Tom Wood

Gospel-centered Foundation

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

Tom Wood and Scott Thomas explain the essence and importance of being truly gospel-centered:

We are persuaded that the gospel must be the central foundation for effective, God-honoring biblical [leadership].  It is imperative, therefore, that we know what the gospel is and how it informs our practices. Terms like justification, adoption, sanctification, and sin are often clearly defined in several historical church documents, creeds, and confessions of the church. But there are surprisingly few classical definitions of the gospel.

There is a reason for this.  Some have attempted to distill the deep truths of the gospel in terms of laws (the “Four Spiritual Laws, for example) or have tried to visually illustrate the message by means of a bridge.  Others summarize the main points with headings like: God, Sin, Christ, and Faith, or by giving the high points of the story arc of the Bible.  This approach communicates the gospel through movements in redemptive history and is often summarized by creation, sin, and redemption, or by creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.

In truth, the gospel is more of a story than a simple definition.  In order to really grasp the gospel message, you have to immerse yourself in the narratives of the Bible, because transforming faith is more than just a statement that we accept; it is something that connects with both our minds and our hearts. It is a true story, rich with drama, action, and eternal significance.

This passage is excerpted from their excellent book, Gospel Coach.

Wading in the Gospel Deep

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

The message of the gospel is shallow enough for a child to wade in and yet deep enough to drown an elephant, and to grasp it we suggest following the summary of the gospel story through the four narrative acts of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. As each act of the drama unfolds, it’s important to keep in mind that the gospel is first and foremost God’s story.  Though it has important implications for our lives today, it is a story written and conceived by God himself.  It describes how his created beings committed cosmic treason against his just and loving rule, and how he took the loving initiative to rescue his people out of their rebellion and from the consequences of our folly, guilt, and certain death.  The full story of the gospel communicates the compelling truth about God, what he requires of us, and what he has done for us. It tells us the truth – about our world, about who we really are, and about our destiny.

~ Tom Wood & Scott Thomas, from Gospel Coach

Centering Our Lives On Something

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

“Since we are made to worship, we are always centering our lives on something whether we realize it or not.  It is like a fire hose that is stuck in the ‘on’ position and shooting water out endlessly with great force. We must decide where we aim the hose as the focus of our worship. The idols of our modern world are not necessarily the hand-carved statues of the ancient world.  In our autonomous self-seeking ways, people have instead come to serve or worship the self-erected idols of approval, comfort, and security.  We must ruthlessly inspect the sin in our heart for these idols… so it is vital that [we] get to the heart. As Tim Keller puts it, ‘The solution to our sin problem is not simply to change our behavior, but to reorient and center our entire heart and life on God.’  Therefore, we must go after the nature of the sin by going after its root and not just the fruit of the sin. Oftentimes people repent of sin that is simply the fruit of the idols in their hearts. We must find out the why of the behavior and not just the what”.

~Tom Wood & Scott Thomas, Gospel Coach

From Graced Again