Matt Chandler Warns Pastors of Dangers of Seeking 'Success'

Does church size equal success?

Evangelical pastor Matt Chandler has been disturbed by what he's been hearing or sensing from pastors lately – and that is their search for "success" through the size of their churches and the growth of their platforms.

In a post featured on theresurgence.com this week, Chandler, who leads The Village Church in Texas, bluntly stated that such a goal is "hollow" and "dangerous."

"If your hope is set on anything other than Jesus, how do you survive when it goes bad? How do you remain passionate and vibrant when no one comes or the baptismal waters are still for long stretches?" he posed.

Chandler, whose church draws over 10,000 people on multiple campuses, was recently appointed the new president of Acts 29, a church planting network, formerly led by Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll. He is also the author of the newly released book, The Explicit Gospel, where he points readers back to Christ and his saving grace.

He recalled in his recent post leaving his itinerant speaking ministry to become pastor of First Baptist Church of Highland Village, now known as The Village Church, in 2002. It was a move that many discouraged him from making.

"I left crowds that were in the thousands and finances that more than provided for my family, to go to a small, 160-person church that cut my annual salary in half," he noted. Read more