When the Uber driver dropped me off, I quickly sensed I might not be in the right neighborhood. I searched for Oude Kerk, the oldest building in Amsterdam. The online description told me it’s been a Calvinist church since the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. But I didn’t find much evidence of worship inside the cavernous structure that dates back to 1306. I struggled to follow the contemporary art exhibit installed inside and didn’t linger.
Outside the church, however, is when things got strange. I’d never been to Amsterdam, and I traveled alone. First my nose, and then my map, confirmed that I had landed in the city’s notorious red-light district. I set my compass southwest toward the Rijksmuseum and strode quickly past packed canal tour boats and crowds of German tourists. Not much could better symbolize the secular shift of northern Europe than the Calvinist church turned into an art exhibit shrouded by clouds of marijuana smoke.
Now I can laugh about my ignorant American jaunt through Amsterdam. But that’s not what I remember most about my fall visits for our first TGC Netherlands/Flanders conference and to Copenhagen for our first TGC Nordic conference. Traveling in Europe felt normal, and not only because I encountered fewer restrictions for COVID-19 compared to the United States.
As I talked with church leaders in some of the world’s most secular cities, I grew refreshed by their lack of pretense. They asked many befuddled questions about American evangelicals and politics. But I just wanted to learn from them about evangelism and apologetics in post-Christian contexts. We prayed together. We worshiped through song together. We discussed strategies for engaging disinterested students and coworkers with the gospel. We debated family leave policy for mothers compared to fathers. We ate Indonesian food while talking about Jesus and the jazz scene in Aruba.
It was all so . . . normal. No one argued that Christians need political power in order to fulfill their mission. No one excused abusive church leaders because they attract big crowds. I didn’t sense panic from these Christians just because they have become a small minority. Instead I met Christians marked by faith, hope, and love—much like the believers we read from and about in Scripture.
Three Goals
As a global movement, The Gospel Coalition brings me spiritual refreshment as I learn from devoted believers in diverse contexts. While publishing primarily for American readers, The Gospel Coalition also works with international authors and distributes our works from Canada to Cambodia. This year TGC’s publishing could be summarized in three goals:
- Look for evidence of God’s work around the world.
- Discern the shape of cultural shifts underneath the conflicts we see today.
- Remind the church to prioritize physical presence.
Special thanks to our partners at Crossway and 9Marks for their help in distributing almost 300,000 copies of Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ Is Essential to 15,000 U.S. churches. Not only that, but generous partners helped us translate the book into 20 different language editions in response to the global disruption to church caused by COVID-19.
In our mission to glorify God by spreading the gospel of the Son, The Gospel Coalition regards nothing more important than supporting local churches and their leaders. Perhaps the Lord is leading you to help TGC equip church leaders around the world to focus on the only good news that changes eternity. With your support, we’ll continue providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise. We’re building in 2022 toward major new initiatives that we plan to unveil, Lord willing, in 2023.
With thanks for your help, and hope in God’s continued faithfulness in 2022, let’s revisit the top content produced by The Gospel Coalition in 2021.
Best of 2021
TGC’s Manifesto: Prioritize Your Church!
By Brett McCracken
A ministry that primarily publishes online articles needs to occasionally remind readers: we’re not here to supplant churches but support them. Now is the time to rediscover church, when so much jeopardizes our unity in Christ.
My Adoptive Family Helped Me Understand My Identity
By Leah Jolly
Especially as the Supreme Court considers overturning Roe v. Wade, it’s a great time to hear about the redemptive power of adoption. Without minimizing the challenges of adoption, we can still celebrate this evidence of God’s grace.
The Lies That Serve Us: Christians and Critical Race Theory
By Justin Giboney
Rarely have I worked with a more fair-minded, grounded political strategist than Justin Giboney. I don’t trust anyone in politics unless they dish out warranted criticism to both sides. In this brief video Giboney engages with the fad of critical race theory and its many detractors.
