Creature Of The Word Analysis

In Creature of the Word, authors Chandler, Patterson, and Geiger set out to uncover what it means to be a church captivated by the Gospel. The Gospel, as defined by the authors, is, “God’s reconciling work in Christ-that through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, God is making all things new both personally for those who repent and believe, and cosmically as He redeems culture and creation from its subjection to futility” (7,8). Chapter one begins with the claim that the church as a whole has lost sight of what the Gospel really is. The church cannot be fulfilled, or successful, apart from the Gospel; the Gospel is what forms the church. This message is about more than simply containing it within the church walls, though, it is about …show more content…
The church serves because Jesus served. Jesus is the motivation and the foundation for the service of the church. Often times, people in the church serve out of impure motives such as guilt, force, or pride. All of these motives are faulty and fade in comparison to the true motivation of service, Jesus. The goal of serving is not serving in itself, though, it is Jesus. “Our serving must be ultimately be grounded in Him, for Him, our hearts deeply tuned toward Him” (74). The authors also challenge the church to make serving an everyday thing, not only something that happens within the church walls every Sunday. Service should be done in three directions: upward, downward, and laterally. Upward service means working for the Lord. Downward service is exercised when believers are given a position of authority. Lateral service occurs within peers. Each aspect is a part of service, and each part should be included in the life of a believer in the world outside the church walls. Service must be an integral aspect of church members. As stated by the authors, “The painful irony is not that we get dirty again but that many believers fail to put a towel around their own waist to wash the dirt off the feet of others”