The Real Gospel

            A few weeks ago, an article landed in my inbox about the challenges facing the church.  It was an interview with Eugene Peterson that had been conducted several years ago by Rick Lawrence, the executive director of Vibrant Faith, and also of GROUP Magazine.  It caught my attention, in part, because it echoed a response that I had received to an invitation to come to worship.

            Rick Lawrence writes: “the church’s message has subtly shifted toward a "shadow gospel"—that the Christian life is all about trying harder to be a better person. This shadow gospel is fueling a decline in the church, because it’s shallow and impotent. The Christian life is not about trying harder to be better—that’s not the gospel.”  Instead, he is trying to get people to refocus their attention on cultivating an intimate relationship with Jesus.

            A few years ago, when I invited a friend to come to worship, she responded that she didn’t need to go to church to become a better person.  At the time, I wondered when that had become the main reason to worship with others.  However, that is the message that has gotten out there, perhaps – as Eugene Peterson suggests – because of mega-churches.

            In his estimation, mega-churches have been more harmful than helpful, focusing more on the individual than on Jesus, and usually fueled by the pastor’s ego.  Because of this, Peterson says that he has always insisted on being part of a smaller church.  Smaller churches, in his estimation, are better equipped to cultivate what he calls “attentiveness to Jesus.”   In his book, Working the Angles, Peterson writes: "The pastor’s primary responsibility is to help people maintain their attentiveness to Jesus."  In his estimation, this is true spirituality.  It focuses on Jesus, and not on us, and it is all about nurturing our relationship with Jesus.

            Just in case you are wondering how one actually does this, a few things come to mind.  Getting to know Jesus through the Scriptures and through worship is important.  Prayer is important.  Conversation and prayer with other Christians is important.  Encountering Jesus in the sacraments is important.  These are the things that can help nurture our relationship with Jesus.

            The gospel, as noted earlier, is not about trying harder to be better.  Rather, it is about what God has done for us through Jesus, who forgives, heals and sets free.  And, as we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we become more Christ-like in how we think and how we act.  In fact, it is God working in us by the power of the Holy Spirit that facilitates this transformation.

            The consumer culture in which we live tries to tell us that everything is all about us.  However, the gospel is not about us, but about Jesus, who died so that we might live, and who humbled himself for our sake.  Thanks be to God for this most precious gift of love!

            In Christ,

            Pastor Lynne Hutchison