Chandler Interview – Part 1
Dustin Neeley, Pastor of Crossing Church in Louisville, KY interviews Matt Chandler about church planting , preaching, and leadership.
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.
What is good preaching?
Every pastor who spends any time in the pulpit or in small groups explaining and applying God’s Word should ask themselves this question constantly.
I found this article, written by Scott Thomas on the Acts 29 blog to be particularly helpful in answering this question. The article features the thoughts of men like John Piper, and Tim Keller as well as some feedback from people on Twitter, which I will also post below.
“I asked people on Twitter to share the characteristics of what they thought comprised a good sermon. I compiled their helpful thoughts and came up with 8 qualities.
1. Gospel-centered
- Leads to the cross and trust/surrender in Jesus.
- Uses the Scriptures to unearth the heart not behavior.
- Bringing people to repentance
- Did Christ need to die for this to be true?
- Having the main thrust of the passage explained & applied in a way that grips and changes me
- Missional/Evangelistic
2. Bible-based, exegetically-sound (Intelligent but not academically arrogant)
3. Empowered by the Holy Spirit
4. Preached through a passionately changed man
5. Relationally-connected
- Displaying honesty and authenticity
- Inspirational (not just informational)
- Challenging and encouraging
- Humbly and compassionately
- Engaging (not boring)
- Contextualized
- Winsome
6. Simple, memorable and concise with clarity of thought
7. Bible-generated points of application
- Answers the question, “So, now what?”
8. Leads to the worship of Jesus”
May we as preachers and teachers of the Scriptures never reach a point where we feel like we’ve arrived. The preacher who ceases to learn is an oxymoron. Let’s pursue our craft in a manner befitting the Subject matter. Keep growing, keep learning, keep pointing people to Jesus everytime you open the Bible.
“I standing vigilantly on the precipice of eternity speaking to people who this week could go over the edge whether they are ready to or not. I will be called to account for what I said there. That’s what I mean by preaching.” (John Piper)
Practical Ways to be on Mission
Over the last four weeks we have been looking at Luke chapters 9 and 10 and looking at the theme of being on mission with God.
I ran across this article written by Jonathan Dodson of The Resurgence; it so dovetails with what I’ve been teaching and preaching that I wanted to pass it along.
I’ve included the text here as well…
Eat with Non-Christians
We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations. Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.
Walk, Don’t Drive
If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox or convenience store, walk to get mail or groceries. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, carrying along a 6-pack to share, bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Last night I spent an hour outside gardening with my family. We had good conversations with about four of our neighbors. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet, and some people.
Be a Regular
Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places at the same times. Get to know the staff. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of leftover pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use them for church gatherings and occasionally give them to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a regular.
Hobby with Non-Christians
Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try city league sports or local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons, such as sewing, piano, knitting, or tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.
Talk to Your Co-workers
How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form moms’ groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively non-Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.
Volunteer with Non-Profits
Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take a Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!
Participate in City Events
Instead of playing XBox, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, cleanups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.
Serve Your Neighbors
Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, or fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative. Just serve!
Weekend Services
We had a great weekend of celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On Friday night we gathered for a time of worship, testimony, communion, and contemplation of the fact that our sins killed Jesus. Besides the nasty buzz we were getting from our sound system and some other logistical issues (lights going on and off when I wanted it dark the whole time) we had an awesome service that left us thinking about how wicked we are but how perfectly God loves us and how thankful we should be that we don’t have to face this righteous wrath.
On Sunday we had two services and both of them were really full. We began the services with this video and then incorporated a one man drama (the life of Peter) into worship. The drama written by our worship leader, Stewart White, and performed by a man named Blaine Jensen, from church, was abosolutely phenomenal. I then taught a very pointed and direct message from Acts 2…I probably offended some people but I cannot stand in front of all of those unbelievers and not deliver a candid call for salvation.
I know of at least one lady, who was previously a Mormon, who received Jesus yesterday. I didn’t do a formal altar call yesterday but I did clearly call people to respond to the gospel and I hope that many did.
