This is a video message from Matt Chandler just before he went into surgery to have a tumor removed from his frontal lobe. It was taped just a few days before surgery and viewed this past weekend during worship services at The Village Church, where Matt is the lead pastor.
I wanted to post this today, because the message Matt brings, especially in light of his circumstances, was…and is…powerful.
It is so easy to talk theology, and wax poetic in fine points of doctrine with so many. But it is a rare and precious jewel, spiritually speaking, that the children of God possess, to rest in the sovereignty of the Lord and His finished work on the cross, and know with certainty, that He alone holds our lives in His hands, for His glory.
Regardless of how you may view Matt Chandler, his theology, etc. He is a brother in Christ Jesus, and I love this guy for the message he delivers in this video. In these days of his recovery, he and his family are still in need of our prayers. - Joel
Prayers offered for this pastor’s healing.
His church is part of Acts 29 Network. This network incorporates “Spiritual Formation” which is contrary to God’s Word.
I’d encourage people to read Pastor Bob DeWaay’s articles on this:
http://www.cicministry.org/commentary/issue91.htm
http://www.cicministry.org/commentary/issue111.htm
The connections with Mark Driscoll (Acts 29 Network) are concerning.
Again, regardless of how you view the man’s theology, I believe him to be a brother in Christ Jesus. No unregenerate praises Christ and his work like that.
Joel,
I am very familiar with the humbling hand of God since he has allowed my seizure condition, which had been dormant since 1976, to return in a very violent way in the last part of August and first part of September this year. It was as if God was stripping me of so much I had been idolizing without knowing it. It any case, I am not saying that this man’s theology has condemned him, that he is not a Christian, but that we must pray that God will use this to draw him out of the errors he has be espousing to become firmly grounded in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ centered in the Sovereignty of God. Within this context we must pray for the contemplative prayer and spiritual formation stuff to be done away with in that church and assigned to the dung heap where it belongs. As you said, no unregenerate praisies Christ like he does in this video. Let us pray that he follows through with obedience in being a proper shepherd of the sheep.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
Mike,
I say a hearty Amen! to your comment, and I fully agree. Well said.
- Joel
Paul would see it differently and so would all the other apostles as it was said that is anyone bring another doctrine or another gospel contrary to the teachings of the apostles, they were to be considered anethema (damned)…..
people are waxing poetic indeed……….
it is disgusting
yes prayers for his recovery but even more so for him to come out from the deceitful spirits and deceptive practices
It’s very interesting that you would pray for the healing of a man you would hold in disgust and damn. : /
Joel it is pitiful that you didnt understand the spirit of my reply… so let me re-state.
It is disgusting (referring to the apostasy and lukewarmness and complecency and compromise which goes against scriptural truth).
I can still pray for people as I am commanded to do so in the sciptures. One thing does not exclude the other.
If someone is in error, you just spit on him and ‘anathema’? Where is the mercy and grace in your speech that Christ has shown you? Shame.
I cannot believe what I am reading. Have you listened to Matt Chandler’s sermons–any of them? You can easily podcast them or listen to one online. Surely you are not judging him based on his reaction to his diagnosis in this very personal video!? Matt Chandler dwells deep in his biblical preaching and teaching. Please prove me wrong where I am wrong.
There is a huge difference between anathema and adhering to heresies.
It is a grave danger for hold man’s teachings on any pedestal or align with them without scrutinizing the teaching by holding it to God’s Word.
Again, it is grieving to hear of Mr. Chandler’s illness and in Jesus do I pray for his healing according the will of God Almighty. I pray for his family and church members also.
With prayer do I ask that eyes that are blind to the false teachings within Acts 29 Network (spiritual disciplines and formation) might be opened. May all who are Bereans, look into this with Bible opened.
“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.”
2 Peter 3:17
This “New Calvinism” (neo-calvinism) with it’s contextualization or scripture, it’s condoning of perverted information–> http://theresurgence.com/free_sex_blog
, it’s advocation of spiritual disciplines- all under the smokescreen of a sound statement of faith is a grave danger. It is an sly evil oil that has seeped under the doors of once scripturally sound churches.
Jude 3. “Earnestly Contend”. this is NOT passivity…
Denise, I agree with you whole-heartedly. Yet I will pray for a brother in Jesus Christ. If you feel like you cannot pray for such a one as Matt Chandler, examine yourself, and the grace the Father has shown you, or do you see yourself as better than Chandler before God? I make no apologies for requesting prayers of Matt Chandler, none.
Joel
You know sometimes we reformed folk can be so unloving………..
My view exactly…..
