Today I reached into my refrigerator to grab some ingredients for a smoothie, including a bottle of orange juice called Simply Orange. Anyone familiar with this brand knows the company uses nothing but oranges in its juice, no artificial preservatives or added sugar.
The church should adopt this company’s strategy and go Simply Gospel, no false doctrines or destructive heresies. Business plans, fundraising campaigns and clever advertising strategies can be surrendered to the Good News that Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.
The message of the Gospel, the good news that Christ has suffered and died to set us free from sin and death, should not be an afterthought of pastors and leaders. The cross is the essential doctrine of the Church and must be taught to the faithful so they can grow stronger in Word and deed.
When the Gospel is preached, sinners are transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul said it this way, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
We cannot design a business plan or marketing strategy that will persuade a person to believe in Christ. The Spirit, however, will bring sinners to Christ through the Gospel.
“Is it not in your power to preach, not a superficial but a simple gospel, a gospel which makes a man strong to think, strong to do, and strong to bear” (Thomas Kelly Cheyne, “Faith and Progress,” Treasury of the World’s Greatest Sermons, Warren Wiersbe 128).
Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.
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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD
Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2