for all our problems, but it does provide a cure for our most significant problem. Looking to and exclusively trusting Jesus Christ, His perfect life, His atoning death, and His glorious resurrection on our behalf is the sole sufficient remedy for our depravity.

What we need most is not more engaging preaching, more marks of healthy churches, more stringent adherence to our ethics, or more ardent defense of our theological presuppositions. Those prescriptions have been handed out in droves. Instead, we need to herald the unbelievable good news of the Son of God hanging on a tree to satisfy God’s wrath in our place. Once that is done consistently, then the conversation about other prescriptions can begin. After all, what use does a dead man have for wine at all?

The Older, Tired, and Orthodox

August 24, 2024 / Chris

My journey to what I now believe has included doubt, faith, struggle, failure, prayer, and study. The path from Free Will Baptist to Lutheran included stops within the Southern Baptist Convention and the Presbyterian Church in America. I’ve written and wrestled throughout the process, but I thought it might be helpful to give an overview.

Fundamentals and Fundamentalists

The concrete nature of fundamentalism in a local church steadied significant chaotic aspects of my childhood. As I matured in my faith, I reacted harshly against fundamentalism and still have to be cautious as I interact with those still in that camp. However, I’m trying to understand the importance of the fundamentals while also recognizing the dangers inherent in fundamentalism.

The precious believers in that fundamentalist church were sincere. I grew to have deep convictions that differed from many of theirs, but I’ve also grown to appreciate that they told me about God’s love, Jesus’ death and resurrection, and my need for Him.

Nonetheless, I could not abide by the legalism that questioned salvation over dancing, going to the movies, or listening to rock-n-roll. Understanding the difference between the fundamentals of faith and fundamentalism as a movement can help to properly critique the latter while being gracious to those who want to uphold the former.

The Young, Restless, and Reformed

In my senior year of high school and my first year of bible college, the writings and ministries of John Piper and R.C. Sproul shook my theological world. My fundamentalist foundation encountered the young, restless, and reformed movement. Calvinism provided an intellectual framework and steadying comfort in the void where fundamentalism had been.

At the time, I failed to realize that I had traded an external performance-based paradigm for an introspective performance-based one. The young, restless, and reformed movement certainly did emphasize the gospel more; however, there was still an emphasis on performance as it related to assurance within sanctification that caused struggle.

Desiring God, Ligonier, and 9 Marks offered a rooted faith that didn’t bypass the mind in calling for holiness. Those para-church organizations were excellent at resonating with so many who longed for a combination of passion for God and Biblical faithfulness. Churches essentially parroted the emphases and strategies put forth by those organizations. Despite the good that can come from exegetical rigor and appeal to personal and passionate piety, a gap of comfort, peace, and grace can leave us disenchanted and discouraged.

The Older, Tired, and Orthodox

The restless aspect of the young, restless, and reformed inevitably became spiritual exhaustion. I could not live up to the pietistic bent that much of the reformed tradition espouses. A little age, soul searching, deep study, a random visit, and a lot of grace led me to Lutheranism.

While the Reformed and Lutherans have much in common, the distinctions resulted in spiritual frustration or renewal for me, respectively. Others may feel precisely the opposite. The Reformed tradition tended toward descriptive theology, while the Lutheran tradition leaned toward prescriptive theology. One tradition takes great care to go into systematic detail about the cure, analyzing the ingredients, detailing the effects, and highlighting the backstory. The other tradition focuses on giving medicine.

It’s a matter of emphasis, not orthodoxy. What does one view as the gravitational core of the faith? What is the center? Go too far in one direction, and the gravity is so heavy that guilt and failure crush you. Head too far in the other direction, and there is so little gravity that you become unmoored from truth and grace. Both traditions have enough gravity to keep you anchored in orthodoxy, but I’m convinced by scripture a greater focus on the gospel is needed and fruitful. Preaching is an excellent example of the difference.

A Word of Comfort

Ten years ago, a theological ted talk or a particularly cutting law-based sermon would have been my definition of good preaching. A steady diet of that kind of ministry can expand one’s theological intellect yet leave you spiritually thirsty. Do a quick search of the word “preach” used as a verb, and you’ll see that it’s overwhelmingly connected to “good news” and “the gospel.”

Jesus rebuked the religious who searched the scriptures yet were blind to their testimony of Him unto eternal life (John 5:38-40). After the resurrection, Jesus interpreted the scriptures on the road to Emmaus all the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27). Then He opened the minds of His disciples to see the fulfillment of the law, the prophets, and the Psalms to proclaim the suffering and rising of Christ toward repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:44-47).

