http://www.adrian.warnock.info/2005/02/question-of-gospel.htm
raises the point that Paul preached the whole counsel of God to the Ephesians so as not to be guilty of their blood. I thought I'd go back to the great commisson in Matthew 28:19-20:
"¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)
If we think our job is done if we manage to make a few converts from preaching the gospel then we're sorely mistaken. Making disciples takes more committment than that.

The Essence of the Gospel

Over at Adrian Warnock's UK Evangelical Blog
there's an interesting post about The simple gospel in 10 points summarised by Adrian's wife for a sunday school class of 4-7 year olds.
Distilling the gospel to it's essential elements should be quite a straight forward task, but it's surprisingly difficult to get the balance between missing out key points and adding extra points that aren't totally necessary. However, it's worth persevering with and a very useful exercise for every thinking Christian to attempt. You can't begin to defend why you believe the gospel if you're not sure exactly what gospel you believe!

Adrian can't understand what all the fuss is about. After all, it's what traditional reformed theology has always taught and believed. I believe the fuss is a result of a culture does not believe in the authority of experts any more. In a world where everyone's opinion is valued and valid, the views of one group or individual are seen to be no more correct than those of any other. So everything is now up for debate. When that same attitude insinuates itself into the Church too, it may well lead us to ask "Is nothing sacred?". Personally, I'm glad we're being challenged to think about our beliefs and traditions and defend them from a blblical perspective. As christians we're supposed to be committed to the truth. But like Jesus, let's be gracious about it.