Presence Weekly 9/25/2023

The Devo:

This week, members of the Faithful Presence staff and board are in Indianapolis for TGC2023, the bi-annual national conference of The Gospel Coalition. This year, over 6ooo men and women will gather to hear from a line-up of speakers that includes Jake Meador, Nancy Guthrie, Vince Bacote, Vanessa Hawkins, Sam Allberry, and John Piper.  As the speaker list snippet alludes, there will be a diversity of Christian perspectives on cultural engagement, political policy, worship style, baptism, communion, gender roles, and even sports affiliations.

With all that diversity, no one is expecting to see protests inside the convention hall aimed at those in another theological camp or political party, or physical altercations that are seen as the logical end to sharp disagreement. Instead, for three days Christians of various socio-economic backgrounds, education levels, denominations, ethnic heritage, and generational cohort will come together to worship, learn, and buy a lot of books united by one thing – the gospel.

What is the gospel? That’s a good question. The answer is fairly simple.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 1 Co 15:1–11

This matters to those serving and leading in the public square! As Christians we are reminded that God is “knitting us together in Christ who is the head,” “that there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." And, that Jesus prayed, “that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Relational concerns are an important (and frequent) focus of Faithful Presence because they are central to Christ and to our mission as the Church. Rather than the church as a nearly perfect reflection of the polarization of our culture over nearly every thought, word, and deed, Christians, especially those in the public square, must remember that we called to reflect foretastes of the coming Kingdom into the culture.

This past week, I transferred my ordination credentials from the Presbyterian Church in America into the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. For most, there is virtually nothing between the two confessionally reformed denominations of real consequence. For others, membership in one or the other says a lot about your view of Scripture and whether you are headed in a troubling direction. Entire websites, Tweet (or X) threads, and YouTube channels are devoted to deriding the beliefs of those in “the other” camp.

Herein lies the Achille’s heal of our evangelical call. We cannot expect to have any impact on the political and cultural polarization going on in our country if we spend all our time focusing on polarizing our churches and denominations over issues that are not central to the gospel!

We would all do well to remember that if 6000 Christians of great diversity can gather together in Indianapolis without name-calling and fights breaking out over deep theological disagreements, then perhaps we have an opportunity to model that to the fracturing culture around us.

Last Things...

Our latest podcast is out today and includes another "bootleg" recording of Dr. Tim Keller on the topic of "Evangelism through Networking." Next week, our podcast will feature an interview with two pastors who recently participated in a racial reconciliation service.

May Christ bless you as you serve and lead in His name.