Chandler Interview – Part 1
Dustin Neeley, Pastor of Crossing Church in Louisville, KY interviews Matt Chandler about church planting , preaching, and leadership.
The Scoop
Just wanted to give you a heads up regarding what is going on with The Bridge church plant.
In June I was contacted by Aaron Santini, a church planter planting “The Crossing” with CrossWay Chapel (a local church planting network associated with Mountain View Com. Church in Fort Collins), he wanted to meet like minded church planters and he had heard about me through Acts 29. After meeting a few times and discussing our vision, goals, and plans we began to discuss the idea of joining our efforts for the sake of the Kingdom. It is almost uncanny how similar Aaron and I are in theology, philosophy, and vision. So after a few months of praying and getting to know each other Aaron and I have decided to join The Bridge and The Crossing…in fairness to one another we have decided to change the name of the new church (which was really difficult for me because I absolutely love the name The Bridge =)
That is however a small sacrifice for what this joining of efforts is going to bring to the Kingdom. The new name will be “Missio Dei” which means mission of God in Latin. Both Aaron and I felt that this name encapsulates our theology and the vision of our church plant very well and will also create some great opportunities to share the gospel when people ask what in the world “Missio Dei” means. =)
The Crossing has been meeting in Aaron and Rita Santini’s home for about 6 months and they have about 40 adults and 20 children attending. Starting this Sunday evening we will begin meeting together at the Evangelical Covenant Church at 6pm. We will continue with our plan of holding a series of preview services (third Sundays of Oct, Nov, and Dec) and launching on Sunday January 17th at 10am at the TR Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge. The joining of The Crossing and The Bridge will instantly give both groups critical mass and great momentum as we will now have approx. 60 adults and 30 children to launch the church with, not to mention the multiplication of servants, gifts and leadership abilities that both groups will bring each other.
Aaron and I are a lot alike but we are also very different in our gift sets. Aaron is passionate about small groups (we will call them Life Groups), discipleship, and pouring into men (the ground war). I am gifted as the big picture guy and overseeing things like administration, media (website, audio video stuff), marketing, and our mission will be my responsibilities (the air war).
Aaron and I will share the preaching duties and work together to formulate a preaching schedule ahead of time. We will teach through books or passages of Scripture so it will be very easy to keep continuity while also creating some variety in preaching style and perspective.
Aaron and I are both passionate about church planting and our vision is to plant churches up and down the 1-25 corridor and beyond. There are approx. 4.5 million people in the front range region and we believe that church planting is the most effective method in reaching these people with the gospel. In order to make this vision happen we must train young men to be pastors and leaders and therefore Missio Dei will have a Pastor’s School where men can be equipped to lead as elders both at Missio Dei and elsewhere as church planters.
Please keep Missio Dei and all that is involved here in prayer. We have some other big decisions to make in the near future and we are excited about all that God is doing and is going to do!
Are you a Church Planter?
Those that read this blog with any regularity know that I am passionate about church planting. And while that is true the reality is that I am passionate about the local church in general, and its mission to glorify God and make Jesus famous in whatever context she finds herself.
In order for the local church to function properly it needs strong male leadership. Without qualified male leaders the church will flounder and fail to achieve its mission of being a powerful gospel influence in its city.
The article is entitled Ten Qualifications of a Church Planter…and while its focus is church planting, the principles therein apply to all men who desire to lead God’s people. (more…)
The Pastor Scholar
This article written by Dr. Philip Ryken, senior minister at the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, is a brief history of John Calvin and his amazing ministry. (more…)
Ed Young on Cussing Pastors
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I would be interested to hear your take on this video. I don’t know a lot about Ed Young, other than that he pastors a giant church in Dallas. I do know that he recently ran a campaign at his church called “The 7 Day Sex Challenge” (a program where he encouraged married couples to have sex for 7 straight days) in the midst of a series he taught on sex while sitting on a bed on stage. It seems rather disingenuous to rant against “cussing” from the pulpit because it might offend, but then use the pulpit to dictate the bedroom affairs of your congregation.
Personally I don’t have a problem with either one (within reason) I just think it’s fairly ironic that Ed Young, who is a pretty controversial pastor in his own right, would be so passionate about something that is fairly innocuous. Besides I’ve never seen unbelievers get offended by words like “crap” or “pissed” as Ed alluded to, by saying “the gospel is offensive enough.” Ed Young is a very progressive, innovative pastor who I’m confident is being mightily used by the Lord but I think he misses it here.
