Chandler: Evangelicalism

Excellent message from Matt Chandler at a recent Resurgence conference on Evangelicalism - where it came from, what it now is, speaking the gospel to those today who think they already know it, and the way in which we have become experts in the how of Christian living while losing the why of Christian living. Yes, he talks about how huge his church is and how he doesn't bring that up to boast, which grows wearisome. But I was helped and am grateful for it and for him.

(Though it was a backhanded comment and not the heart of the message, I loved hearing: "Just as dumb as the fundamentalist is, that new breed that we’re getting where you’re a cool pastor if you drink beer and cuss is just as dumb. You don’t have to be that guy to engage culture. Engaging culture has very little to do with beer." Or, on megachurches: "Christianity used to be a small movement that actually affected the culture arond it--now it's a gigantic impotent one." Or, or the worship wars: "The difference is not between contemporary and traditional, but authentic and inauthentic." Or [speaking to Dane Ortlund]: "There is a real arrogance to youth. There really is. And the only one who disagrees with me in here is 20. And you're just proving my point." Or: "We must reaffirm our faith in the sufficiency of Scripture, and not just cling to the integrity and the inerrancy of it. If we believe the Scriptures are sufficient, we won't seek to make it relevant by confusing truth and acculturation." Or: "Let's work like Arminians and sleep like Calvinists.")