Beyond signs and wisdom, Paul preached the stumbling block of Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23) and reiterated this focus on Christ Crucified, not dependent on wisdom or lofty speech (1 Corinthians 2:1-2). Paul’s encouraging word to those in Antioch highlighted Israel’s history and the good news of the death and resurrection of Christ, which grants freedom that Moses’ law could not (Acts 13:16-41). The hearers were begging to be told these things again on the next Sabbath (Acts 13:42).

These passages are a small sampling of the gospel-centered nature of scripture and preaching. Being a part of services with such a focus brought peace, grace, consolation, and rest to my tired soul. However, that was a side effect of what I believe is a biblical emphasis on the centrality of Christ for sinners. The law must crush us, and the gospel must grant us the comfort that only comes through Christ.

It wasn’t an easy journey, and my Baptistic and Calvinistic presuppositions linger. I don’t expect everyone to make the changes I’ve made or to follow my thoughts to my conclusions. I still have to be careful not to judge others who differ with my perspective too harshly while also being willing to engage critically in a manner honoring God and faithful to His gospel. If you find yourself spiritually fatigued, perhaps my journey might inspire you to challenge your presuppositions.

Flipping Tables

May 15, 2024 / Chris

It’s easy to go with the flow and never push back against our churches or leaders when they drift from their straightforward mission. If Jesus were a consultant we could hire, what would be the results of His audit of our churches? I suspect that He’d flip over tables indiscriminately because there was so little of Himself and His gospel evident. If we hired a church growth consultant, they’d likely recommend we improve our search engine optimization and make every facet of our ministry relevant to the needs of a typical young family. Neither of those things is inherently wrong, but they are insufficient. To the degree we place faith in strategies like that instead of Christ, they are idolatrous.

My general approach to most issues is to find the center and to seek peace with all parties involved. However, I’ve become convinced that reclaiming the gospel’s centrality is an issue where we may need to flip tables because churches, leaders, ministries, and organizations have side-stepped Christ in the very name of Christ.

Mission Creep

Every institution, organization, congregation, and person is prone to mission creep. There are no exceptions. The gospel’s consistent proclamation in our churches every week is part of the rhythm of ministry and the means of grace that counterbalance that tendency. What if that consistent pronouncement of good news starts to fade into the background?

What begins with simple gospel proclamation morphs into a much more complicated ministry model. If we’re not careful, what could be an easy course correction could turn into cause for flipping tables. As time goes on, the singular focus on the gospel begins to drift as we emphasize disseminating knowledge, getting results, programming our way into relevance, and disregard the priesthood of believers.

Satellite Seminaries

Churches can often change into carbon copies of what pastors have experienced in their respective seminaries. We trade green pastures for lecture halls and gospel-centered sermons for theological TED talks. Where is the proclamation of Christ for the forgiveness of sins to those particular people gathered in His name at that very moment in time? Where is the pronouncement of absolution for all who have entered that room as believers in Jesus yet who are heavy-laden by their sin?

Our churches can be theologically pristine, our congregants well-read, and our services intellectually vigorous. However, if they lack the scandal of Christ’s atoning work, then they are like altars immaculately adorned with no sacrificial lamb. As ornate as it might all appear or sound, it is the sacrifice that atones. If we drift from proclaiming Christ’s dying work for sinners in favor of theological lectures, then we allow human knowledge to supersede wisdom, which is the foolishness of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:17-25). That is cause for flipping the seminary table.

Marketing and Metrics

Marketing and metrics are powerful forces that can lure church leaders into supplanting the gospel with gimmicks. The essential aspect of finding the balance here is ensuring that furthering your reach isn’t mistaken for gospel fruit. Furthering your reach can be a tremendous blessing; however, one cannot assume that reaching more people with your message is equivalent to reaching more people with and for Christ.

Conversion in the marketing sense is merely turning someone into a paying customer. Conversion in the Christian sense is supernatural, solely by grace through faith, and comes through hearing the word of the gospel. When churches become distracted by increasing their number of paying customers, enhancing their branding, or developing merchandise to spread the reach of their logo instead of delivering the timeless message of Christ for saints and sinners alike, it’s time to flip the merch table.

Programmatic Distraction

It’s entirely possible to be so busy for God that you don’t have time for Him. As we fill our calendars with church events, activities, classes, sessions, and meetings, we find little time to organically love our neighbor, which is the truest form of ministry. Little by little, we distract congregants with things to do at church while sharing the gospel directly with those we’ve built relationships with is replaced by inviting people to hear the pastor preach. Even that invitation is iffy these days in terms of hearing the gospel clearly proclaimed.

Instead of the congregation having people over for dinner to live life, discuss the Bible, or pray, we put together a program for various groups or demographics to meet at the church. There is nothing inherently wrong with meeting at the church or intentionality in discipleship. Still, the danger is in edging out the opportunity for the kind of natural ministry that takes place when people eat, drink, and discuss life without a script. When our ministry definition only fits within the confines of our church calendars and program guides, it’s time to flip the sign-up table.

