“Only the unadjusted Gospel is the empowered Gospel.”

That statement should not be a surprise to any reader of Matt Chandler’s work.  In fact, in Chapter 4 of his book The Explicit Gospel he writes several pages about the “unadjusted Gospel.”

Many feel the American church is in trouble.  One in five Americans attend weekly.  Forty-one percent of Americans attend monthly and three in five never attend church at all.  Statistical analysis yields the following conclusions: 1. American cultural habits have changed: going to church every Sunday is not as important as it once was.  2. There is an ongoing disturbing trend that Americans do not trust institutions anymore [including religious institutions].  3.  Worship services today do not seem connected to people’s lives.*

I know this is vague, general language but my point is this.  What have churches done to counteract these problems?  They have “adjusted” their approach to spreading the Gospel.  Matt Chandler is having none of this.

What does he believe will save the church?  Here it is in a nutshell: “the power of the Gospel is not in the dynamic presentation of the preacher or the winsomeness of the witness….The power of the Gospel is the Spirit’s applying the saving work of Jesus Christ to the heart of a hearer” [77].  He cites Charles Spurgeon the 19th‑century Baptist preacher whose powerful sermons, deep devotion, and vast ministry work made him one of the most influential Christian voices of all time: “You cannot induce them to come; you cannot force them to come by all your thunders, nor can you entice them to come by all your invitations.  They will not come…until the Spirit draws them”.

Yet what do we see happening in the church?  Worship style is changing to the point that church music sounds more like a rock concert.  Church doctrine is adjusted to the point that congregations are moving toward accepting more and more alternative lifestyles [that is done to show the church has a true open door].  More liberal theology is being applied because it is more “palatable.”  Don’t preach about sin and hell because that is negative.  We need to expose the congregation to God’s all-knowing and all-accepting love for everyone.  More conservative congregations are politicizing the Scriptures.  The way to activate a congregation is to get them involved in the give and take of power politics.  It does not matter that the church members are openly supporting people who are not acceptable role models of caring Christian leaders.

Chandler’s response: “Every effort to remake the Christian faith leads to wickedness.  We can’t repaint the faith” [81].

Before you think I am an old “fuddy duddy” set in my ways, resistant to change, and a bit behind the times, I have attended many different types of worship services and I know that different people prefer different types of things.  I don’t care if the spirit moves a person during a praise-music worship song and I also don’t care if a person feels God in a quiet, reserved service that is formal and reverent.  Whatever works for someone is ok for them.  I don’t judge.  The problem occurs when a church makes changes just to get “butts in the pews.”  Church is changed from the inside out just to get a response from anyone who is resistant to God’s message.  The spirit is not moving within someone to get them to come to church.  The gimmick is what is getting them in the church doors.  Some would say, “who cares, as long as they get to church.”  I do understand that; maybe the gimmick gets them in and the spirit moves them after they are there. 

Maybe Chandler is a “fuddy duddy,” as he cites the dilemma of Peter, preaching the Gospel in Acts to people gathered in Jerusalem.  Peter knows he will be preaching to Jews and what is he going to do with the information that they were the ones who killed Jesus?   Is he just going to ignore the “elephant in the room” or is he going to address this issue head-on.  He addressed the idea directly and let the Holy Spirit do its work.  “You killed Him.  You crucified Him.  They were cut to the heart.”  The apostles said what are we going to do?  Peter said if they repent, baptize them in the name of Jesus and forgive them of their sins.  They will then receive the Holy Spirit.  And they did experience forgiveness and they did receive the Holy Spirit.

Chandler writes “what saved them?  Their faith.”  No gimmicky action brought about their salvation.  The church had not fed them any message.  They had not been sitting under a teacher for weeks.  There was no church they had been attending every week.  God just opened hearts and minds.  This took the pressure off Peter.  He did not have to construct a “seeker-sensitive sermon.”  He did not have to soften his message to make it more palatable.  It was just the truth delivered to people with open hearts and open minds–opened by God, not some congregational strategy.

Chandler is no fool.  He writes “Some people won’t like hearing this” [referring to the truth].  But some are going to hear this and be saved” [81].  He calls the gimmicks that churches use “relational evangelism” and like me, he is willing to admit that some need that approach to get them in the church doors, but “eventually [you are] going to have to open up your mouth and share the Gospel.  When the pure Gospel is shared, people respond.”  The unadjusted Gospel is the only message that is empowered by God; it is all about the life of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the securing of eternal life. 

In an age when the church is struggling and responding to declining numbers with many reinvention strategies to secure more followers, I find it interesting that Chandler holds to the unvarnished truth of the Gospels.  Telling the truth about Jesus is like a “smart bomb in the hearts of those the Spirit has given eyes to see and ears to hear.”

“The unadjusted Gospel is the empowered Gospel.”

* “Why Church Attendance Is Declining (15 Reasons) + U.S. Statistics (2026)” a blog by Enes Güneş, accessed on 5/31/2026