I was raised in a Disciples of Christ Church, sometimes referred to simply as The Christian Church.  As lots of church members do, I took my church for granted, thinking that church-going just meant one hour in Sunday school and one hour in worship.  As I got older and began to have questions about church doctrine, I began to realize that my original home church had a social and missional focus for a doctrinal foundation.  Disciples emphasize justice, community, and service.  Education is important, along with racial reconciliation, disaster relief and global mission work.  Interpretation of scripture was what I would call “open.”   The Disciples of Christ church teaches that Scripture is authoritative, but Disciples do not impose a single required interpretation on readers of the Bible. Instead, they emphasize freedom of interpretation, contextual study, and unity rather than doctrinal uniformity. *  All this is fine, but if I would have to label my Disciples Church background, I would have to call it “liberal.”

I write all this to illustrate that this approach to Scripture is not how Matt Chandler thinks Christians should respond to the Gospel.**  This social gospel approach is not what he refers to as “Gospel on the ground.”  Chandler is interested in the individual level on salvation, what the Gospel means for me, my sin, my rescue and my new life in Christ.  What’s the problem with the social gospel approach?  It can all about works and to be frank, people can get all caught up in works and forget why they are doing the work. 

Let me illustrate.  I was once a member of a community of like-minded Christians who devoted two weekends a year discipling new “converts” [or should I say potential converts].  I went on a weekend retreat with these Christians and I was ready to learn about Jesus.  I literally soaked up every word that was spoken and every behavior that was exhibited.  I wanted what they had and I was excited to be there with them.  Chandler might say I was having a “Gospel on the ground” experience.  I completed my weekend and went back “into the world” with my new excitement for Christ and I was fortunate.  I have maintained my love for Jesus over the years.  

I was invited to go on weekends as a leader [or “walks” as they are called] and I accepted.  I was just as excited to share my experience with others as I was excited to receive it on my original walk.  The problem came when I saw the “behind the scenes” stuff.  Instead of knowing the important work they were doing, some of the more mature Christians were just enjoying having the weekend away from home and their normal routine.  The efforts that they put into the walk was just work, not spiritual work, but work (with a lot of fun).  The emphasis was not on the Gospel but on the work.  The more I was invited to participate in this event, I began to see that people seemed to lose their way.  They seemed to think their work was the Gospel.  It’s not.  The Gospel is the stimulus for the work.  Chandler calls this piggybacking the work of the church on the Gospel. 

“The Gospel is just fine without us; it doesn’t need us.  Furthermore, doing that results in preaching the church rather than preaching Christ…. Believing the news that God is holy, that you are a sinner, and Christ has reconciled you to God by His life, death and resurrection is what justifies you.”

Now before I go too far and say that all the work that we do is “dust” let’s put work in its place.  Holy work is “fruit of the spirit” and its not bad.  There are a lot of people who need help in this world, a hot meal, some money, some clean clothes and a roof over their head.  Sometimes the church is the place where they can get help with those things.  “Let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water.”  But the error occurs when the Gospel is lost in all that activity, even when that activity is fruit of the spirit. 

Overdoing good acts at the expense of the Gospel results in activism and activism sometimes does not communicate conversion enough.  It may be right to help those less fortunate, but some theology should be thrown into the mix.   Feeling sorry for those less fortunate is commendable but forgetting that people need to know about the personal sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all of us is a mistake.  This is what Chandler means when he warns that good works can replace the Gospel. 

Now does he go too far?  Maybe…  

The work of the church to help our less fortunate neighbors is what we should be doing, but how do we find that middle ground?  How can we do good work without forgetting why we are doing it?

Maybe turning to Acts and keeping a spiritual focus is the key.  Why did Jesus’ followers live in a community.  The Gospel encouraged that.  Why did they share their possessions with one another.  The Gospel made them people of belief.  Why were they on their mission to spread the word?  The Gospel inspired them to take on that mission.  Why did they begin to see signs and wonders?  It was all the “outworking” of the Gospel.

There is the Gospel and there is the response to the Gospel. 

Chandler says we should “know the difference.”

*Emma Price,  “Who are the Disciples of Christ and What do They Believe?”  Answer The Bible Website accessed on June 22, 2026.

**from his book The Explicit Gospel