Some thoughts on Matt Chandler's move to lead Acts 29
So, it’s official: Matt Chandler will be taking over as president of the Acts 29 church planting network, moving the A29 headquarters from Seattle to Dallas. Pastor Matt will be taking over from Mark Driscoll, the fiery pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, who helped found the network over a decade ago. While others have served as president of Acts 29 at various times over the past 10 years, it is still Driscoll (and, to a lesser extent, Darrin Patrick of The Journey in St. Louis) who primarily comes to mind when you say Acts 29.
The move from Driscoll to Chandler is a significant one, for several reasons:
Strong enough to bring about change. In an evangelical ecosystem already dominated by leaders with strong personalities, Matt Chandler comes in to this leadership position as an already-established “brand”, separate from Acts 29. His story is fairly well known within evangelical circles, reluctantly accepting the pastorate of a dying Baptist church in the Dallas area only to turn it into a thriving multi-campus megachurch. More recently, his diagnosis of brain cancer and the following struggle through surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have been the subject of many a blog post and tweet over the last two and a half years. In short, Matt’s standing within the evangelical community is strong and distinct enough from Mark Driscoll’s that Matt has a reasonable chance of effecting real change where it’s needed, rather than just existing in Driscoll’s shadow.
Leaders set the culture. While Chandler’s theology is close in line with that of Driscoll and the Acts 29 network, culturally the lanky Texan will provide a sharp contrast to the Seattle spark plug. Over the past decade, young Acts 29 church planters have picked up not only Driscoll’s theology but also his personal style. There seems to be a contractual obligation for Acts 29 pastors to love Mixed Martial Arts, tattoos, beer, and alternative music styles. Now, I don’t know whether Chandler is a fan of MMA or not… but that just illustrates my point. If Pastor Matt can help separate the cultural stylism from the heart of Acts 29 ministry, it will be a very good thing.
Some distance from the controversy. There have been a couple of widely-discussed controversies in the past few months concerning Mars Hill Church in general, and Mark Driscoll’s leadership strategies in particular. I don’t want to comment on them here other than to say that it appears less than coincidental that the Acts 29 move comes on the heels of those issues. Maybe this move will help provide some distance and perspective for Acts 29 pastors who may be finding themselves uncomfortably trying to deal with these controversies.
Room for Pastor Mark to refresh and grow. Whether you love him or hate him, you’ve got to acknowledge that Mark Driscoll has been one busy dude over the past 10 years. Taking a church from zero to thousands, writing a gazillion books, teaching all over the evangelical conference circuit, and founding and growing a church planting network of 400+ churches, all while trying to also be a good husband and father to a growing family is enough to run anyone ragged. Add to it the stress from being a flashpoint for some contentious cultural issues (Don Miller named him “Mark the cussing pastor” for a real reason, after all), and maybe it’s time for Pastor Mark to back it off just a bit and recharge. Bringing in Pastor Matt to fill a prominent role could help that happen.
Time will tell how this move affects both pastors, their churches, and the Acts 29 network as a whole. We should take the time today, though, to lift up both of these men, their families, and their churches in prayer, asking God’s blessing and protection on them as they serve.