How the Gospel Can Transform This Community

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16

I've decided to make it apart of my week to put up a blog post each week with whatever it is that's on my mind presently. Most currently I've been reading a book by John Piper called "Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian". In it there was a small chapter that really got me thinking about how truly powerful the Gospel is to transform lives, to transform families, to transform mindsets, ways of life, and, what is most presently consuming my thoughts, entire communities.

I've entitled this series of posts "How the Gospel Can Transform This Community" because 1). it's my hope to show one by one that the pure, unadulterated Gospel - the truth that God sent his Son to die for our sins, graciously forgive us and give us power through His Holy Spirit to live as new creations - can conquer every root problem in our community; and 2). I say "this community" because as I write this my thoughts are centered on the Fountain Valley area, the community I've come to know, love, and care for over the past 5 years. However, the transforming power of the Gospel is pervasive throughout every community in the world, so what I'll be sharing truly applies to whatever community you live in and have a heart to see revolutionized by the power of the Gospel.

There are a lot of ideas and debate about what is needed and what is effective for producing positive change in a community, whether it's through educating people for personal accountability creating positive change that's starts with individuals and their families or it's through structural intervention with new programs and community initiatives. These definitely have their place and it will take much more informed and intelligent people than me to figure out those issues. My concern isn't that these social ideas (from both right and left) are not true or helpful. My concern is that they are at their best still just human effort and are not filled with the supernatural power of God, they're spiritually hollow and impotent.

John Piper writes that "the gospel of Jesus does not enter controversy as another ideology or philosophy or methodology for social improvement. It enters like dynamite. It enters as the power of the Creator to reconcile people to himself and supernaturally make them new." That most succinctly states my staunch belief in the power of the Gospel to transform communities over anything else. It's my goal over the next few days or weeks (however long it takes me to think this through and find ways to express it) to explain this claim and consider how explosively the Gospel can enter a community and conquer the destructive forces that Satan employs to tear them down.

YOUR NEXT STEP: James 1:22 says "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only" So, at the end of each of these posts I'll give you a suggestion or two of ways that you can take a step toward putting into action what's been talked about.
- Consider starting your day with a moment of prayer for your community. Find out the names of some of your government officials, the police chief, school superintendent, etc. and lift them up in prayer that God would soften their hearts to the Gospel. Pray that God would use you in some way to be a God-centered, Bible-saturated catalyst for change in your community.

In Christ,
Ryan Fillinger
Fusion Church
Fountain, CO