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How The Gospel Coalition is Setting and Changing the Tone

I have been writing at this blog for nearly 6 years now. I enjoy it. I honestly can’t imagine not having an outlet like this to express ideas and work through issues.

That said, there have been multiple times where I’ve seriously considered pulling the plug and trying to ignore the Christian (particularly Reformed) blogosphere all together.

Why? The tone (perhaps better, the TONE!).

From my seat the posts that get the most attention are those that are the most controversial. This sets up something of cycle of controversy for those who are aiming to make an impact in the Christian blog world. While I believe that in some cases controversy is not only helpful but essential (see the recent Rob Bell firestorm), I don’t believe a steady diet of it is. If you are a blogger governed by the cadence of crankiness then you are probably not very happy, and neither are your readers. Regrettably, I have personally contributed to and felt the teeth of many “discerning” blog readers. With the obvious exceptions mentioned above, this type of constant scrapping and picking is exhausting and distracting; it takes our eye of the ball. Overall, it hasn’t been all that helpful.

I’ve lamented how it might change. Personally, I decided several years ago to write more devotional and gospel-application articles. This I did while trying to bury at least part of my head in the blogging sand. Of course I am fully aware that I can’t turn this blogging Queen Mary around in the closet. Leverage, skill and reach are needed.

This is where I believe an organization like The Gospel Coalition (TGC) is making real impact. Their website is one of the top Christian websites on the internet. What makes this amazing is that their tone is not characterized by controversy. Instead, TGC is characterized by the ministry of the gospel and the local church. This strategic and simple online ministry of equipping Christians to be more faithful is having a tremendous impact. I recall going to the campus of Trinity Divinity School in 2007 for their first conference. I don’t believe they even had a website then. The conference was small but the message was clear: be prophetic from center, not the periphery. Since then the leaders and staff at TGC have successfully leveraged the writings of many evangelical leaders to set a cadence and expectation for clear, helpful online resources for gospel ministry.

How do they do it? There are a few important things that I have noticed. I have already mentioned the tone and scope of the articles. They also made the decision to host several blogs from writers that understand, I mean truly understand the primacy of the gospel. Some examples of these bloggers are Justin Taylor, Tullian Tchividjian, Kevin DeYoung, Thabiti Anyabwile, and Scotty Ward Smith (he just prays in his posts about the gospel). Furthermore, they provide a news feed on their home page entitled “Right Now.” As the title suggests, these are updates of things going on in the web that might serve the objective of TGC and its readers.

When you put all of this together you will notice that TGC is helping you to read blogs; they are doing the heavy lifting while helping you to evaluate and prioritize information through the lenses of gospel ministry.

As I sit and watch this organization grow and with it, its reach, I am greatly encoruaged. I have long desired to see a change in the dominant tone of the Christian blogosphere, by God’s grace and through ministries like TGC, I believe that is happening. It is a good day when people are delighting in the greatness and power of Christ!

 

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