Discerning readers will note that the authors affirm with the Foundation Documents issues such as complementarianism (Davis, pp. 66, 72), divine election (Smith, p. 93), divine sovereignty over evil (Andrews, p. 80), a propitiating model of atonement (Smith, p. 109)

A review of D. A. Carson and Timothy Keller, eds. The Gospel As Center: Renewing Our Faith and Reforming Our Ministry Practices. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012. 320 pp. $21.99.

This book can be well-understood as a kind of book-length elaboration of the Foundation Documents of The Gospel Coalition (TGC). Nearly all of its contributors are TGC Council members, and the chapters each have their origin as individual booklets, written to comment upon TGC’s Confessional Statement and Vision for Ministry (p. 9). Moreover, from the book’s subtitle, back cover, and front flap, it is already apparent that the purpose of the book is one with the purpose of TGC: re-centering evangelical theology and ministry practices on the gospel. Thus, in addition to serving as a valuable resource for gospel-centered ministry, The Gospel as Center also provides a sort of “insider’s perspective” on TGC-a sneak peek into the inner thinking of this increasingly influential Scripture-based reform movement.

The book’s 14 chapters vary significantly in length, quality, assumed audience, and relation to the Foundation Documents. Some, such as Sandy Willson’s “Christ’s Redemption,” simply exegete a portion of TGC statement of faith; others, such as Mike Bullmore’s “The Gospel and Scripture: How to Read the Bible” cover a topic in the statement of faith but make no explicit mention of the statement itself; still others, such as Richard D. Phillips’s “Can We Know the Truth?”, have no clear relation to the statement of faith, but seem to comment more upon TGC’s theological vision for ministry. Among the most helpful essays is Sam Storms’ “The Restoration of All Things,” which anchors future eschatology in the broader context of past redemptive history (drawing especially from N.T. Wright and George Eldon Ladd) and analyzes such topics as the intermediate state, the nature of the resurrection body, and recent trends in the doctrine of hell. Storms’s treatment of Isa 65:17-25 (pp. 268-69) is especially illuminating. Readers will also benefit greatly from Philip Graham Ryken’s defense of a classic Reformed view of justification, especially his treatment of imputation (pp. 161-63) and his analysis of Paul vs. James on the role of works in relation to faith (p. 167). Two other chapters that particularly stand out are D.A. Carson and Tim Keller’s opening chapter for its cultural sensitivity and missional insight and Bryan Chapell’s exposition of the gospel (ch. 7) for its devotional richness.

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