Gospel Wakefulness -Reviewed by Trevin Wax

On Credo’s “Reviews and Interviews” page, author and blogger Trevin Wax has written an insightful review of Jared Wilson’s new book Gospel Wakefulness.

Jared Wilson’s new book Gospel Wakefulness made me think. In a good way. In the “thinking that leads to worship” kind of way. That’s why, despite a couple of concerns, I endorsed Gospel Wakefulness and I commend it to you.

In the book, Jared makes the case that Christians need to not only believe the gospel, but delight in it to the point that sin becomes increasingly bitter and Christ becomes our supreme treasure. He defines gospel wakefulness as “treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring His power more sweetly than before.” (24)

But Gospel Wakefulness goes against the grain of many current evangelical books for a number of reasons. First off, it doesn’t offer church leaders any ideas for increasing excitement among church people. You won’t find anything about making the church more hip, more contemporary, more “razzle-dazzle” in the attempt to keep people’s interest. Instead, this is a book about things “of first importance.” Jared believes that church ministry isn’t about “creating experiences,” but centering our teaching, our worship, and our service on the gospel. The goal is that Christians would “find themselves utterly captivated by the gospel” so that they can hardly be entertained by anything else. (18)

Continue reading Trevin’s review here.