Jesus Wants the Rose
Matt Chandler is the lead pastor of Village Church in Dallas, TX. He is one of the hottest pastors going right now…not hot as in good looking (well maybe he is but that isn’t for me to say because that would be weird) but hot as in everybody and their brother is podcasting his sermons. His church is blowing up and he has a lot to offer the Church at large.
This video is a snippet from a larger message he gave at the most recent Desiring God Conference.
You can also blog about it here at the Phoenix Preacher.
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Dwight on Theology
Why are we so afraid of questions?
Well it’s really not the questions so much as the possibility that we may not have the answers that really scares the crap out of Christians. Maybe it’s because we know Jesus is the truth (John 14:6) and that brings us to the conclusion that any lack of knowledge or doubt is an affront to our faith. Therefore we avoid any skepticism at all costs…including taking the gospel to the lost.
I personally think this refusal to wrestle with tough questions and admit our ignorance about some issues of Scripture or theology has lead unbelievers to tune us out.
I was reading Joe Thorn’s blog and he was talking about a ministry they’ve begun called Theology Pub. He meets with people at a local pub and they discuss matters of theology and faith. It’s an open forum where people can ask questions and he answers them in a loving and engaging manner.
I really like that idea. It’s time for us to lay down our need to have all the answers and to embrace the concept of dialoging with people instead shouting at them with a bull horn.
Plus Dwight from The Office thinks it’s a good idea and anything he says goes.
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Women in Ministry (Part 1)
The role of women in ministry is a hot button topic in the Church today.
In light of this I wanted to take some time to explain what I and our church believe.
There are three basic views in regard to this subject:
*1. Egalitarian (liberal)
Men and women are partners together in every area of ministry. All ministries and offices are open to men and women. Gender is not a relevant distinction for excluding any person from any church office.
2. Complementarian (moderate)
Men and women are partners together in every area of ministry. All ministries in the church are open to all qualified men and women with the singular exception of the office of elder, which the Scriptures require to be a male-only office. Women can serve as deacons, teach, lead worship, serve communion, be in full time paid ministry, etc.
3. Hierarchical (conservative)
Women and men are created to operate in different spheres of ministry within the church. Women are not permitted to be an elder or deacon, serve communion, teach men, lead worship, pray or speak in the church service, etc. Women should focus on building ministries for other women and children.
*These definitions taken from A Book You’ll Actually Read on…Church Leadership (Mark Driscoll)
I personally believe that the NT teaches the second of these three views.
I believe the other two views to be extreme and unbiblical. The liberal view must ignore passages such as 1 Timothy 2:12
“I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.”
and other passages such as 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. This view has sought to placate the culture by adopting feminism instead of gleaning their doctrine from the Scripture.
However the conservative view ignores passages such as Galatians 3:28
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
It has declared that men are superior to women and has adopted old school traditional values over the Word of God.
I personally believe there is only one office/position in the church that women are not called to hold; that is the office and position of elder/pastor/bishop/overseer or whatever else you want to call that senior leadership role in the church. However there is no reason women cannot function in any and every other position within the church.
I will talk more about the roles of men and women in the church in part 2 of this post.
Ministry 101 by James McDonald
James McDonald from Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago recently shared these simple truths at the Preach the Word Conference at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, CA.
He was asked the question…if the older James McDonald could speak with a younger James what would you share that you’ve learned?
James replied,
“I would heed the advice of my dad (who was a pastor)…
1. Feed the people
2. Love the people
3. Be quick to admit when you’re wrong”
Feed the people the Word of God…nothing more nothing less. Love the people with the love of Jesus Christ, being patient with them and extending the same grace that has been extended to us.
And when we fall short of these things we should quickly admit our wrong doing and move on.
Simple…but packed with truth that will make any pastor succeed.
9 things to watch for in the Church in 2009
2008 is now officially in the books and so rather than look back in nostalgia at the year that was I would like to look ahead to 2009.
Here are some, 9 actually, trends to look for in the corporate gatherings of Christians in 2009.
1. Mega-Churches will continue to lose numbers as people (not only young people) seek community and authenticity.
2. Due to the economy churches and church leaders will look for alternatives to the big slick attractional methods of outreach.
3. The emergent church will come up with some definitive answers or they will become even more irrelevant.
4. Christians will realize that blogs, facebook, and online teaching cannot replace real live people with whom God has called us to influence and be influenced by.
5. Churches to transition from spectator events to the living organism God intended them to be as church leaderships are forced to rely more upon volunteers to do the work of the ministry.
6. Pastors and churches will attempt to be more relevant and in so doing will become less Biblical.
7. Alcohol will become less of a big deal as Christians continue to realize that its use in moderation is not sinful.
8. Churches that focus on Jesus and the gospel will grow as hurting people seek hope beyond the struggles of this life.
9. There will be a simultaneous increase in division and unity within Christianity as the mindsets and practices that lead to both will perpetuate.
