Just before we get started in our Backyard Conversation for today, I have a question for you: How do you feel about donuts? Myself, I’m a fan – especially the filled ones that sort of squish all over your face. The filled ones with jelly in the middle . . . Yummy!

(This is going somewhere. )

NT Wright authored a book called How God Became King (NT Wright, HarperOne, 2012)

I’ve been reading through it recently. According to N. T. Wright, Christians have neglected all that stuff in the middle (the “missing middle” as he likes to call it). “I have had the increasing impression, over many years now, that most of the Western Christian tradition has simply forgotten what the Gospels are all about” (vii).

It makes us ask how did it happen? Who is to blame for such an oversight?

According to Wright, part of the forming of this “missing middle” issue began with the early church creeds failing to describe anything about the life of Jesus. In the creeds, we get some good doctrine about the birth of Jesus and some doctrine about his death and resurrection, but the stuff in the middle – His person work and teachings in particular – is missing in these creeds. Wright believes this oversight is “the reason why Christians to this day find it so hard to grasp what the Gospels are really trying to say” (p12). The early church fathers were so consumed with proving that Jesus is God, and the Reformers emphasized Paul’s gospel of what Jesus achieved in his death, that the church has lost sight of the life of Jesus and what it is all about.

Therefore, NT Wright believes “a massive, fundamental rethinking about the Gospels is overdue.” I agree with him, and I see it as paramount to the church today. We are not only soft in the middle as believers; I’ve become convinced that that we have missed the central theme of the Gospel of the Kingdom altogether.

Ok let’s get back to donuts: Here is a great illustration from Pastor Craig Rees:

In 1485 the cookbook Kuchenmeisterei was published in Nuremburg, Germany. It was one of the first cookbooks run off on the famous Gutenberg press. The book contained the revolutionary recipe: jelly doughnuts. Now, the early version consisted of a bit of jam sandwiched between two rounds of dough, deep fried in lard.

Although most modern versions of doughnuts have a sweet interior, the original filled doughnuts were primarily packed with meat, fish, mushrooms, cheese, or other savory mixtures. At that time, sugar was still very expensive and rare in Germany, so savory dishes were much more practical. Now, the original was sweet but most people didn’t know that. It was over a hundred years later when the price of sugar dropped that the original intent was followed.

The point? When the center-piece is inaccessible, or unknown, anything fills it. See, the center needs to be filled and when the center is inaccessible, other items rush in. It’s the same with the life of Jesus. When a church doesn’t know the central aspect of Jesus’ life and teaching the gaps are filled with various teachings. For example, the missing middle of Jesus’ life causes us to explain Jesus’ life like this:


• Jesus’ life teaches people how to go to heaven.
• Jesus’ life teaches people how to behave.
• Jesus’ perfect life enabled His perfect sacrifice.
• Jesus’ life showed that he was God.
Most of these are valid to a point, but to say that these represent the heart of Jesus’ life is to ‘muddle the middle.’ It is to fill the centerpiece of the Gospels with a narrative the text doesn’t prioritize. Consequently, we emphasize the salvation of our souls at the cost of presenting the ruler of our lives. We have overinflated salvation prayers and left the importance of Christ’s kingly rule to one side.(emphasis mine)

– Kingdom and Empires: The Missing Middle, Tuesday October 6, 2006, Craig Rees

By reducing Jesus to merely Savior, Friend, or Teacher (And in saying “merely”, I am not putting down these relationships. I am only noting that alone they are missing a primary piece of the status of our God in our relationship with Him!) but not also following Him as Absolute and Ultimate King, means that I may conclude that my life is still my own. That, now that I am saved (translate that phrase into “Going to Heaven”), I’m good. I don’t need God so much anymore. At least, until life has me in so deep that I can’t seem to get out of my difficult circumstances on my own. Then I need God again.

What do you think? If you reduce following Jesus to a handful of religious duties or disciplines you will not begin to explore the power and peace and divine presence that has been set aside for you. You will be settling.

So many of us settle for what we see or experience on Sunday Morning as the primary “stuff” of what the Christian life is all about. Sing a little, pray a little and chat a little and then do it again next Sunday. And over time we find our church experience unsatisfying. Because this is NOT what the Christian experience is all about – by a long shot!!

We get bored because we don’t have any of the jelly! Take another bite. Taste and see that the Lord is good! The Gospel of the Kingdom is the sweet stuff in the middle.

Let’s chat about it here in the backyard – or better yet – online at dave@100foldministries.org. Peace to you!