JT,
I have listened to many of Matt’s sermons and listened to him and John Piper, he is a champion of the sovereignty of God, that Christ is alone our salvation. Would we destroy and pillory those with him we disagree on all issues? Bearing with each other, praying for, lifting up etc. AS I have said previously there but by the grace of God alone go I….and I am glad at my demise I will not have to hear the arrows, barbs and accusations of the brethren.
And lest anyone say it is sacred theology we defend, so were the religious leaders of Christ’s time just defending the truth. I pray earnestly that God will be glorified through all this, no matter the outcome.
“Again, it is grieving to hear of Mr. Chandler’s illness and in Jesus do I pray for his healing according the will of God Almighty. I pray for his family and church members also.” note this was stated previously more than once.
Again, it is the EXTRA Biblical teachings that are condoned that have been brought to light here. Again, it is with earnest that it needs to be scrutinized and held up against God’s Word.
Spiritual Disciplines are unscriptural. Why would solid pastors conform to this “spirituality”?
For more perspective on this, laid out very clearly, please read Pastor Dewaay’s commentaries.
There is no personal attack here on Chandler. The comments are regarding the partnership with Acts 29 network with it’s unBiblical spiritual formation.
Now.. I urge you to look beyond the false perception here of attacks on Chandler. I pray he pulls out of this alignment.
i dare to say much as i’m sure i’ll be seen as quite the spiritual lightweight among you but if you think matt’s a heretic, you’re sadly mistaken. thankful for his teaching, his challenges to me to love Christ more than anything else, and that he sees suffering as something God has ordained. no one tackles that anymore. he is not perfect. no one is, and as for driscoll and the talks on sex, they tackle tough issues biblically. lighten up and trust God on this one, matt loves and serves jesus.
No one called Matt a heretic.
No one has to remain a spiritual lightweight that doesn’t want to. Be a Berean and search out the matter, compare what you learn to the Word.
As for Driscoll…there is “tackling difficult issues” and doing it “tactfully”, he an offense to to God to be standing in the pulpit and spewing the lewd things he does, I guarantee you Jesus would not have preached that way! Since when do Pastors and Christian’s have to climb into the gutter to be “relevant”. If people want to understand sexual matters, go to the Word and prayer or meet privately with your Pastor, lowering yourself to the world and being graphic are not glorifying to God. Driscoll is trying to appeal to the young people and come across as “cool” and horribly missing the mark that God sets. Disgusting. “Christian porn”. I can only assume people have not spent time verifying what these wolves and pervert are saying, writing and selling.
I can’t believe people can be so hard on Matt Chandler.
For me he is a great preacher, with good theology- he might not be “cultural right” or “moralistic right”- but I can’t find any big error in his preaching- in my eyes Matt Chandler is gospel and Christ focused in his preaching- and that is very good.
And for Mark Driscoll, well give the guy a break! Cultural liberal- yes, but so was Jesus!
The guy’s we should be worried about is the stuff we can see on TBN, the Emerging Church movement, the new ecumanical movement that are forcing evangelicals back to Rome, and so on. Not preachers that live for Christ – that are young (and since they are young they do some errors).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC_-cOexQb4 – John Piper, Mark Driscoll and Paul Washer- gospel.
Let us all pray for Matt Chandler and his ministry!
//Michael
Michael, Driscoll has aligned himself with Warren at an upcoming 2010 conference.
Have you looked at the link of Driscoll’s posted above? Give the “guy” a break? Jesus didn’t give Peter a break, did he? What does God’s Word have to say about false teachings? Let it go? (spiritual disciplines and formation)
No one is hard on Chandler.. again the point is missed. The Acts 29 connection is BAD, period! This Network promotes Spiritual Disciplines and Formation. I urge that you read Pastor DeWaay’s articles about this as he fully uses scripture to reveal the myticism this is!
Please..I urge you to look into this and be a Berean. Driscoll is a danger. He is.
Denise,
You said “No one is hard on Chandler..again the point is missed.”
That is an incorrect and unfortunate assumption on your part.
Beside myself, my friend Ken Silva has been particularly aware of Matt Chandler’s propensity towards contemplative spirituality, as has Mike Ratliff.
Just a few examples should suffice, and please, be careful when you make sweeping, absolute statements.
Confusion Concerning Calvinist Spirituality?
More On Matt Chandler
Southern Baptist Bible Teacher Beth Moore
Tim Keller: The ‘Kingly’ Willow Creek Conference
Wow. This is a post about a brother in Christ with a wife, 3 young children, and a successful ministry proclaiming to the world that Jesus is enough and God is sovereign and good in the midst of a life-threatening trial. This is a young pastor who clearly loves Jesus and is suffering well.
I’m saddened that the conversation wasn’t commending the work of God evident in Matt’s life through his words about facing this trial. Instead it degenerated immediately into picking the one thing you disagree with about him, and choosing instead to malign his ministry because of it.
Agreed. – Joel