Paul Smith recently wrote in Evangelical Times about the news that The Gospel Coalition UK was moving forward. ET has kindly offered an opportunity for me to respond, and I welcome the chance to address some of the concerns that were raised.
TGC-UK aims to serve the church in the proclamation of the gospel as they convene meetings of like-minded believers, publish materials and equip churches to engage with culture and community.
From the start of this venture, we have had criticisms from the broader evangelical scene that we are too narrowly defined, especially because we are reformed and complementarian. Others have suggested that we are too broad and compromised. I am not going to argue that this must mean that we are ‘the perfect middle’, but it does illustrate that in evangelical ecumenism we all draw lines somewhere.
Here is the fundamental question: by adopting the TGC confessional statement and being associated with the worldwide TGC organisation, can TGC-UK be a useful, theologically robust but generous group which will serve the cause of the gospel?
