We live in a world that loves good advice. Self-help books, philosophical podcasts, and life hacks dominate our feeds. Even churches can subtly slip into this mindset, becoming centers for motivation, behavior management, or moral improvement. But Christianity isn’t, at its core, a message of good advice. It’s a declaration of good news. And that changes everything.
In his book Center Church, Tim Keller suggests that most Bible-believing churches fall into one of three categories [1]: gospel-believing, gospel-proclaiming, or gospel-centered. These distinctions are subtle, but they matter deeply. Because how we relate to the gospel (whether as a doctrinal statement, a preaching point, or the actual center of all we do) determines everything about the life and health of the church.
Not Just Gospel-Believing
If you’ve spent time around churches, you’ve probably encountered many a “gospel-believing” church. They affirm the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in their statement of faith. It’s on their website. If you ask them, they’ll gladly agree: “Yes, of course we believe the gospel.”
But sometimes, that belief sits in the background. As Jared Wilson puts it, the gospel can become like wallpaper [2]: technically there, but mostly hidden behind the furniture of programs, principles, and personalities. You might hear the gospel referenced occasionally, but it’s not the engine driving the church’s life, decisions, or direction.
In practice, these churches often emphasize moral teaching, community programs, or inspirational messages more than Christ crucified. Their doctrinal foundations are solid, but those foundations don’t seem like they’re supporting much, if anything. It’s like having a treasure chest that’s never opened. There’s no outright denial of the gospel, but there’s little delight in it either.
The danger here is drift. Over time, churches that believe the gospel but rarely teach or apply it can become indistinct from any other moral or socially responsible group. People grow up in these churches familiar with Christian values, but not transformed by Christ himself.
Not Just Gospel-Proclaiming
Other churches move a step further. The gospel isn’t just believed, it’s regularly proclaimed. These churches preach Christ crucified. They emphasize sin and grace. They practice baptism and communion. They’re not afraid to say “Jesus saves.”
That’s a good thing. These churches are often evangelistically active, eager to see people come to faith in Jesus. The preaching is clear, and the call to believe is bold.
But even then, the gospel can still be relegated to the beginning of the Christian life. It’s preached to unbelievers but assumed for believers. The message may come through powerfully in evangelism but get muted in discipleship. Sermons can become practical how-to guides for Christian living, with a gospel flourish tacked on at the end.
These churches might treat the gospel like the diving board into Christianity rather than the entire pool. You start with Jesus’ finished work, but then move on to the “real stuff”: leadership tips, marriage advice, or strategies for spiritual growth. All of those things are good and needed, but if they’re not rooted in and flowing from the gospel, they subtly teach us that grace is for beginners and growth depends on effort.
As a result, these churches can begin to structure themselves more like businesses than gospel-motivated families. Staff roles, metrics, and mission statements may borrow more from corporate models than the New Testament vision of a people shaped by the cross. The emphasis shifts from shepherding to scaling, from abiding to achieving.
Counseling and community life, too, can become more pragmatic than principled: focused on what works rather than what’s true and Biblical. People may receive advice that sounds wise but is disconnected from the hope and power of the gospel. The goal becomes better behavior rather than deeper dependence on Jesus.
We need to remember that the gospel doesn’t just get us in. It keeps us going. And it shapes the very way we approach every aspect of our lives.
But Gospel-Centered
Paul writes to the Corinthian church (a church with more issues than most) and says this:
Did you catch that?
The gospel is the message they received, the truth in which they stand, and the power by which they are being saved. Not just saved, past tense: but being saved, present tense.
Paul doesn’t assume they’ve moved on, nor that they should move on. He calls the gospel “of first importance.”
A gospel-centered church treats the gospel not just as an entry point, but as the foundation, framework, and fuel for everything. It shapes how we preach, how we parent, how we budget, how we serve, how we suffer, and how we repent. It informs our identity and our hope. As Tim Keller liked to say, “It’s not just the ABCs of Christianity. It’s the A to Z.”
To be gospel-centered means we never graduate from grace. We never get past the cross. We never outgrow our need to hear the good news again. In fact, the more mature we become, the more deeply we understand our sin, and the more precious the gospel becomes.
It also means we don’t just preach the gospel for conversion, we preach it for sanctification. We counsel with it. We lead with it. We disciple through it. Everything is downstream from the gospel.
Why It Matters
Every church drifts. No faithful church intends to stop talking about Jesus. But unless we’re deliberate, we’ll slowly substitute the gospel with good advice. We’ll become people who strive harder but hope less. We’ll give tips without giving Jesus. And eventually, we’ll forget why we started in the first place.
A gospel-believing church might hold orthodox statements but lose its power. A gospel-proclaiming church might win converts but fail to disciple them in grace. But a gospel-centered church constantly returns to the source.
That’s why we must constantly remind ourselves that the gospel isn’t just helpful. It’s essential.
The good news that Jesus died and rose again for sinners isn’t just a message we preach once and move on from. It’s the message we live in, return to, and are shaped by daily.
A gospel-centered church refuses to let grace become assumed. It lifts up Jesus as the center, the hope, and the hero of every story. And when we do that, we don’t just survive as churches, we thrive. Because only the gospel brings life.
[1] Tim Keller, Center Church (Zondervan, 2012).
[2] Jared C. Wilson, Lest We Drift (Zondervan, 2025).
