I wonder if they shouldn’t have done this upfront, but they began today by explaining just what it is that the “Gospel Coalition” is, what its goals, are, etc.

D.A. Carson spent some time defining what the “coaltion” has been and is. He noted that the conviction originally arose with Carson himself and Tim Keller. As the two began getting to know one another and discussing together, they realized that both shared deep commitment to the Gospel and worry that the “Gospel Center” was largely being lost. In response, both felt a firm conviction that something needed to be done, primarily among churches, to reclaim and promote the biblical, historic Gospel.

Upon this concern and conviction, Keller and Carson, agreeing that neither had the wisdom to know how to proceed, began meeting annually with a group of 30-40 pastors. They noted that it was quite important that the original group be pastorally centered. This group of pastors (now known as the “council”), is, as Carson noted, “All deeply committed to the Word, broadly Reformed and evangelizing.” Carson described this group as “People who were deeply rooted in historical, biblical theology while looking ahead.”

Many of the pastors on this council are members of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the National Association of Evangelicals, Together For the Gospel and other groups and networks. There is considerable overlap between many of these organizations. Above, Carson noted, the Gospel Coalition, which has now become an independent non-profit orgainization (feel free to ask your church to commit the Coalition to its regular missions budget), is above all, a service agency. This group of pastors has met independently for 3 years now and has thus launched this “mini-conference,” and in a sense, “going public” with what they’ve already been doing.

Some time in June, the coalition website will fully go live and will be a hub for the ministry. It will include their confessional documents (which are quite rigorous), various articles, PDF files of important “out of print” works and the like. There will also be larger, national conferences which will happen on the off-years of the bi-annual Together For the Gospel conferences, with plans for an international conference as well. The initial group of pastors will continue to meet annually, guiding the other activities and encouraging one another. There are plans for regional, topical conferences as well. One of the distinctives is that the Coaltion is focused, not just on an annual conference but in actively living out and promoting the Gospel.

The Coalition strives to, in a small sense, model the broad diversity of the True Body of Christ. Broad denominational distinctives, race, gender, generational differences are good and valuable but the Gospel overcomes all of the separation that we bring with these God-given differences. Too often what happens in attempts at diversity is an appeal to the lowest common denominator, but the Coalition is centered around the Gospel without watering it down.

It will be interesting to watch as this movement of “Gospel centered ministry” continues to grow and I am excited to have been a part of this initial conference. I am extemely excited about the reminder of the, as Keller put it, “massively transformational” nature of the Gospel. The Gospel overcomes our differences while preserving them. It calls us to both engage and withdraw from the world and forces us to seek this balance. The Gospel truly is for all of life.
Carson noted that no one will be disappointed if, in ten years or so the Coalition dies. It is above all, a service ministry devoted to the Gospel. May we be as focused in all we do.

• Visit the developing Gospel Coalition website (not much to see yet)
• Browse Justin Taylor’s overviews of the various sessions
• Read Justin Buzzard’s notes