Happy New Year!!
Deadly Viper: Character Assassins
While we were at Andrea’s parents house the other night I picked up this book off the coffee table. My father in law informed me that it was very good and that it was given to him by my brother in law after his church’s leadership went through it together.
It’s a very unique book both in style and content. I have read about half the book and I’m pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t expecting much based on the title, some of the quote sources (Dog the Bounty Hunter for example) and the odd format in which it’s written.
The theme of the book is integrity. The authors believe that good character and lasting integrity is the result of complete honesty with someone(s) you can trust. They postulate that when we keep struggles to ourselves we empower those sinful proclivities, enslaving ourselves even further. I couldn’t agree more with this theory and hope to implement some of their ideas into our leadership and church.
What I like about this book is that they concede the fact that accountability is only as good as the people involved. It doesn’t do any good if I’m just honest after the fact. Accountability is supposed to keep me from doing stupid stuff…the only way this is going to happen is if I’m honest with the little things that lead to the big life altering failures.
My only criticism so far is the lack of Scripture. While I believe the principles they are purporting are biblical I’m curious why they chose to quote Duane “Dog” Chapman and not God Himself.
Unfortunately this is becoming more and more prevalent amongst those who claim to be teachers of the Word.
Instilling Vision
Yesterday I was talking to a friend of mine who used to be my assistant pastor and is now planting a church in Walla Walla, WA.
I am on his board helping him make financial decisions while his church is being established.
I was encouraging him to begin to instill in his small group of people the vision that he has to grow the church and reach the community with the gospel. Often small churches suffer from the “I don’t want a big church” syndrome. The reason we came here was due to the size. We like the small atmosphere and that we know everybody’s name (and their birthdays…and their social security numbers) 
The tendency for small churches in small towns is to get comfortable with the few families that are coming and to never want that to change. As a pastor of a small church you must begin to instill your vision to reach the community early on because the longer you wait the more difficult it will be to convince Mr. and Mrs. home school parent that this is a good idea.
Here are some practical ways you can do this.
1. Talk about it from the pulpit (or music stand or folding chair turned backwards) – duh! Share your heart for the lost as it comes up in Scripture. Encourage the people to see themselves as missionaries in their neighborhoods, workplaces, and families.
2. Think big - Encourage the people that you can reach this community with the few people you have right now. God doesn’t need a thousand people to make an impact. I have been saying this since our church first began. As we’ve grown from 25 to 50 to 75 to 100 to 150 and beyond I’ve been telling our body that we can reach this city right here, right now.
3. Pour into men – Without solid mature men with leadership gifts your church won’t be healthy so begin meeting with 1 or 2 guys that have potential for leadership. Share your heart with them. Tell them your vision to reach the community. Bounce stuff off of them. Listen to their ideas. Get their opinions. Pray with them.
4. Start small – Often small churches with tiny budgets and small minded pastors get intimidated to do outreach. “We can’t afford it!” “We don’t have enough people!” Yes and if you keep saying that it will continue to be true. Think of creative ways that your small fellowship can reach out with the love of Jesus. Maybe it’s raking leaves in a local neighborhood and sharing the gospel with the people as they stand on their porch dumbfounded that someone is willing to do what they’ve been dreading for weeks. For more unique ideas see Steve Sjogren’s book 101 Ways to Reach Your Community.
In my next post we are going to look at how little churches can do big things.
Not quite what I had in mind…
Tonight’s study didn’t go quite as planned…in fact I think it completely flopped.
I’m pretty much convinced that I left everyone more confused than if we hadn’t even attempted to answer the question in the first place.
Sometimes being a teaching pastor is the most amazing job in the world…at other times (like tonight) you want to run and hide and pretend that you work at McDonald’s (would you like it super sized).
This “Burning Questions” series has been much more difficult to teach than I thought it would be. It’s hard to prepare for it and even more challenging to teach. I think overall it has been and will continue to be fruitful and beneficial but I’m pretty discouraged with myself at this point.
The Proper Focus
As most of you know I’ve been involved in what you might call a “blog blowup” over the last few weeks. My article called “What Are We Afraid Of?” was read thousands of times and commented on hundreds of times on various blogs around the internet.
Despite my article being misconstrued and blown completely out of proportion by some I truly believe that it will cause others to evaluate their own ministries and why they do what they do and say what they say. As I’ve stated in a few subsequent posts my heart was not to throw the movement that I love under the bus but to simply challenge pastors to hear from Jesus and not any man.
That brings me to the point of this post…yep Jesus.