Professional Priests

Ironically, making clergy into professionals who conduct the business of ministry is one of the causes and a cumulative effect of letting the gospel take a back seat. There isn’t a pastoral tier and a laity tier of Christian ministry. The priesthood of all believers puts everyone who professes faith in Christ in direct communion with God and places a great commission call upon their lives in whatever vocation they serve.

If we perpetuate the false paradigm of professional priests, then the simplicity of ministry as the overflow of living life with neighbors and the gospel proclaimed in those relational contexts is lost. Ephesians 4:11-12 explicitly states that pastors and teachers’ roles are given to equip the saints for the work of the ministry where the subject is the knowledge of the Son of God. Too often, we find pastors veering away from the simplicity of gospel proclamation and equipping saints to build their platforms and personas. The former is profound yet simple, while the latter is shallow and complex. When pastors become celebrity CEOs instead of shepherds, then it’s time to flip the conference table.

Refocusing and Flipping

How might we avoid mission creep, and what does it look like to keep the focus on the gospel? First, we must center our weekly gatherings on the gospel to confront and reorient the works obsessed hearts of saints and sinners alike. Second, all aspects of our churches must pale in comparison to the consistent and clear proclamation of Christ crucified for sinners. Third, we may need to flip a few tables. We might need to have some difficult, tense conversations with church leaders and question why the gospel is not central in every aspect of our services and ministries. Fourth, we may need to be willing to walk away from our churches to find one that consistently proclaims the gospel. That is not an easy decision, and one should not make it lightly; however, it may be necessary.

Ask yourself what our churches ultimately have to offer people, if not real forgiveness, tangible peace, genuine hope, and eternal salvation through Christ. Could we provide tips to improve family life? Perhaps we might offer a more intellectual engagement with a philosophical faith. Maybe we could present them with a roadmap to more holy or productive Christian lives. In too many cases, our churches have lapsed into those merit-based ministry mindsets. When we notice the focus has flipped away from Christ, His finished work on our behalf, and His gospel, then it may well be time to flip a few tables.

Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing

March 16, 2024 / Chris

A recent sermon was a simple yet profound reminder that avoided falling prey to missing its mandate. We are individually and corporately prone to wander from the gospel of grace. The simplicity and meritless nature of the gospel make it an offense to our obsession with works. The pastor encouraged us to keep the main thing the main thing while making sure that he proclaimed the gospel to the congregation and kept the main thing central himself. Mission creep is a struggle for all kinds of organizations, but the stakes of the church missing the mark are dire. There are several common ways this can happen.

Missing the Forest for the Trees

What if we mine the scriptures for every ounce of exegetical content yet neglect what the scriptures themselves say they are ultimately pointing toward? I’ve sat through many sermons that missed the gospel forest for the historical, grammatical trees. While no syntactic or background rocks were left unturned, Christ crucified for sinners was left unproclaimed. This is a common way to miss the mark, with a veneer of hitting the target layered on top in the form of theological depth and hermeneutical proficiency.

Chasing Rabbits of Relevance

Pursuing cultural relevance is another common avenue of going off the Emmaus path (Luke 24:13-34) of focusing on Christ. There will always be shiny ideas or trends that captivate our attention and try to lure us away from the stranger who interprets the scriptures with an eye to the messiah. Sociological studies, entertainment fads, and the latest ministry hype are easy distractions. Still, those rabbits of relevance are as fruitless as they are numerous.

Success Versus Fruitfulness

Fruitfulness is being connected to the vine and carrying out ministry through word and sacrament based on Christ. That kind of ministry bears fruit in God’s way and time. Success often sees measurable results and may be entirely disconnected from the vine. We frequently view ministry apart from word and sacrament as we pursue visitor retention rates, social media impressions, and church membership rosters. Experiencing success apart from Christ should send chills up our “ministry” spines. Success and fruitfulness are not synonymous.

Making Good Things the Main Thing

When good and noble pursuits supplant the core of the Christian faith, we can quickly turn charity into idolatry. Make no mistake. Charity is a good and noble thing, and it is a command. It is the fruit of our identity in Christ. However, it is not the main thing. Likewise, biblical morality is a good thing. It should be pursued and cultivated in the lives of believers. But our moral caliber is neither the basis of our justification nor the church’s primary mission.

Keeping the gospel the main thing doesn’t mean always preaching the same sermon; it isn’t reductionism. It keeps the primary focus in its proper place while refusing to let secondary, tertiary, or preferential issues become the center. Like the apostle Paul, we would do well to know and proclaim the simple yet powerful message of Christ and Him crucified as the main thing (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).