The Worship-Gospel Continuum

1. What is your Worship focus? (John 4:23–24)
   Do you think more about Who God Is (Spirit and Truth) than about doing the right things? Do you think more about God than even good things, like singing praise and engaging other people?
2. What is your Gospel message? (I Corinthians 2:2)
   Do you talk more about Who Jesus Is than about what He gives us? Do you talk more about Jesus than even good things, like love and grace?

I've been thinking about this a lot. Probably too much, since it resulted in a visual. The horizontal line represents how we worship God. The vertical line represents how we speak the Gospel. Every person and every denomination fits somewhere on this chart.

• In the upper-left quadrant is the Christian's goal: worshiping God in spirit and in truth and proclaiming Jesus Christ.
• In the lower-right quadrant is the majority of religious beliefs: people looking for goodness, peace, and unity, but neglecting the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the Lord Jesus Christ (the epitome of all that they desire).
• In the lower-left quadrant could be New Age teaching, which invites us to have spirituality, truth, and goodness without Jesus Christ.
• In the upper-right quadrant might be Post-Modern Christianity, which preaches Jesus Christ as a means of uniting people of all faiths and lifestyles. As long as you're sincere, you're in.

Someone could argue that the biblical ideal is in the very center of the chart, at the intersection of Worship and Gospel. I think, however, that the center is where we find the lukewarm church, mixing human efforts with the biblical ideal. True goodness, sincerity, and tolerance are fruits of seeking God, not targets in and of themselves.

There are infinite varieties of beliefs, but my point is, each one has a goal for their gospel and worship.

What are your goals?