A "Trinity Grace" church

If I wanted to franchise a church name it would definitely be "Trinity Grace." While theologically driven church names like "St. John," "St. Paul," "Christ the King," "Redeemer," "Covenant," "Trinity," "Grace," "Westminster," "Christ," "Calvary," "New Birth," "The Potter's House," and the like, all communicate fantastic dimensions of the redemptive story in the Bible, nothing seems to sum up the essence of the mission of the Kingdom like the juxtaposition of the Holy Trinity with the Old Testament and New Testament themes of God's grace.

The central actors in the drama of redemption are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Throughout the entire biblical story we are introduced to a Triune God who has not left the world in a state of chaos as a consequence of the Fall. God the Father has a plan, culminating in the person of Christ and His accomplished work, and applied to believers in time and space through the active work of the Holy Spirit, with cosmic implications for the world.

For example, we learn what it means to love God by looking at the interrelationships between the persons of the Trinity (John 16-17; 1 John 4:9-16). For example, we know what love is because God gave his only begotten Son so that sins are forgiven and true reconciliation with the Father through the work of Holy Spirit is possible.

Moreover, the redemptive story from Genesis to Revelation is a story of God's constant outpouring of his grace. By grace I do not mean holy "niceness," which has many confused into a passive Christianity. By grace I mean God showing mercy, affection, love, and liberation to people who do nothing to earn it (Ephesians 2:8-10). Grace is an active and ongoing work of the Triune God. A Triune God with a people engaged in the mission of pressing the claims of the Kingdom everywhere is the fuel of Christian social justice. Churches whose mission is to communicate the salvific and mighty acts of a Triune God in light of the victory of the Cross and implications for the Kingdom could ignite another Great Awakening.

There is actually a church in New York City named Trinity Grace. I've never attended the church and know little about it but I was pleased to find a church whose very name brings together the powerful and mysterious realities of redemption, the mission of God, and the roles of Christians in the Kingdom. Regardless of your church's name, in light of Jesus' longings for unity in John 17, I would hope that the life-changing dynamism of Holy Trinity, and the liberating mission of grace, changes people from the inside out as God renews and reconciles all things to Christ (Colossians 1:3-23) in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Editor's Note: Be sure to read Marvin Olasky's interview with Anthony Bradley in the current issue of WORLD. You can also listen to the complete interview by clicking here and learn how the TV show Family Ties had an influence on Anthony's life.