If you would like to listen to either or both of these messages they are available for download or streaming in the media player on the home page of this blog.
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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Blew It
As many of you know we’re hosting a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class at our church on Wednesday evenings.
One of Dave’s axioms is, “sell so much stuff the kids think they’re next.”
In light of this my wife (and I stress it was her idea) thought it would be good if “we” sold “my” truck (2006 Toyota Tacoma).
So much to my dissapointment I placed an ad on Craigslist, thinking that no one would be willing to pay top dollar for my truck in this economy. Well to my astonishment I received several emails and phone calls. One such call came from a guy in Portland. His dad was in Bend on business and he wanted me to drive the truck to a local hotel (about 20 miles away) so that his dad could look at it.
Well I wasn’t really thrilled to drive the truck 20 miles for someone that may or may not buy the truck. But after being assured that this guy was very serious about buying the truck and that he didn’t care about the fact that it was filthy and that the back seat was stained I drove the truck the 20 miles to the Comfort Inn on the East side of Bend.
In talking with the father to arrange the meeting I quickly found out that he was a very blunt and offensive dude. But I wasn’t prepared for how rude this jerk would be in person. Upon arrival he gets outs of his fire engine red Chevy Suburban immediately receiving a phone call so he pretty much ignores me and begins to examine the truck. After a few minutes of him “kicking the tires” and talking on the phone he hung up and said, “those tires look like crap!”
Nice to meet you too.
“Well I told your son that it had oversized mud tires and a 3 inch lift”
“He is going to have to replace those tires right away and it really needs to be detailed.”
“Yes I understand that sir but I informed him of its present condition as well.”
This was his cue to call his son and begin speaking to him in a foreign language so that I couldn’t understand. After that brief phone call he said, “well I’ll give you $19,000″
A full $2,000 less than I was asking.
I was beginning to tire of his antics and his attitude so I said, “look I informed your son that I wouldn’t take less than 20K and he assured me that you wouldn’t play games…at this point you are wasting my time.”
His reply was awesome…”wasting your time, all I did was pull you away from your TV, you’ve got nothing to do anyway!”
This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I stormed off, got in my truck and honked the horn as I exited the parking lot. I then proceeded to call his son and gave him a piece of my mind about his dad. After hanging up from that super productive phone call the Lord began to speak to my heart.
“You just blew an opportunity to apply your message from Sunday.”
Oh man…I was busted!
We are going through the book of Luke on Sundays. Last Sunday we looked at 6:12-36 where Jesus commands us to “love our enemies” “do good to those that hate you” and to “bless those that curse you.”
Immediately I was struck with how ugly my flesh is.
Paul’s words in Romans 7 came to mind, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (vs. 24)
How thankful I am to have the answer to that question…”I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (vs. 25a)
Thank You Father for the gift of Your Son.
I am so grateful for your grace without which I would be absolutely obliterated by Your wrath and my own sense of guilt and condemnation.
What a blessing to write articles like this knowing that the people in our church do not need perfection from me…they need more Jesus, more gospel, and more transparancy from me to help them to look past their pastor toward Jesus.
I’m still trying to figure who to blame this episode on…Dave Ramsey or my wife. 
Oh and by the way I haven’t sold my truck yet!
Interview with Dr. James Earl Massey
The following link is an interview with Dr. James Earl Massy, a distinguished African American pastor and author. The interview is conducted by
Dr. Art Azurdia for the Spurgeon Fellowship Journal.
click here for interview with Dr. Massey
If you are a pastor I encourage you to read this article as I think it has some great insight for modern day preachers and teachers.
Why Pastors Should Blog
I recently came across this article written by Abraham Piper.
It’s 6 reasons pastors should blog…good insight.
Conference with Gayle Erwin (Day 2)
I know I promised to post about day 2 of the private conference my wife and I attended at Calvary Chapel Olympia
But we didn’t make it the second day so I don’t have anything specific to add…sorry!
I will however post some thoughts that Gayle made regarding preaching during the conference. These highlights were actually written by my friend Jim Jacobson on another blog.
