Are you Still Gospel-Centered?

I've been in ministry long enough to sees the latest ministry trends come and go. One of those is the concept of gospel centrality in all we do as a church. It was a catchword for a while and everything seems to labeled "gospel-centered". As Jared Wilson discusses in this article, many have now moved on to other things.

I became aware of gospel-centered preaching and ministry just as I was beginning to emerge from the haze of legalism. For me, gospel-centrality wasn't a trend - it was literally the lifeline of truth that rescued me from self-effort and the choppy waters of performance for God. It was life-changing to see the gospel as not just the entrance into Christianity. As Jared Wilson says in this article, "The gospel that grounds our right standing before God in the moment of new birth also grounds our right standing before God every day of our Christian life — even the good days. And the gospel that declares our sanctification in Christ empowers our progressive sanctification by the Spirit of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18)."

As others have moved on, the gospel's grip grown stronger in my life, mostly because it was the gospel for salvation and sanctification that saved me from a life of frustration and despair as Christian. I pray it does this for you as well.

Please read this article! If you are not familiar with gospel-centrality as a ministry philosophy, I've also includes a link to a sermon I preached on this a couple of years ago.