For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
-- 1 Peter 4:17

The two great failures of the evangelical church today are failures of the highest magnitude: neglected proclamation of the gospel and refused embodiment of the gospel.

We have settled for wowing both sheep and goats and wind up ministering to neither.

There is no room in the inn for that which is of first importance (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Even the most "relevant," most seeker sensitive church cultures -- the ones predicated on targeting the lost one -- have settled for becoming entertainers of the found 99. (These found 99 are just more childish and less committal than they used to be, so mistaking them for the lost is somewhat understandable.)

We do not preach the gospel with conviction and regularity.
And we do not give ourselves away.

We are legalists (for that is what you call someone who does not preach the gospel but insists on Christian behaviorism, even if it's framed as applying the Bible to six steps toward happiness at work), and we are self-idolaters (for that is what you call someone who cares more about having their own needs met than about meeting the needs of others).

Settling for either/or is not kingdom work either.

Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
-- 1 Thessalonians 2:9

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
-- James 2:15-17

We must embrace both gospel-driven proclamation and gospel-driven servanthood, for both are vital to the ministry of reconciliation. Too many of us are opting for one or the other, and far too many are actually doing neither.

Our world is at war. There is no square inch of this world which isn't claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan.
The gospel is good news to those who are perishing, but it is foolishness to them too, so we must not lose heart or lose hope or lose our nerve.

Jesus is King, now and forever. The work of the kingdom will lay waste to the gates of hell, but if you are neither speaking Jesus nor being Jesus, you will be part of the detritus left behind.

We have to wake up! The situation is too dire to think a cool video and a rockin' praise band will suffice. Your good intentions are worthless if you are not intentional about them.

People are hurting and starving and dying. Literally and spiritually. And we're trying to figure out how to optimize our synergy or re-brand our ministries (or something).

This is call to a two-fisted gospel. An embrace by the so-called evangelical Church -- the people named for the gospel! -- to man up, to suit up, to show up.
Crucify the idols of self and comfort and convenience and relevance, and give yourself away.

Teach. Go. Teach as you go.
Don't just sit there laying up treasures in the church building campaign.

Get scandalized by the gospel and start scandalizing others.

If this means nothing to you, you may not be a Christian.

The kingdom comes forcefully and forceful men lay hold of it. What are you waiting for? Permission from your mommy?

Don't waste your life for one more second. Obey the Great Commandment and give it to Christ and to others.

Stop capitulating, stop whining, stop worrying about yourself.

The gospel is power and must be wielded with a whole heart. Embrace the two-fisted gospel.
One fist to take out the prince of the power of the air with the revolutionary news that the risen Christ is Lord, and one fist to bring justice to the captives with the embodied news that God is love.

That is the call of discipleship.

Narcissistic evangelicalism needs a kick to the place its gonads used to be.

Preach Jesus, be Jesus.
Not one or the other. Both. Now.
Or get vomited out.

So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere
-- Luke 9:6

(Cross-posted at The Gospel-Driven Church)