Here are five points that Gayle made:
1. Look for walls that separate you from the people and get rid of them. He used the huge pulpit as an example. He even brought up the way we sometimes bring up “the greek” and how that separates us from the “uneducated” people.
2. Preach confessionally, be open about your own failings. Instead of showing the people how they sin, use your own life failings etc.
3. Throw away your “illustration books” and use your own life experience for illustrations.
4. Make the bible your story. Put yourself into the text. Point out things the obvious things that many people miss.
5. Make sure you are an invitation to receive grace.
According to Jim, Gayle had some great insight about ministry and marriage on Saturday as well. This was kind of the theme of this conference and there was some great discussion on Friday afternoon about this subject.
Some of the points that were brought up.
1. Men…your ministry begins when you walk into your house after all day of ministering to others.
2. Women…remember that the sacrifice of your husband and his time is an opportunity for you to minister to others.
3. Men…put dates with your wife and “buying flowers” into your calendar.
4. Women…don’t feel pressured by the church to be anything other than who you are.
In the little time that I was able to spend at this conference there was some great stuff shared that I definitely need to hear.
blessings…ryan
Monday, Monday
I am totally stoked about our current series in the book of Luke.
Yesterday we looked at 5:12-32 and God’s plan of redemption. If you are interested in listening to or reading the notes from it or any of our messages in Luke click here.
Soon and very soon I will be switching my blog url to www.smalltownpreacher.com
I hope to have this site point to that one for a while and then phase this one out completely. If you have any insight about switching wordpress sites to private hosting please pass it on.
I’ve just spent the last few hours writing the text for the back of our bulletins. It’s funny the last time we made bulletins I forgot about the text for the back until the last minute and I ended up writing it in about 5 minutes at midnight to make the deadline before printing.
Here is the text (more…)
New series in Luke
With the Christmas season upon us I am beginning a new series in the book of Luke tomorrow.
I am excited to bring the life of Jesus (His humanity, His deity, His quest for relationship with mankind, His call to leave this world and all its lusts behind and to surrender your life to Him, His sacrificial death, His Divine resurrection) to people in desperate need of Him. I know that each one of these truths will transform hearts and lives for His kingdom.
I plan to teach through the book of Luke in about 36 studies (should be finished by the end of summer).
Yep…less than 2 messages per chapter!
Crazy I know.
I just feel like the Lord wants us to look at this book with a wide lens, gleaning the major themes (mainly that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost – 19:10).
Now certainly the gospel of Luke could be taught at a much slower pace than we’re going to take but I’m not sure that the Bible was meant to be read or taught with a magnifying glass either. I’ve heard of pastors camping out in certain books (usually Romans) for years on end; preaching sermon after sermon on single verses. I’m sure that intellects and analytical people eat this up, but the rest of us end up lost in the details.
I like to take a macro approach to Bible teaching…looking at the forest from the aerial view. Pointing out the significant landmarks and features while moving on so as to not lose the forest through the trees.
What say you?
How do you teach? How do you learn better?
Bible Teaching
My good friend Jeff Stewart from Calvary Chapel Pomona Valley and I talk frequently about ministry and one of the things that comes up often is Bible teaching. Both Jeff and I are passionate about teaching the Bible. It’s something that we’ve both dedicated our lives to and therefore something we think and talk a lot about.
I believe it’s incumbent upon pastors and Bible teachers to be teachable and to continually grow in their gift of teaching. This takes a humble heart that is willing to listen to critique and learn from it. Too often pastors in their stubborn pride refuse to change, but I believe this displeases God and goes against the very premise of the Book we’re teaching.
Jeff wrote an article about a year ago on his myspace page that we have recently revised and I wanted to make version 2.0 available here.
1.TEACH YOUR TEXT – It is not our job to make the Bible say something other than what it says. It is our job to extract the Author’s intended meaning and to make that applicable to our listeners. In our attempt to make the Bible exciting and relevant we end up using it as a spring board to say whatever we want. While this might be exciting and make people say, “wow I’ve never heard that before!” There is probably a reason they haven’t heard it before; it’s not there
2. DON’T BE A FLIPPER - Cross references can be great to clarify your text or substantiate a point, but don’t teach them (ie – spending more time in the cross referenced passage than in your text) and don’t have people flipping all over the Bible trying to find your cross-references. Quote the verse or passage or sum it up in your own words. Our vast knowledge of the Bible may impress people but it can be a very ineffective communication method.
