Pure Church

As of today, Pure Church has moved over to The Gospel Coalition as one of the blogs now hosted there.

Here's the new address: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabitianyabwile/

UPDATE: Your feeds should automatically be updated thanks to the tech gurus at The Gospel Coalition. Your feed should update automatically with posts, etc.

If you've been so kind as to follow the blog in through blogger or another means, would you please take a moment to check whether that's working? Also, would you take moment to update your blogroll if you've had PureChurch listed? I'd love to continue to stay in touch.

If you haven't included PureChurch in your reader or blogroll, I'm not bitter. Really, I'm not. This would be a great time to add it if it's at all beneficial to your soul.

I'm excited about this move for a number of reasons:

1. I believe in the work The Gospel Coalition is attempting in bringing together brothers of like precious faith around a robust confession of the gospel. I have the privilege of being a member of the council, and I'm hopeful the Lord will surprise us all with many good things to His glory through the cooperation. We can do more together than we can apart.

Here's a little something on why I think the Coalition is helpful:



2. I get to link virtual arms with other bloggers at the Coalition who have benefited my soul for a while now. I'm fans of Justin Taylor, Ray Ortlund, Tim Challies' Ten Million Words, and Kevin DeYoung. They are now guilty by association with me, but I'm the richer for it.

3. I'm no technophobe, but I'm also no tech whiz. The design and tech team at The Coalition have been outstanding and I think that'll make the blog more useful, or at least more pleasing aesthetically. Matthew Taylor and Joshua Sowin have been wonderful to work with. Check it out and let me know what you think.

4. In time, there may be a few sponsors who appear on the right in the sidebar. I'm happy for the opportunity to commend worthy causes and resources. And I'm happy that this is a small way I may be able to generate a little revenue for both the Coalition and the local church I love most: First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman.

Well, I should end by wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas as you ponder and treasure the Savior's birth. May the Lord bless you richly as you look to Him!

Thabiti

The Gospel Coalition unveiled its new website on yesterday. Check it out.

Our brother Justin Taylor has moved his blog over the The Gospel Coalition site. You can read him here. Update your readers.

Also, The Gospel Coalition has started its on blog. Time worthy stuff here.

"The Gospel Coalition" is another way of saying "Together for the Gospel."
"Together for the Gospel" is another way of talking about "Coalescing Around the Gospel."

One expresses itself through the prism of personal friendships. These are a few Friends Together for the Gospel. Which raises the question, which one is Phoebe?

The other takes a more organizational expression, specifically designed to build a bigger Tent of Meeting. We can guess who Moses and Aaron are. But the question is, as in all coalitions, who will be the Survivors? Or, more biblically, who is Korah and will there be a rebellion?

Together for the Gospel is comprised of friends, but that doesn't mean the Gospel Coalition isn't. The Gospel Coalition is an organization, but that doesn't mean Together for the Gospel is unorganized.

All coalitions are made up of people from various backgrounds who gather around a common objective. The coalition is only as strong as the center around which it's built and the various parties' commitment to that center. If the parties look away from the center, the coalition begins to tatter and fray. When they look to the center, they draw near to one another in common purpose and effort.

All friendships have their times of testing. If what bonds them are the cords of love, they tend to survive and be strengthened by the testing. If, however, they prove to be but mere acquaintances then testing may be the occasion for splitting and ending.

But at the heart of The Gospel Coalition is Jesus Christ and the Good News about Him. There is no better Center. And we have reason to hope that as His men look to Him, the coalition will remain strong.

And the cords that bind the friendships of Together for the Gospel are the cords of God's love in Christ. There are no stronger bonds than those forged in God's love. So we have reason to hope that those friends who are together for the gospel will remain so.

And we have reason to hope for ourselves and our churches, that as Christ is the Center of all our living and His love binds us with His people, we will remain so centered and bound together until He comes. The story of The Gospel Coalition and Together for the Gospel ought to be the story of every local church and the Christian friendships inside them. I pray it's so.

is now up and running! (HT: JT)