What, exactly, is the Gospel? In electronics stores, it's a genre of music. In bookstores, it's sometimes an adjective to advertise truthfulness (e.g. 5 Gospel Truths of Wedding Cakes!). To many of our country's non-churchgoers, it's a message that's little-to-none on the theological and plenty on the political and applicational. Matt Chandler and Jared Wilson are concerned that, whether because of consumerist tendencies or the proverbial slippery slope, unchurched (and even churched) people are not understanding the basic Gospel and the tenets of Christian theology. And this is true even though we can soon (if not already) be culturally classified as a post-Christian society. Hence this book, The Explicit Gospel, which is primarily written for ministry leaders (it's not a modern evangelistic tract).
On the cover, Explicit Gospel boasts fairly diverse recommendations, including D. A. Carson, Rick Warren and David Platt. In the introduction, Chandler does well to articulate the concern of Gospel illiteracy, almost to a disturbing level, and introduces us to what's known as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, a biblically-bankrupt belief system of self-sufficiency and self-importance that's unknowingly held by many churchgoers who have long been a part of ministries that have caved to our culture of consumerism. Chandler goes on to overview the structure of their explanation of the explicit gospel by creatively establishing two categories: "on the ground" (the Gospel's pertinence in human lives) and "in the air" (its pertinence everywhere else).
In Part 1, "The Gospel on the Ground," Chandler does well to explain the sheer grandeur of God's sovereignty and essence, also exegetically and creatively (discussing the importance of owning cows, 23). He challenges Christians not to be afraid of truth, giving a nod to Arthur Holmes' timeless (in my opinion) quote: "All truth is God's truth." Moving on to "Man," he first argues that all of humanity is created to worship something, and curiously transitions to strongly note the "severity of God" (40), namely, God's wrath (might this section belong in the previous chapter?). Chandler rightfully argues that the wrath of God has been downplayed, perhaps a key component on the road to Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. He isn't for scaring people into faith with hellfire and brimstone, but he maintains that downplaying God's wrath doesn't give a complete picture of God. It can help to fill the pews, though, so Chandler goes on to challenge Christian leaders not to expect ministerial success or measure it by the tangibles (e.g. attendance, budget, community impact), rather to be faithful to the Word you're preaching. (However, this doesn't take away our practical obligation to be communicative with the Gospel, and hope and pray for God's masterful involvement).
In the "Christ" chapter of Part 1, Chandler first goes to the work of the cross, curiously making a brief stop to the theological ramifications of Christ's on-the-cross quote of Psalm 22, and then (perhaps going a little denominational) stating that Christ's death was planned by God since "the beginning of time (57)." But then, Chandler gets to, arguably, the beef of the Gospel: the Doctrine of Atonement. And he argues that the work of Christ on the cross, though graphic and potentially offensive (giving a nod to the penal substitution view), should be central, not the Calvinist's TULIP or the Charismatic's Pentecost celebration. Adding on to his aforementioned challenge to ministry leaders, his "Response" chapter reminds us that the Gospel demands response from our born-sinful souls, and it, simply, will soften some and harden others. We should not add church practice, no matter how biblical, to Gospel truth.
Part 2, "The Gospel in the Air," tackles an area that you don't often see: the Gospel's work outside of human transformation. Chandler starts explaining Scripture's storyline in commonly-used set of four stages: Creation, Fall, Reconciliation, Consummation. In the "Creation" chapter, he admits his agnosticism with the inconsistency of science (92) in comparison with the constancy and the glorious Creator-hood of God. He transitions into the "Fall" chapter with a true story of a mid-sermon debate with his congregation on Pelagianism. Chandler then portrays the Fall as a loss of shalom, making references to Ecclesiastes and, creatively, to pop culture (e.g. Adam Sandler and Justin Bieber). In the "Reconciliation" chapter, he does well to explain the work of Christ on the cross as also "super-personal (136)," applying it to the Great Commission in what's perhaps the best portrayal of a biblically-balanced missional mindset that I've read (145-52). Chandler then starts off the "Consummation" chapter with his previous reluctance to eschatology, but he encourages us with the glorious aspects of the heavenly afterlife.
Not contributing to what Ed Stetzer (rightfully, I'll add) calls an "application deficit" in the Church, Chandler has a section entitled "Implications and Applications." He introduces the proverbial slippery slope, and speaks against the privatization and non-application of doctrine and general complacency. To be fair, Chandler warns of the loss of doctrinal Truth and values and general evangelism should the Gospel spend too much time "in the air."
However, I think Chandler should have picked a different example of how the Church shouldn't cave to culture other than women's ordination. What about the ordination of openly practicing homosexuals, the luxurious amenities in church facilities, worship services for dogs, or any downplay or omission of the very tenets of the explicit Gospel that he just explained? I'm no advocate for egalitarianism, but in my opinion, these are more unanimous and urgent examples of churches caving to culture and potentially compromising biblical guidelines, but Chandler's choice of example could cause wrongful and denominational division among his readers as some would argue that he cheapened the knowledge of non-complementarian biblical historians.
But, in "moralism and the Cross," Chandler really brings it home with a powerful testimony of his church upbringing and an experience he had trying to evangelize to a good friend. He calls us all to remember the Gospel and giving a "grace-driven" effort, proclaiming and living the explicit Gospel. The appendix acts as an extended book recommendation.
Whenever I'm reading a book with an explicitly apodictic mission statement (such as this one), my denominational radar goes up. Aside from a few nods to traditional Reformed theology, this book is very well balanced. However, I finished with a few questions:
Specific application. I understand and wholeheartedly agree that biblical literacy, especially the explicit Gospel, should be at the heart of all the Church does, doing away with any type of Bible-less, consumer-based message of pop psychology. However, how exactly is this executed when altar calls and most-to-all forms of revivalism are no longer showing to be as effective in evangelism?
Secondly, is it possible to go from a Gospel-centered ministry to a Gospel-only ministry? This question was on the back-burner of my mind when I reviewed John Piper's Bloodlines, when he addressed the sinfulness of racism only using one story from the book of Luke and a Calvinist's interpretation of the Doctrine of Atonement, while the rest of the Gospels and the entire Bible have so much more to offer on the subject. In the same way, in a book like this, I'd like to see more of the Bible's interconnectedness and holistic relevance to further portray why the Gospel is the apex. Don't just jump from Genesis 3:16 to Matthew 1.
Overall, Matt Chandler and Jared Wilson are rightful in their worry about increasingly Gospel-less and biblically illiterate churchgoers, much less "seekers." This book reminds us (and sometimes challenges us) of the basics from God's Word. Definitely a must-read for ministry leaders or anyone who's been remotely confused by Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.
