If we were to survey a group of Christians with the question, “What is true religion?”, most of us would not be satisfied with the answer James gives in James 1:27: “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” That’s social gospel moralism. What of the cross? What of faith?

In the message on Adoption Sunday we zeroed in on the orphan part of that verse to understand how we come to care for orphans and how this description of true religion relates to the gospel.

In context, James is speaking about the life of those who have been “born of the word of truth,” who know God as, “Father,” who have received “the implanted word” (1:16-27). So, orphan care is something that happens when we believe the gospel. Orphan care is a part of true religion because this is the kind of thing that we do when we know God, who is, as Psalm 68:5 says, a “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.” We care for orphans because we are God’s children.

Orphan care includes foster care, adoption, defending the unborn, serving orphans in foreign lands, and supporting all of these things financially and through prayer. We’re not all responsible to do all of these things, but we are responsible to be doing something for orphans in their affliction.

Adopting and supporting adoptions is one crucial way to address orphans in their greatest immediate need: The need for parents.

And DSC’s Adoption Ministry is busy helping encourage, network and support adoptions. At the Adoption page, you will find information about a Bi-Monthly Fellowship for adoptive families and those interested in adoption, adoption related videos, resources for supporting and financing adoptions, and many helpful adoption related links.

Also, if you’re not an adoptive parent, but would like to care for an adoptive family, sign up to become a “Spiritual Grandparent.” Spiritual Grandparents get to know a family, pray for them, eat with them, watch the kids at times, pay attention to the family’s needs and love the children as grandparents would. Contact Jason Mancini for more information at jasonm [at] pmi-nm [dot] com.

On the subject, we are especially eager to recommend a book by Russell Moore, Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches. Also, Dr. Moore recently published an excellent post about orphan care at his blog, Is The Orphan My Neighbor?

Orphan care does not define us, but it does identify us as those who belong to our orphan loving Creator, and it provides the world with a category for the adopting love of God in Christ, who bore our afflictions and carried our sorrows that we might call God, Father.

Kevin DeYoung, Greg Gilbert, and Ryan Kelly were recently featured on The Gospel Coalition blog discussing the mission of the church. In this round table discussion, they work to clarify the relationship of the gospel message to deeds of mercy.

In a recent message, “Summarizing Luke: The Man, The Message, The Mission,” Ryan addressed the question of the church’s mission at greater length.

This post is the second in a series of six from Ryan Kelly’s Question and Answer discussion with guests, Wayne Grudem and Randy Alcorn at Clarus 2010 (Part 1).

Do Christians have a responsibility to avoid certain businesses?

How should Christians spend money on entertainment and leisure?

In this series of posts introducing DSC to The Gospel Coalition (TGC), we’ve been looking at the foundation documents that provide the basis for the partnerships that make up The Gospel Coalition network of churches and church leaders.

Grounded in these commitments, TGC is serving the church in a numerous practical ways:

• Resources: A large database of sermons, articles, lectures, and interviews searchable by topic, text, date and author. This is a vast treasury of Scripture rich reflection, exposition and instruction.

• Blogs: Seven blogs are hosted at TGC’s site, all of them valuable regular visits. We recommend two in particular to those working through theological issues and interacting with culture: Justin Taylor and Kevin DeYoung.

• Publications: Themelios is a theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith.

• Book Reviews: TGC  Reviews is home to book reviews, interviews with faithful readers, and book excerpts.

• Conferences: A National Conference is held every two years in April in the city of Chicago, alternating years with Together for the Gospel, another fine conference. The 2011 conference theme is Preaching Jesus and the Gospel from the Old Testament and includes breakout sessions with about fifty different speakers, most of whom are pastors.

• Networking: The Gospel Coalition Network, Regional Chapters, and the Church Directory are all ways for gospel minded believers and church leaders to network for strength of the church and the spread of the gospel.

And that concludes this five part introduction to TGC. We are happily listed in TGC’s Church Directory and are encouraged with the recent news of Ryan Kelly’s appointment to the council. Bookmark TGC’s site on your browser and take advantage of what you find there for your encouragement and help in living and spreading the gospel for the glory of God.

This post is fifth in a series of posts introducing DSC to The Gospel Coalition (Read, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4)

The theme for this year’s Clarus conference was, Between Heaven and Earth. This post is the first in a series of six from Ryan Kelly’s Question and Answer discussion with guests, Wayne Grudem and Randy Alcorn.

How does the doctrine of depravity fit with an optimistic view of human productivity?

Are we responsible for the potential use of what we create?

How should the Christian think about marketing?

How did previous generations speak about the nobility of work? How do we instruct the coming generation?