In our contemporary fractured – and fracturing – world, I believe the church must find its footing in the gospel rather than on one partisan side or the other. We’ve all seen congregations and denominations go down that latter road, on the left and the right. Ultimately, it’s a dead-end. The gospel is political (Jesus brought the good news of a kingdom, after all!), but it refuses to fit neatly into our partisan categories, language, and ideologies. 

How do we find our footing in the gospel? Basic questions like these can help a lot, especially as we sort our way through complex questions, and listen for the voice of Jesus in a dizzying area of opinion.

• What did Jesus say? What did Jesus do? 
• Who did Jesus speak to? 
• What did he criticize and what did he bless?
• What norms did Jesus outline for human life? 
• What future does Jesus promise the world?
• What kind of community did Jesus leave behind?
• And if we – the church – are trying to be that kind of community, what do we need to do to live faithfully in our world today?

These are gospel questions which lead us toward love and into action. They equip us to bear faithful witness in a world desperately in need of truth, grace, and hope.