When It Comes to Abuse, It Takes a Village
By Glen Scrivener
If you ever doubt the systemic dimensions to sin and injustice, consider the story of Tamar and her rape by Amnon. But the good news is that there is a place of hope and healing in the kingdom of Christ.
Coaching Cinderella: Meet Oral Roberts’s Paul Mills
Interview by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
The return of March Madness in 2021 gave us the feel-good story of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and Paul Mills, son of a pastor. You will meet many believing coaches but not many with such sharp theological and pastoral intentionality.
Why Befriend Your Opponents? Bavinck on ‘Critical’ Friendship
By James Eglinton
Don’t let the current political climate discourage you from seeking friends across the aisle. Herman Bavinck offers a compelling example from more than a century ago amid theological change in The Netherlands.
How Afghan Pastors Reflect on God’s Sovereignty
By Mark Morris
Nothing makes theology operational like death. The ongoing tragedy in Afghanistan worsened with the U.S. withdrawal and led to life-and-death decisions, but not without hope of eternal rewards.
What’s Next for Our Culture with COVID
Interview by Collin Hansen
After one year of COVID I reached out to Andy Crouch, whose early analysis proved so prescient in the pandemic. He saw a shift in 2021 toward the Roaring Twenties, as followed the Spanish Flu in 1918. Once again as pent-up consumer demand drives inflation, Crouch is looking wise.
‘Friday Nights Lights’ at 15: Texas (Is Not) Forever
By Brett McCracken
You know it’s a good TV show if you’re still discussing it 15 years later. Brett McCracken draws out the show’s longing for permanence and fellowship in a world still under the curse of sin.
Let’s Talk: Lies Women Believe
By Jasmine Holmes, Melissa Kruger, and Jackie Hill Perry
It’s no secret why so many women enjoy listening to Let’s Talk and look forward to the next season in early 2022. When you combine relatability and honesty with the conviction of God’s Word, you get wisdom to live by.
By Joshua Ryan Butler
Debate might still be raging in some corner of the internet around this article. Maybe every deconstruction story is unique. But if you’ve worked for years with young adults, then the basic contours begin to take shape.
When the Pastor Baptizes His Wife
By Jess Kurz
I’m especially proud of this title, which teases the happy ending. Marriage is hard. Church planting is hard. Imagine doing so as you realize your wife doesn’t believe in Christ!
A Love Story with ‘Kingdom Potential’
By Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
Speaking of love stories, I wasn’t entirely sure how this feature on Carl and Karen Ellis would turn out. It’s a beautiful story, yes. And it’s also an example of how married couples in ministry can seek first the kingdom of God.
1776 and the Origin Story of the Post-Christian West
By Andrew Wilson
I haven’t looked forward to a book this much since Carl Trueman’s The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. One of the great needs of our day is helping church leaders see the cultural shifts underneath more obvious changes that concern Christians across the West today.
My 30-Second Sermon as We Prepared for a Crash Landing
By Kyle Donn
You’ve probably had a nightmare about your plane crashing. Imagine that you really thought you were going to die. How would you feel? What would you say to everyone around you about eternity and judgment?
How to Prepare for the Metaverse
By Ian Harber and Patrick Miller
The metaverse is not a matter of if but when. And this new form of virtual reality will reshape how we interact with, well, everything, including the church. Maybe some aspects of the metaverse can be adapted for good, but no doubt much will need to be rejected by Christians who worship a God made flesh.
Remembering 9/11: The Most Hopeful People
By Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
On that most horrible day 20 years ago, God was still working good from the wreckage. Hear one couple’s harrowing story of survival and then faith as they tried to resume their life after fleeing downtown New York City in terror.
Deconstruct Your Culture, Not Your Faith
By Hunter Beaumont
It won’t suffice to tell Christians asking hard questions about problems in the church today that they just need to follow their leaders. We need to help them trust God as they learn how to discern the beliefs and practices they’ve inherited.
By Melissa Kruger
Yes, it needs to be said at a time when so many male leaders in the churches have fallen that any corrections should not make ministry to and for women more difficult. Women should not be punished because some men take advantage of them.
