| Shortly before Christmas last year, pastor Donnie Griggs in rural North Carolina shared on Twitter about some of the struggles in his church: Confession: As a pastor in rural America, something I’m realizing is this underlying sense of deep shame I feel that people in OUR church have bought fully into conspiracy theories and have seemingly lost interest in the gospel we’ve held out week after week for almost 12 years.
Not surprisingly, Twitter users blamed him for being a bad pastor. You won’t struggle to find accusers these days, especially on social media. But I understood Donnie’s point, because I’ve been hearing the same things across the country, in urban and rural churches, tilting Democrat and Republican. Pastors are saying to me, “Why do many Christians seem so much more excited about anything but the gospel?” I’m convinced that our churches can only move forward—together—if we get back to the gospel. Your church may need a reckoning over racial injustice. Only the Man of Sorrows can bring you healing. Or your church may need reconciliation over political strife. Only the Chastised One can bring you peace. I wrote the new book Gospelbound to help you and your church members to live with resolute hope in this anxious age. TGC senior writer Sarah Zylstra and I tell stories of Christians around the world bound to the unchanging gospel so that they’re not swayed or dismayed by our changing world. In fact, they’re abounding in hope (Rom. 15:13), because they know Jesus is coming again. We think this book can help get your church back on track with the gospel. You’ll hear more from Sarah about the project in this episode of the Gospelbound podcast. | 
