Matt Chandler

So we (mainly I) get a lot of flack for being "obsessed" over Matt Chandler.

While I don't consider myself "obsessed" I do really like him.  With, what I feel like is good reason.

When we first move to Connectisuck...it was rough.  A dry and barren land spiritually speaking.  We were still newly weds trying to figure out what the heck we were doing both in our relationship and as parents.  We had no church, no pastor, no friends, no guidance.  We were alone in many senses, hundreds of miles from any thing that could encourage us our guide us.

My best friend lived in Dallas and had recently begun going to a church called the Village, which she loved.  She told me they podcasted (a very new technology at that point) their sermons and I should check them out.  Knowing if she loved it, I would, and our thirst for sound doctrine was comparable I dived into the new technology desperate to be fed.

It was in 2007 I listened to my first Matt Chandler sermon and not a month has gone by I haven't listened to one since.  After officially giving up our search for a church in CT (went to dozens without hearing any thing close to the word of God taught, proof texting abounded when the text was actually used, not to mention being flat out scared in some.  After our fourth Sunday with me crying on the way home because of how I saw God being portrayed, we gave up) we decided to listen to one of the podcasts in place of church.  While I am not advocating this (I believe it is VERY important to be plugged into a local body of believers), I was so grateful for the technology that allowed us in our desperate situation to be ministered to in that way.  I only wish the technology had existed while we lived in Ukraine!

Chris and I proceeded to hear the gospel preached in a way we never had before.  A funny guy, that drew us in with his talking style and had this incredible art of speaking to seasoned believers and people so lost they couldn't even tell you who Jesus was.

With all our spare time, an archive of sermons and new pursuit of a healthier lifestyle we began listening to sermons while on our walks/runs.  We listened to him preach through Hebrews, Ecclesiastes, hear about the Family Traits of the Village, Heart Matters (some of our favorites), and the Role of men and women (this did a lot for our marriage!).

About that time, through lots of prayer, God's timing and restructuring, we were moving.  One of four places: Pittsburgh, Chicago, Atlanta or Dallas.  It should have been Pittsburgh, since that's where the CT branch was shifting to, we prayed for it to be Dallas (since the Village was conveniently located less than a 1/2 hour away from the branch), but the Lord had us in Atlanta.

Culture shock abounded as we had conversations with complete strangers in the grocery store, and had not only one decent church to choose from, but dozens.  We visited around a bit, and the Lord led us to one.

All the time we were listening to Matt Chandler sermons.  Through which the Holy Spirit was keeping us rooted in gospel centered preaching, convicting us of sin, returning our easily swayed hearts to Christ and clarifying the heart of the gospel.

About that time we started hearing about Acts 29 in Matt Chandler sermons, and from our church's youth pastor who had a similar passion for the gospel, doctrine, theology and was missionally minded.  

While we were thrilled just to be hearing God's word proclaimed again in a corporate setting and being able to sing with believers, we started to notice a decline in the amount of the Word being proclaimed and preached.  We looked around for Acts 29 churches in the area, of which there were none.  Thankfully we didn't have to want for long since God had laid a passion on our youth pastors heart to plant and Acts 29 church.

So we dove head long into church planting, Chris leading the worship for over a year.  I won't lie, it's had it's very difficult times, but being able to hear the Word of God taught every week, and Christ's work of progressive sanctification and revealing our sinful attitudes in the process has made it so very worth it.

All the time, we still kept listening to Chandler (now through Luke, Colossians, Habakuk, Transitions, A Healthy Church, Village Identity, a beautiful, well timed Advent series, and now Galatians).

Last night, on Chris's birthday we had the opportunity to see him speak live (and to worship with some of our favorite worship leaders, Shane and Shane!).  Such a blessing.  He's even more engaging in person.

It was a full circle moment for us.  And as always, the Holy Spirit just enables his speaking style and simple eloquence of the complex to penetrate our hearts and convict us.  We both left convicted, broken and yet encouraged.

It's been a long year.  And we both have walked through more doubts and questions in the Lord, and his timing and purpose than we care to admit.

I have no doubt that the Lord ordained one of the hardest weekends we were to encounter in this process of grieving and figuring out a new normal to also be the weekend we heard this message.  We went straight from hearing the heart of the gospel to having to live it out in a very real and hard way.

He is faithful, He is SO faithful, and good.  I hate that I ever doubt that.

For the first almost two decades of my walk I was without biblically rooted teaching.  Between Matt Chandler and Beth Moore, I discovered what that was and hungered for more.  Some people have real life mentors that impact them with the word, I had "celebrity" mentors that through videos, books and podcasts led me to the heart of Christ.

All that to say, while I don't consider myself "obsessed" with Matt Chandler, I am obsessed over what the Holy Spirit is doing in him and through him.  He has an incredible testimony, and an incredible way of simplifying complex truths that is completely anointed.  While he may be controversial on areas the bible is controversial on (homosexuality, abortion, slavery, etc.), I don't find him as divisive as a lot of other pastors.  I think he is a modern day C.S. Lewis, a hero of the faith, and someone I greatly admire (and want to be bff's with his wife, because I think she's awesome too).  The Lord has used the words He has given Matt Chandler to profoundly impact my life, my walk with the Lord, my marriage, my children, and my relationships.  I am so grateful for the work of the Lord in his life, and his willingness to obey God and surrender his heart and platform to the Lord's.