On February 10, 2020, we hosted The Christ-Centered Gospels Webcast, and what an incredible conversation! Our panelists led an eye‑opening discussion on how we miss the gospel in the Gospels—and what we can do about it. The panelists for this conversation were:
- Jared C. Wilson, author and professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Taylor Cheek, Kids Ministry Director at Immanuel Church
- Shaq Hardy, Student Pastor at Brainerd Baptist Church
- Ashley Powell, Kids Ministry Director at Substance Church
- Steven Ackley, Next Gen Pastor at LifePoint Church
They had so many helpful encouragements for all of us, so we wanted to share a few highlights:
Is it redundant to say that we need to keep our eyes on the gospel when studying the Gospels?
“The Gospel is the lens through which we see all of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.”—Shaq Hardy
“One of the greatest needs of our day is the re-evangelization of the church.” —Jared C. Wilson
Does familiarity with the New Testament help or hinder us when studying it?
“As we study the Gospels, we don’t only become more familiar with Scripture; we become more familiar with the Author.”—Steven Ackley
Are we tempted to sanitize Jesus, especially with kids, and if so, how?
“When we are having an idea of what kinds of passages we tend to sanitize, we have to ask ourselves what is the fallout of that… We want to shield our kids from suffering, but without exposing our kids to suffering in the right way, we’re setting them up to not have a theology of suffering—let alone any appropriate theology.”—Ashley Powell
Why do we need to give people of all ages a complete picture of Jesus?
“To not have a complete picture of Jesus is to lead kids, students, and adults into idolatry.”—Shaq Hardy
What pitfalls do we need to avoid when teaching the New Testament?
“We can forget to have eyes that are trained to look for the thread of the gospel in the Old Testament.”—Ashley Powell
“Teaching through the New Testament while acting like the Old Testament doesn’t exist is one of the biggest mistakes we can make in teaching the Scriptures.”—Shaq Hardy
“When we have a preconceived idea of what we want to teach through the Scriptures rather than letting the text determine what we teach, we fall into a trap.”—Taylor Cheek
How do we know we’re reading Scripture through a “me-centered” lens?
“When I find the blessing for me and the conviction for others.”—Jared C. Wilson
“One way I can judge whether I’m reading Scripture through a gospel-centered lens is asking myself, ‘Does this prompt me to pray?'”— Taylor Cheek
Whether you watched the event live or missed out the first time, we have some good news: we are making The Christ-Centered Gospels Webcast available to stream on-demand starting now at digitalpass.lifeway.com.
The webcast is available through the end of 2020 so that you can choose to watch when it serves you best—over a lunch break, after Sunday services, or in the evening. Just visit your Digital Pass dashboard or click below to register to watch the event for free.