3. STUDY YOUR TEXT BUT PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER YOUR APPLICATION – This is a common mistake, to spend all of the allotted time dispensing information and never telling people what it means to them personally. We must be more than a breathing reference book. There is a small percentage of people who love history, original languages, and big theological words but most people that sit before us are frazzled from life and just want to hear a simple truth from the Spirit of God.
We personally believe that this is a primary way the Spirit desires to use the New Testament gift of prophecy, “he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men”.
Yes the Holy Spirit can and will apply the text to each individual but he desires to use us in that process otherwise just hand everyone a commentary and call it good.
4. YOU CAN’T TELL THEM EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IN ONE STUDY – And if you can you probably shouldn’t be teaching the Bible you should be learning it.
This is common to young Bible teachers and guys that are just starting out, you want to be very diligent and teach the text thoroughly (which is good) however you will end up losing, or boring people , or worse…Both
As Bible teachers it is important that we have a firm understanding of our text. We must do our homework…word studies, history, cross references, etc. This does not necessitate that we dump all of this study upon our people. The hours of study and firm grasp of the text will come across in your teaching without you verbalizing everything you know.
5. BE ABLE TO CLOSE – Remember not everyone is as interested in listening to you as you are. Every pastor struggles in this area because we are so excited about what we’ve learned and we want to give it away. But if you’ve made your point, move on. If you are on point #2 and the Spirit is speaking powerfully to people it may be better for you to end the message at that point and give people more opportunity to respond to the Word. Too often we are bound to our notes and our outline and we feel we must tell them everything we have prepared…why? Know when to end…don’t ramble…don’t feel like you have to fill time…just shut it down and let the Spirit work His Word into their hearts.
6. KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING AND HOW YOU’RE GOING TO GET THERE – And then tell your listeners from the beginning so that they can track with you. This seems self evident, but sadly it is not. If I as the teacher do not know where I am going then chances are my audience won’t either, even when I get there.
7. BE CHRISTOCENTRIC – Ok it’s a big word, it’s a word we don’t necessarily need to use but should practice. It simply means to make Jesus the center and focus of our Bible teaching. Every time we teach the Bible we should be pointing people to Jesus. It is our job to see Jesus and the gospel in the text and then make Him come alive for our listeners. “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” (John 5:39)
8. AVOID MAKING STATEMENTS – This point may be difficult to articulate. The idea is that we shouldn’t be making statements intended to impress the audience. Statements that take people 5 minutes to process and by then they’ve completely forgotten the point. Bible teaching is not merely motivational speaking, it’s teaching the Living Breathing Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). If we allow it to, it will make plenty of powerful statements on its own.
9. BE HONEST – About whether or not you connected with the audience. If you did not connect nothing else may matter. Ask other Bible teachers you respect to listen to your teaching and allow them to critique you and then don’t defend yourself.
You Can't Say That!
BrianD who writes a weekly linkathon post for the Phoenix Preacher turned me on to this lady, Anne Jackson who wrote a blog post called Keeping Your Mouth Shut where she gives people the opportunity to say things they would never feel comfortable saying in church or around other Christians.
So I decided to write a post where pastors and Bible teachers can say things they would never say from the pulpit or in their Bible study…or maybe things you have said but took flack for or regret.
Now I’m not talking about obvious filth…just things that might ruffle feathers.
Burning Questions Week #3
This post is a about a week late so I apologize for that…
The Wednesday before last we tackled the third question in this series.
“What Does Prayer Accomplish?” (Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?) (more…)
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.
Prayer: Does it change God's mind?
Tonight I am teaching the third of a seven week series called “Burning Questions” Our topic tonight will be prayer…specifically “does prayer change God’s mind?” (more…)
Burning Questions Week #2
I’ve been really busy lately and haven’t had much time to post…but here are last night’s notes from our burning questions series.
