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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Too Much 'Me' Focus in Evangelical Community, Says Gospel Project Editor


There is too much of a "me" focus in evangelical Christianity today, said an editor of The Gospel Project and author of Counterfeit Gospels: Rediscovering the Good News in a World of False Hope (2011).

In a webcast on Wednesday explaining LifeWay Christian Resources' The Gospel Project, Trevin Wax, managing editor of the project, told listeners that "the Bible is not a self-help book," which is why The Gospel Project is more than just a curriculum or self-help guide.

The Gospel Project is a small group curriculum for all ages that tells the overarching story of the Scripture. The project examines the Bible from start to finish and is meant to reveal to participants how every story and theological concept points to Jesus, so that they don't miss the point.

"The church is God's Gospel project; we are His project," Wax said. "It's possible to scour and search the Scriptures and miss the point. It's easy to come to Scripture looking for just new information or immediate application. We can even have Bible knowledge and not be focused on Christ," he elaborated on Lifeways' website.

Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church and a member of the advisory council for the project, said in the webcast that in today's world you can't just assume that people have understood and been transformed by the Gospel, even if they have heard it.

He stressed that the Church and pastors should "make sure [they] are steadily keeping the Gospel in front of our people. The Bible is teaching the Gospel consistently, if not constantly." Keep reading

2 comments:

  1. The Gospel is not about "transformation". That's called S A N C T I F I C A T I O N.

    Also, if simply knowing the Gospel and believing it is not enough, what "experience" is necessary? Do I need to "feel" something? I felt something this morning when I had my morning coffee. Maybe that's it?

    This sort of silliness is just pietistic mumbo jumbo and is the same sort of confusion that Billy Graham pushed. It's OK to be Roman Catholic as long as you believe in Jesus? To hell with the Gospel? The Southern Baptist Convention and Lifeway Press are leading people away from the Gospel if this article is any indication.

    The Gospel is about justification by faith alone, not about what we do, how we feel, or what we experience. All that is necessary for saving faith is to understand what the Bible says about us as miserable sinners and to believe that Jesus met all the requirements for us by his sinless life and his substitutionary atonement for the elect on the cross. Everything else is a false religion.

    Sincerely in Christ,

    Charlie

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