Nearly 20 years since our founding by Don Carson and Tim Keller, The Gospel Coalition maintains our vision to be prophetic from the center. That means when the world fixates on peripheral disputes, we try to show how the gospel unites believers in Jesus Christ. And we produce resources that we hope will produce greater love of God.
I’m especially thankful that in 2023 we could release an online, free, full-Bible commentary to mark the launch of The Carson Center for Theological Renewal. We pray this center will be used by God to bring renewal to the global church through faithful biblical and theological study.
Below you’ll see my annual list of the best videos, articles, and podcasts from The Gospel Coalition in 2023. We pray that God might use these resources to inform, challenge, and encourage you toward faithful perseverance.
In 2023, nearly 30 million users around the world have accessed resources at TGC.org. These Christians represent hundreds of thousands of churches that celebrate and share the good news of Jesus in dozens of languages. Look around: nothing can prevail against Christ’s church (Matt. 16:18). Nearly 2,000 years later, Jesus is still with us, to the end of the age (28:20).
Downplaying the Sin of Homosexuality Won’t Win the Next Generation
By J. D. Greear
Andy Stanley worries we’ll lose the younger generation if we don’t affirm same-sex marriages. Perhaps we will. But we’ll certainly lose them if we don’t preach the countercultural message of denying ourselves to pick up our cross and follow Christ.
Tim Keller: 1950–2023
This year we lost a friend, mentor, role model, and cofounder of The Gospel Coalition. This tribute from friends and colleagues captures some of what we miss so much about him: the depth of insight, character, and humility of a man who lived in the light of God’s grace.
Planting Pivot: From Church to Christian School
By Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
Watching cable news is a guaranteed way to become disillusioned with the world. But what if you looked beyond those headlines to see what God’s doing on the ground? If you followed the destructive events of 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, then you’ll love to read about what this family is doing to make a difference for the kingdom of God.
5 Bad Reasons to Get a Divorce
By Joe Carter
I’ve reached the age where I hear more often about friends getting divorced. Often the reasons can be traced to mistaken expectations someone picked up in the broader culture. Use this article to help a friend or family member avoid a life-altering mistake.
The One Edit That Changed History
By Andrew Wilson
I’ve shared the little story from this documentary many times in 2023, and I’m always surprised by how we Americans have overlooked such a momentous event. One phrase captures so much of what turned the world upside down in 1776 and continues to shape the post-Christian West today.
Apologetics in an Age of Despair
By Gavin Ortlund
It’s easy to become intimidated by the opposition to Christianity across much of the world today. Yet when you talk to your neighbors and read the surveys, it’s clear secularism hasn’t delivered freedom. The result is bondage to self and an epidemic of despair. In Jesus, we have the good news this world is desperate to hear.
Social Implications of Spurgeon’s Gospel
By Alex DiPrima
I love that the towering 19th-century figure Charles Spurgeon transgresses so many of our 21st-century political boundaries, especially in the United States. History is our friend as it exposes our myopia so we can more fully worship and obey the Lord.
My Journey Out of Mormonism
By Zach Carter
You don’t hear this story often. But the internet is helping more Mormons learn the truth. Not all deconstruction is bad. Sometimes, Wikipedia can be used by God to bring freedom from spiritual bondage.
How the Lord’s Prayer Can Change You
By Colin Smith
We could study and practice the Lord’s Prayer for decades and still not approach the fullness of its spiritual and moral riches. In one of our most popular videos this year, Colin Smith takes us deeper into this unparalleled revelation of God’s character.
A Gospel Oasis on Chicago’s South Side
By Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
Once you’ve prayed “on earth as it is in heaven,” read about how God’s answering through the life and ministry of Pearlene Willis. Unless you, too, have been saved by grace, you’ll never believe her conversion story or understand how she can make such a big difference on her little block.
Our Missions Approach Is Too Western
By Elliot Clark
Maybe you’ve heard that Western missions needs to decolonize. Elliot Clarks takes those accusations seriously—then flips them on their head to reveal serious flaws.
Should Christians Send Their Kids to Public School?
By Jonathan Pennington and Jen Wilkin
The response to this debate by some critics proves its relevance for the church today. Across the United States, public schools range from major problems to wonderful blessings, depending on the community. Some can afford Christian alternatives; many more cannot. We won’t help Christian parents by heaping on guilt and shame. Instead, let’s offer them wisdom and hope as they prayerfully seek the Lord for guidance.
What Happened to Historian Molly Worthen?
Interview with Molly Worthen
Nothing warms the heart like hearing a new believer talk about her conversion and growing faith in Jesus Christ. All the better when it comes from historian Molly Worthen, who studied evangelicals for decades before she unexpectedly became one.
Why Youth Group Involvement Is Down (and What to Do About It)
By Cameron Cole
Not many leaders have a better pulse on youth ministry than Rooted founder Cameron Cole. So he’s the right person to reflect on this worrisome trend and offer practical guidance for churches. As this article reminds us, the problems with “kids these days” aren’t always “out there” in the world but sometimes in the worldly ambitions of our own Christian homes.
How Pastors Can Preach Effectively in Light of the Dechurching Movement
Interview with Sam Allberry and Michael Keller
Given the loss of 40 million people from the American church in the last 25 years, it’s wise to pause and consider what’s working to connect people with the gospel in our post-Christendom age. Michael Keller and Sam Allberry have already been preaching in largely secular contexts for many years, so they offer valuable experience for the rest of us.
Beware the Corrosive Quest for Respectability
By Brett McCracken
“Two men went up into the temple to pray” begins one of Jesus’s most famous parables, about the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9–14. Our performative culture, with so much negative attention from social media, tempts us toward self-righteousness like the Pharisee who thanked God he wasn’t like the tax collector. Rather than respectability in the world, we should aim for repentance toward God, as the tax collector prayed: “Be merciful to me, a sinner!”
Engaging God’s Calling and People’s Expectations
By Jani Ortlund, Kristen Wetherell, and Kari Olson
The Front Row Seat series features interviews by and with pastor’s wives. No surprise, then, that the conversation begins with expectations and how these women often fall short of the congregations’ lofty and varied expectations. How different is Jesus, who carries our burdens and silences all accusations.
Supporting Mental Health with Dignity and Grace
By Sharon Dickens, Aixa de López, Blair Linne, and Soojin Park
In everyday conversations among fellow Christians, I probably hear more concerns about mental health than any other cultural change in the last decade. The hosts of the Glo podcast, which debuted in 2023, share their own struggles as they seek the Lord for hope and health.
Apple’s Mother Nature Ad: It’s Protestant Paganism.