The question was “Where did we get the Bible, and how do we know it’s reliable?”
Also…if you are interested in listening to the audio teaching of this series you can access it here.
The Preacher's Resolutions
Last week I took a class at Western Seminary called a “Preaching Practicum.” This class was taught by Dr. Art Azurdia who is a rare combination of both brilliance and humility. I plan on blogging about many of the things I learned in this class but for now I would like to post Art’s resolutions for preachers…
Preaching Practicum
This afternoon I will head over the mountains to Salem, OR. to stay with Steve Hopkins of CC Salem.
Steve and I will be taking part in a three day class called a “Preaching Practicum” at Western Seminary in Portland, OR.
The class will taught by Art Arzurdia an instructor at Western who also heads up a fellowship of pastors called
The Spurgeon Fellowship, that meets at Western.
There will be 8 pastors involved in this practicum. Each pastor has been given a text in the book of Ruth to teach during the practicum. My text is 1:1-5. I hate going first!
After each pastor teaches he will be critiqued by Art and the other pastors. Along with this there will be formal instruction.
I will let you know how it goes
Topical Series'
This Sunday I’m beginning a four week teaching series called “The Cross”
We are going to look at…
The Reason for the Cross (Sin and Death…God’s Love and His desire for relationship with us)
The Result of the Cross (Forgiveness…Eternal Life…Relationship with God)
The Response to the Cross (Death to Self…taking up our own cross)
The Resurrection from the Cross (Easter Message)
I’m not trying to wow you with my aliteration skills…I’m no Jon Courson or Warren Wiersbe but I can aliterate with just about anyone else.
What do you think of topical messages or topical series’?
Are they necessary? Are they beneficial? If so how often should we do them and what topics are important to cover in this manner?
Jesus is the BEST thing about us
This is something that I say to our church constantly. It’s not our outreaches…our programs…our modern worship…our welcoming atmosphere…it’s certainly not our funky folding chairs or our cramped storefront.
And God knows it’s not the short, fat, bald guy that teaches every week
No the best thing about Calvary Chapel of Crook County is Jesus.
When people step through the door of our church I want them to experience Jesus. Not the Jesus of their own making. You know the one who smiles a lot and exists to make us happy because he’s really nice.
No what people need is the real Jesus. The One who compels us to take up our cross and live a life of humility, selflessness, and service. The One whose humble condescension and loving sacrifice demand us to lay our lives down and follow Him. Any other Jesus is a sham. Milli Vanilli without the dreds.
As a I pastor I desire to point people to the real Jesus. As a Bible teacher I want to take every text and make Jesus come alive to the listener. As a church planter my goal for our church is that it draws people into a deeper more intimate relationship with Jesus.
I don’t want people to just “enjoy” the services and ministries we offer. It saddens me when people show up with no heart to be changed. You know the people who say, “that was great worship” or “wonderful message pastor” but then depart to completely forget what was said and to have their lives remain exactly the same. I want our people to have an amazing encounter with their Creator who is longing to have a living dynamic relationship with them.
“Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’.” (John 12:20-21)
This is the true need of every person that darkens the door of our churches. They need to see Jesus. Like the women with the issue of blood they desperately need to be touched by Jesus.
I pray every week that the people who attend our services will be arrested in their spirit having their hearts captured by the Lover of their Soul. I don’t want anyone to walk away without being challenged to wrestle with and personally apply the truths we discussed.
Sadly though many people will never truly experience the Jesus we so passionately worship and preach about. They are content to sing 5 songs, drop a few bucks in the box, listen to the sermon while checking their watch and return to their life unchallenged and unchanged.
It’s the sad reality of humanity. It’s the discouraging dichotomy of ministry. Some get it some don’t. There’s not much we can do about it. In fact there’s nothing we can do about it.
Jesus is the best thing about us. When people realize that it will change everything.
Be Yourself
I think one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in ministry since planting Calvary Chapel of Crook County is that I can’t live up to people’s expectations or preconcieved ideas of what a pastor is supposed to be.