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The Gospel Coalition’s Theological Vision of Ministry lays out five characteristics of gospel-centered ministry. But one of them is far more difficult than the others.

  1. empowered corporate worship;
  2. evangelistic effectiveness;
  3. counter-cultural community;
  4. the integration of faith and work; and
  5. the doing of justice and mercy.

In the abstract we love to say with TGC’s theological vision on point (3), “Because the gospel removes both fear and pride, people should get along inside the church who could never get along outside.” But then life gets in the way. We hang out with people who look and talk like we do. We credit ourselves for financial success and judge others as getting what they deserve. We feature the beautiful and ignore the broken. Our actions reveal how hard it is to ground our identity in Jesus Christ when the world divides along the lines of money, age, and ethnicity.

Last fall the events of Ferguson, Missouri deepened many of these divisions. I’ve never seen so many Christians who share a common desire to love and follow Jesus struggle to even talk with each other about an issue. Brother turned against brother. But one voice in particular challenged readers across the political and ethnic spectrum, even as he fostered unity around the gospel of Jesus Christ. Until last November 24 Benjamin Watson was primarily known as a tight end in the National Football League. Since then, God has raised him up as a voice of hope and peace in the name of Christ. His initial thoughts on Ferguson were read with appreciation by millions. As his new book launches in the middle of football season he continues to testify on Fox News, CNN, and ESPN to the power of the gospel to make brothers out of enemies.

Over the last year, The Gospel Coalition has sought in many venues to facilitate and direct conversations about mercy and justice. For today’s one-year anniversary of the Ferguson verdict and subsequent riots, we’ve planned a special feature webcast with Watson and TGC Council member Darrin Patrick, pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, near Ferguson. Working with Tyndale House Publishers, our friends at The Journey have produced a wonderfully challenging, hopeful, and encouraging 30-minute conversation about how the gospel generates counter-cultural community that grabs the attention of a broken, angry, divided world. The webcast even includes exclusive footage of the Ferguson riots filmed last year by The Journey’s professional video team.

Pick up a copy of Watson’s book for yourself, your small group, and even your whole church. Talk about it with believers with different experiences; this guide can help. And may God help us enjoy counter-cultural community together.

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.

Podcasts

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