Collin, thanks for taking some time with us. So you have a new gig. What is it?

 

I'm now serving as editorial director for The Gospel Coalition. 

 

What does that mean you actually do?

 

I'm working on expanding the amount of original content we feature at our homepage. That new material comes in many forms. We're planning to profile models of faithful and effective church ministry for a "best practices" feature. We're soliciting news about the advance of the gospel worldwide. We're looking for theological analysis of cultural trends. And soon we'll be accepting testimonies of God's faithfulness as he works through human vessels in our Ordinary Pastors Project. We'll also continue to host roundtable discussions on issues related to the spread of the gospel, evangelicalism, and pastoral ministry, among other topics.  

 

So if someone has never heard of The Gospel Coalition, how would you describe it?

 

I think the preamble to our Foundation Documents says it best: "We are a fellowship of evangelical churches deeply committed to renewing our faith in the gospel of Christ and to reforming our ministry practices to conform fully to the Scriptures."

 

What unique thing is it trying to do in the evangelical landscape?

 

Again, I'll appeal to the preamble:

 

"We have become deeply concerned about some movements within traditional evangelicalism that seem to be diminishing the church’s life and leading us away from our historic beliefs and practices. On the one hand, we are troubled by the idolatry of personal consumerism and the politicization of faith; on the other hand, we are distressed by the unchallenged acceptance of theological and moral relativism. These movements have led to the easy abandonment of both biblical truth and the transformed living mandated by our historic faith. We not only hear of these influences, we see their effects. We have committed ourselves to invigorating churches with new hope and compelling joy based on the promises received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone."

 

I would encourage anyone who hasn't yet read the Confessional Statement, originally drafted by D. A. Carson, and the Theological Vision for Ministry, originally drafted by Tim Keller, to take a look.

 

Let's say five years have passed. What would you like to look back and have accomplished in your role at TGC?

 

I'll be content if in five years we can say TGC helped equip a growing number of Christians and local church bodies to delight in the gospel of Jesus Christ above all else. 

 

Your book Young, Restless, and Reformed has helped give definition to a movement. By that I mean, you gave the movement greater self-consciousness. Have you observed any changes in the movement as a result of that self-consciousness?

 

I've seen the movement continue to grow. No one seems to question any longer whether this is a legitimate phenomenon. I see less insecurity among evangelical Calvinists than I encountered, especially among Southern Baptists, when I wrote YRR. I've also seen the younger generation, such as Matt Chandler, Kevin DeYoung, and Tullian Tchividjian, assume positions of leadership and influence they did not hold as recently as 2008.

 

Would you change or add anything to the book if you were writing it now?

 

At this point I would probably need to do a complete rewrite. I wrote in 2006 and later in 2008 as a journalist discovering a new expression of this old Calvinistic consortium. Now everyone has noticed, so the novelty has worn off. But if I could go back to 2008 before I originally published YRR, I would try to incorporate the growing Calvinistic influence among fundamentalists and African Americans. And I would shine a spotlight on the tremendous numbers of church plants cropping up across America led by pastors who hold to the doctrines of grace. 

 

Do you have any other books in the works?

 

This fall I'm excited to publish a book I wrote with John Woodbridge called A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir. We looked at the biblical and theological foundations for revival and told stories of revival dating back to the 1700s. Many will be familiar with the work of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards during the First Great Awakening in the American colonies. But they may not be familiar with Timothy Dwight at Yale during the beginning of the Second Great Awakening, the 1857-58 prayer meeting revival, or the global awakening that spread from Wales to India to Korea in the first decade of the 20th century. I'm curious to see how the book is received, because I've noticed that many who love the preaching and theology of Jonathan Edwards and Martyn Lloyd-Jones neglect their concern to see God send revival to the body of Christ.

 

For real, why did you parents spell your name with two "L"s? 

 

To confuse you and everyone else, I guess. 

 

If you could go back to that moment in which they were filling out the birth certificate, would you change that? You can be honest.

 

No, I like being different.

 

I recently interviewed Jed Coppenger about B21 and asked if B21 had a mascot. What about TGC? If your team decided to adopt a mascot, what would you propose?

 

If I must, let's go with my favorite mascot, the Wildcat. TGC is wild about solid biblical doctrine. But we want to be curious and crafty, like cats when it comes to teasing out how that doctrine shapes our church practice.

 

Would you say 9Marks should have a mascot? What?

 

I think so. Your mascot could be Mark Dever in a white lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck.

 

Thanks for your time, Collin with two Ls. We're very grateful about your new position, and grateful to be partnered together with you and the whole team in the gospel.