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Editors’ note: 

The following is an excerpt from Gary Millar’s speech at the launch of The Gospel Coalition Australia (TGCA) on July 23 in Brisbane Town Hall.

We have reached a critical moment for the cause of the gospel in Australia. It is easy to overstate the significance of any given point in the history of the church. But right now we are facing specific opportunities and challenges in Australia—and we have a responsibility to meet them.

Here in Australia, as in much of the English-speaking world, we are in the middle of a massive realignment of thinking and practice. Four major aspects of this shift include:

  • An increasingly strident rejection of biblical morality, particularly in the area of sexuality.
  • A sharp decline in church attendance across the board.
  • A loosening of traditional denominational allegiances—people are far more denominationally mobile.
  • Fragmentation in the “Reformed evangelical cause”—a key generation of leaders has retired, and it isn’t entirely clear who will pick up the baton.

These are significant challenges. We believe that they are challenges TGCA may be able to help the church of Jesus Christ to address. In our judgment, now is the time for us to gather together around the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, clearly defined and preached, as we seek to commend and promote and proclaim the Lord Jesus in our society. Now is the time to gather together around a clearly defined center—the historic gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ—as we seek to express real gospel unity, and when needed, to speak with one voice, to express our partnership in the gospel in ways that count.

This sense has only been strengthened by the recognition of the significant opportunities our God seems to be presenting us with right now. In Australia:

  • There is a growing recognition that we need to work harder at getting along well with those who share our basic convictions for the sake of the gospel—there are simply not enough of us to do otherwise.
  • There is evidence that a growing number of people are being drawn to gospel-centered thinking and to Reformed theology from groups that, in the past, have not been open to such thinking. There is a hunger for biblical theology and systematic expository preaching which has not been seen before.
  • We have an unprecedented opportunity to reach people from all nations without leaving our shores, as they come to our country, in many cases looking for friendship and, initially at least, being open to the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

Why TGCA?

We think there is a need to gather the church around the center of the gospel and to equip and resource the church for biblical ministry. But why set up an Australian version of an American organization—why The Gospel Coalition Australia, and not Reformed Australians Together—apart from the fact that RAT probably isn’t the best acronym to use? There were several compelling reasons that led us to set up TGCA rather than anything else.

Theological reasons. We identify theologically with our brothers and sisters in TGC. Men like Don Carson, Mark Dever, John Piper, and Tim Keller are our friends and co-workers.

Strategic reasons. Given the huge number of Australians linked to TGC through the website already, and in particular, the large number of people outside traditional Reformed evangelical circles who have been drawn to biblical preaching and gospel-centered thinking, we are convinced TGCA has potential to make a real contribution to the evangelical scene here in Australia.

Practical reasons. We did not want to spend years reinventing the wheel. We don’t want to be a talkshop. The Foundation Documents are, of course, not perfect. They were framed in a different context from ours. However, practically speaking, we did not want to spend three years repeating work that had already been done, and decided to run with the TGC Foundation Documents, and then to work hard to develop and articulate our own distinctively Australian strategy.

Missional reasons. We think it is a distinct advantage, particularly here at the ends of the earth in Australia, to identify with what is becoming a global movement, as TGC groups spring up across the world. We hope to ensure that TGCA never becomes parochial, but sees what we are doing here as part of the work of the gospel throughout our world.

Theological DNA

TGC Australia is a completely separate entity from TGC in America, although one that happily shares the same theological DNA as expressed in the Foundation Documents. The need for an authentically Australian TGC was recognized from the beginning on both sides of the Pacific. As Don Carson has explained, when it comes to TGC’s international vision, “We’ve been clear from the beginning that we don’t want [overseas groups] to be American-controlled.”

Tim Keller adds that it’s vital for such TGC-inspired partnerships to be and remain indigenous. Both Don and Tim have been hugely helpful as we have sought to establish TGC Australia, and Ben Peays, executive director of TGC, and the website editorial staff, have been unsparingly generous with their time and energy. We thank God for the support and fellowship of our brothers on the U.S. Council. However, TGC Australia is and will remain an entirely Australian entity.

Chief End 

TGCA exists to encourage God’s people to defend, promote, and apply the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ together here in Australia and beyond and to do it with both humility and confidence. Whatever brings honor to Jesus Christ, whatever leads to the gospel being proclaimed more effectively, whatever leads to more people becoming disciples of the Lord Jesus who live for his glory—then let’s do it together! This is what TGCA is all about.

May God in his grace use us by his Spirit as he wills for his glory.

Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?

In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
But the Gospels are historically reliable. And the evidence for this is vast.
To learn about the evidence for the historical reliability of the four Gospels, click below to access a FREE eBook of Can We Trust the Gospels? written by New Testament scholar Peter J. Williams.

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