In Colossians 1:17-18 Paul declares,
“And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.“
I’m currently teaching through Colossians on Sunday mornings and Paul’s main point in that letter is to focus the believers in Colosse upon Jesus. They were getting sucked into false teaching by weirdos who believed they had a deeper knowledge. The Gnostics, as a group, don’t exist anymore but their doctrines and proclivities live on today repackaged to appeal to this generation.
It is super easy for us to lose sight of Jesus. To make something else the focus of our life. You don’t realize it initially. Then the reality of our error hits us one day and we realize, “I’ve been focused on the wrong things”
Whatever side of this whole “What Are We Afraid Of?” blog war (or shall we call it a misunderstanding) you’ve fallen on I want us to refocus our attention upon Jesus and His amazing love.
We all have families to pour into…wives to love…husbands to submit to (I had to throw that in there) …children to love on. Many of us have churches to pastor…whether big or small those people that call us their pastor need Jesus and not some impostor. Are we pointing our people to Jesus? Do people leave each week reminded of what Jesus did for them or are they constantly being told what they need to do for Him?
Where is our focus? Who is preeminent in our lives and ministries? If it isn’t Jesus then something else will take His place. Maybe it’s our undying devotion to a movement or a man. It could just as easily be our unquenchable hatred for the same movement or man.
I love to write and will continue to do so candidly as the Lord leads. But my primary focus must be Jesus or I will have nothing to offer any of the people who look to me as their leader.
Proud Pastor
This weekend Calvary Chapel of Bend hosted a worship conference with worship leaders Terry Clark and Dave Morrow.
Now I will be the first to admit that I’m not a huge fan of Terry and Nancy Clark’s music. I think they are great people with a tremendous heart for Jesus. But as I listened to him teach about worship I realized that I don’t need to love somebody’s style to be edified by their experience.
The conference was called “The Heart of Worship.” Both Terry and Dave did a great job of communicating the heart of worship…when the heart of the one leading worship is right everything else will flow naturally from that. Worship isn’t just about music…music is a part of worship but worship is the essence of all we do (Romans 12:1-2).
After the conclusion of the conference this afternoon, we reconvened for a worship concert this evening for which our worship band opened for Dave Morrow.
I know I am probably a little biased but our worship band ROCKED!
Not only were they super tight musically but they displayed an amazing humility and sincere heart of worship. I sat in the back like a proud parent watching our young worship band allow the Lord to flow through them to blow everyone’s socks off.
I don’t know if it’s right to be a “proud pastor” or not…but I was proud of our guys (and gal) tonight.
Our worship leader Stewart White and I have been working together for over two years now. He and I have a great relationship that has been built through many “Monday morning chats”
You know the one’s that start with…”so what did you think of the services yesterday?”
Sometimes my timing isn’t very good, my tone is irritating, and my suggestions are stupid but he listens because he’s humble and teachable. We work through stuff…we argue…we fight…we laugh…and through it all God has developed a very strong relationship that He is using to minister to the people of C4.
Stewart I know that I can be hard to deal with sometimes…like when I woke you up the other morning on your day off.
But I want you to know that you and the band are doing an awesome job and that I’m proud of you!
Missed Opportunity
We had an awesome service at church last night. Great worship…a time of celebrating communion and then we opened it up for people to use their gifts (1 Cor. 12:7). It was cool to see people step up to share words of knowledge…words of wisdom…prophesies…and praying for one another.
As a pastor it really gets no better than this.
Pastors if you are not giving your people the opportunity to do this you are really missing out. It’s easy to say “we are open to whatever the Lord wants to do” but are we?
That’s not the missed opportunity I want to confess to you however…
Advice about Advice
In Philippians 3:15 Paul writes…
“Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.”
I love that!
This verse is pregnant with wisdom. As a pastor I constantly find myself giving people advice. But there’s something I’ve learned along the way. When people ask for your opinion they are open to hearing what you have to say. However if people don’t ask for your advice it is an effort in futility to attempt to give it to them.
Finishing Well
Today’s Super Bowl got me thinking…
The Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season. But what will they be remembered for? Not for how they started but how they finished.
Vision
I’ve heard this word tossed about in Christian circles for years. “What’s your vision?” “That isn’t part of the vision God has given me?” “Sharing your vision” “Vision Casting” (that’s always sounded wierd to me)
But what is vision? Is it necessary for a successful leader, pastor, or church planter to have vision?
Idiots
I’m a pastor and a church planter…which pretty much means I’m crazy and a little bit cocky. Most church planting pastors struggle with pride and self-reliance. We’re pioneers…trailblazers…risk takers…idiots.