Pastor Matt Chandler spoke at Mark Driscoll's Resurgence Conference this afternoon, encouraging leaders in the church to humbly seek the Lord and to guard their hearts against pride. He taught on 2 Chronicles 26, where King Uzziah modeled the fear of the Lord as a young leader of God's people until pride in his accomplishments eventually caused him to fall.
Matt Chandler is the lead teaching pastor at The Village Church in Texas, and also serves as president of the Acts 29 Network. The Lord has blessed Pastor Matt with charisma and with much passion for His name, which has sparked rapid growth in attendance at each of The Village's four campuses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Chandler's hope for The Village Church and for the Acts 29 Network is for Gospel-centered preaching to ignite multiplication (church planting and evangelism) for the glory of God. In today's Resurgence Conference message entitled "Humility, Courage, and Some Pitfalls," Pastor Matt expounded on God's delight in causing the humble to flourish, especially among leaders of His people.
Chandler read from 2 Chronicles 26:3-19, exhorting church leaders to maintain a posture of humility throughout their lives. Early in his reign, Uzziah had a keen awareness that he was not able to rule God's people on his own; his sense of inadequacy spurred him to seek the Lord for help, and he went to the prophet Zechariah to learn the fear of the Lord. God honored and blessed King Uzziah for his humble reliance on Him, and Uzziah grew in wisdom and in knowledge as he leaned on God's strength and ability to work through him.
King Uzziah eventually became a competent, wise, organized, pious, and courageous man. Chandler highlighted the fact that Uzziah helped to reestablish Israel to its former glory with aggressiveness that was built upon humility. Such a posture enables followers of Christ to take risks by faith in the Lord's abilities.
Pastor Matt pleads with leaders in the church to trust in God to work through them, even in their weaknesses - "We need weak men who become strong [in Him]," he says.
