Ray Ortlund writes about the importance of a gospel culture. The anemic church needs an infusion of both gospel doctrine and gospel culture. Your leadership will set the tone for the culture you want to create. Be patient. Love them. To lead the people away from an unhealthy culture, begin by showing that church love.

Some churches are built on a foundation of entertainment and relevance. They need good pastors to go in and love them and feed them.

It’s not their fault, at least not entirely. They’ve probably been led there by pastors and elders. It’s been their culture for years, and it will take both love and wisdom to lead them to something better.

I’m no expert on how to do this. Others have done it much better than me. But here’s what I’d do if I pastored such a church today.

Love them. Ray Ortlund writes about the importance of a gospel culture. The anemic church needs an infusion of both gospel doctrine and gospel culture. Your leadership will set the tone for the culture you want to create. Be patient. Love them. To lead the people away from an unhealthy culture, begin by showing that church love.

Preach. Preach truth with passion. Put extra work into your preaching. Begin to develop a preaching ministry that they’ve never heard before. Introduce new foods the way that you would to a fussy toddler: begin where they are and help their palette to mature. Begin to address nutritional deficiencies. Preach the gospel. Exult in God. Develop the kind of preaching ministry that makes it impossible to go back.

Read More