Matt Chandler: Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church
I’ve been reading Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church, by Matt Chandler, Josh Patterson, and Eric Geiger. It has been personally convicting. And it has been 
encouraging and empowering in terms of my ministry as an elder, a professor, a writer, and a counselor.
Rather than a review, here are just a few quotes of note that stood out to me.
• “We were born for nothing but repentance” (Tertullian, 5).
• “To progress is always to begin again” (Martin Luther, 5).
• What is the gospel: “God reconciling work in Christ—that through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, God is making all things new both personally for those who repent and believe, and cosmically as He redeems culture and creation from its subjection to futility” (7-8).
• “It is an absolute and unique teaching in all the world to teach people, through Christ, to live as if there were not law or wrath or punishment. In a senses, they do not exist ay longer for the Christian but only total grace and mercy for Christ’s sake” (Martin Luther paraphrased by Tim Keller, 16).
• “Because we humans are worshippers, we are rejoicers. It’s what we do. Every single person, whether religious or irreligious, actively worships” (23).
• Sin is a two-step movement: “running from Him while simultaneously running toward things that make matters worse…” (31).
• “As you consider selecting songs for your worship services, consider them in light of the truth of the gospel. Imagine the songs as teachers—because they are! If your people could understand your doctrine only through the music you sing, what would they know about God and His pursuit of us? If your people could understand your church’s beliefs only through the music, what would they know? There are good questions to ask yourself in order to stay Jesus-centered” (43).
• “Choose songs that boldly remind people of the gospel—how He founds us in the hopelessness of our sin and redeemed us for His own pleasure and glory—because only the gospel can stir God’s people to worship authentically and live. Without consistent reminders of the gospel, our worship services quickly become empty religious feasts that (according to Scripture) disgust the Lord” (43).
• “True friendship calls you out of the darkness of personal privacy and into the loving candor of mutual concern. It moves you from being a sealed envelope to being an open letter” (Paul Tripp, 45).
• “We are in the middle of the love story, the middle of the epic battle” (85).
• We’re already in the greatest story. We just need to go outside and play! (paraphrase, 89).
• About Trinitarian culture/theology in a church: “A church believes that God exists as a community of three Persons, that He created a community of people later wrecked by the fall, but that Christ forms a new community of faith through His death and resurrection, commanding His followers to encourage one another” (107).
• “You do not really preach the gospel if you leave Christ out—if He is omitted, it is not the gospel! You may invite men to listen to your message, but you are only inviting them to gaze upon an empty table unless Christ is the very center and substance of all that you set before them!” (Charles Spurgeon, 119).
• “What began as a whisper in Genesis 3:15 culminates with a shout in Revelation 21…” (130).
• “The best way to overcome the world is not with morality or self-discipline. Christians overcome the world by seeing the beauty and excellence of Christ. They overcome the world by seeing something more attractive than the world: Christ” (Thomas Chalmers, 144).
• “There are great stories in the Bible … but it is possible to know Bible stories, yet miss the Bible story…. The Bible has a story line. It traces an unfolding drama. The story follows the history of Israel, but it does not begin there, nor does it contain what you would expect in a national history…. If we forget the story line, we cut the heart out of the Bible. Sunday school stories are then told as tamer stories of the Sunday comics, where Samson substitutes for Superman; David becomes a Hebrew version of Jack the Giant Killer. No, David is not a brave little boy who isn’t afraid of the big bad giant. He is the Lord’s anointed…. God chose David as a king after his own heart in order to prepare for David’s great Son, our Deliverer and Champion” (Ed Clowney, 146-147).
• “Often the question of ‘Who am I?’ should be answered with ‘Whose am I?’” (154).
• “The gospel provides the greatest identity one can ever find” (155).
• Gospel-centered leadership: “Jesus-centered leadership is God-focused, Christ-exalting, and Spirit-led influence toward a kingdom agenda” (164).
• “None of us ever graduate from the gospel to move on to something else; rather, we continue to grow into the fullness of the gospel more and more” (169).
• Commenting on 2 Corinthians 8:7-9: “The gospel pushes us deeper into our pockets by reminding us of how deeply God went into His. To incite the generosity of the Corinthians to help the impoverished church in Jerusalem, Paul simply reminded them of the gospel: ‘You know the grace of the Lord. Let the grace of the Lord compel you to give.’ The church budget is a doctrinal statement. The budget clearly reveals your practice, which reveals your theology and philosophy. It is hypocritical to espouse a church culture that values mission in the city yet budgets more for landscaping. There is a deep disconnect if the vision statement articulates a passion to take the gospel to the nations yet the budget reveals a miniscule commitment. A budget grounded in the gospel will reflect gospel priorities. As you budget, simply consider the question: ‘What does the gospel say we are called to do and be for our members and in this community?’” (191-192).
• “The most important daily habit we can possess is to remind ourselves of the gospel” (Charles Spurgeon, 196).
Join the Conversation
Which quote from Creature of the Word stands out to you? If you’ve read the book, what additional quotes or concepts impacted you?
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