Creature of the Word Quotes

“Your approval before God is woven into the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, not what other men and women think about you.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“God ultimately raises up leaders for one primary reason: His glory. He shows His power in our weakness. He demonstrates His wisdom in our folly. We are all like a turtle on a fence post. If you walk by a fence post and see a turtle on top of it, then you know someone came by and put it there. In the same way, God gives leadership according to His good pleasure.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Worship gatherings are not always spectacular, but they are always supernatural. And if a church looks for or works for the spectacular, she may miss the supernatural. If a person enters a gathering to be wowed with something impressive, with a style that fits him just right, with an order of service and song selection designed just the right way, that person may miss the supernatural presence of God. Worship is supernatural whenever people come hungry to respond, react, and receive from God for who He is and what He has done. A church worshipping as a Creature of the Word doesn't show up to perform or be entertained; she comes desperate and needy, thirsty for grace, receiving from the Lord and the body of Christ, and then gratefully receiving what she needs as she offers her praise-the only proper response to the God who saves us.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Choosing one thing over another doesn't necessarily mean we love the thing we choose. If given the choice to eat spinach or broccoli, you may choose broccoli. It may only mean you don't want to eat spinach. Heaven is not for people who just want to skip Hell. Heaven is reserved for those who love Jesus, who have been rescued by Him and who long to praise Him. If someone doesn't have much use for praising Him now, it's foolish to think they're ready for Heaven.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“As you consider selecting songs for your worship services, consider them in light of the truth of the gospel. Imagine the songs as teachers--because they are! If your people could understand your doctrine only through the music you sing, what would they know about God and His pursuit of us? If your people could understand your church's beliefs only through the music, what would they know?”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Truly, God's plan of redemption is about more than me and you and our neighbor down the street. It's about men and women from every tribe, tongue, and nation on earth becoming a part of His covenant community.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Heaven is not for people who just want to skip hell. Heaven is reserved for those who love Jesus, who have been rescued by Him and who long to praise Him.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“God has made provision for our sin in Christ. So when we struggle to believe and obey, we should run to Him, not from Him--the opposite of our pattern, in contradiction to our feelings? Why? Because He already knows! See the gospel just keeps changing everything. The cross should continually testify to us that God fully knew we would need to be justified. Therefore, unconfessed sin is actually the foolish decision to run away from our healing and growth rather than toward it. We hang on to things we believe will satisfy us, thinking we need those more than what God offers to provide. But how can we rejoice in and worship the majesty of a loving and forgiving God if in practice we don't believe He loves and forgives, if in practice we don't believe the gospel? How can our churches rejoice and worship corporately when our collective energy is expended carrying around the saddle of unconfessed sin and shame? When people walk in honesty about their fears, shortcomings, and needs--not in thoughtless disobedience but in grace-based freedom and forgiveness--they reveal a deep understanding of the gospel. To confess our sins to one another is to violently pursue our own joy and the glory of God...and to exponentially increase our rejoicing and worship, both individually and corporately.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Children are perceptive, and if they see leaders and parents talk with boredom and apathy about faith yet become overtly passionate about sports teams or shopping malls, they will think the sport or the mall is more attractive than Jesus.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“To obey the commands of Scripture can finally become a delight when we see that the reasons almost always center around God's love and provision for us in Christ.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“We must help men and women see the epic in the ordinary details of life.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Jesus is the culmination of the greatness and the goodness of God.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Often the question of, "Who am I?" should be answered with, "Whose am I?”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Longing for something fresh, for something no one else has said often leads to bad exegesis.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“When people walk in honesty about their fears, shortcomings, and needs—not in thoughtless disobedience but in grace-based freedom and forgiveness—they reveal a deep understanding of the gospel. To confess our sins to one another is to violently pursue our own joy and the glory of God . . . and to exponentially increase our rejoicing and worship, both individually and corporately.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“A church worshipping as a Creature of the Word doesn’t show up to perform or be entertained; she comes desperate and needy, thirsty for grace, receiving from the Lord and the body of Christ, and then gratefully receiving what she needs as she offers her praise—the only proper response to the God who saves us.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“If groups are not gospel-centered and gospel-fueled, they are merely a social outlet for people, and they lack the power for transformation. So”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“If your people could understand your doctrine only through the music you sing, what would they know about God and His pursuit of us? If your people could understand your church’s beliefs only through the music, what would they know?”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“The church must be united from the preschool ministry to the pulpit around one central understanding: the gospel transforms. Yes, the gospel must be the foundational truth on which each of these ministries takes their stand.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“The Holy Spirit always uses the revealed Word of God to open the eyes of both the unbeliever and believer to the wonders of the gospel.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“To expound Scripture is to bring out of the text what is there and expose it to view. The expositor pries open what appears to be closed, makes plain what is obscure, unravels what is knotted and unfolds what is tightly packed. . . . Whether long or short, our responsibility as expositors is to open it up in such a way that it speaks its message clearly, plainly, accurately, relevantly, without addition, subtraction or falsification.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Worship always suffers when man is exalted and God is belittled. If you remove the fact that you’re a sinner, if you elevate yourself to a more righteously entitled place, if you exalt yourself and think, “I’m not really all that bad; I’m kind of a good person,” then your worship is going to suffer.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Theology God is triune, and the church is plural. Philosophy Groups are foundational for transformation. Practice We offer groups that _____, move people to groups by ______, etc. Theology Christ is the Word incarnate, and the Scripture is His special revelation to us. Philosophy The text must be heralded in all teaching environments. Practice We teach the Word to adults, students, and kids by ____________. Theology God became Man (incarnation) to rescue us. Philosophy We must step into our local context and serve. Practice We serve our local community by __________. Theology Christ redeemed us for His own glory. Corporate worship must celebrate what Christ has done. Philosophy We sing songs that focus on His character and work, not ours. Practice We structure singing in our services by ______________. Theology Christ has made all believers priests. Philosophy All believers are qualified by God to serve the body of believers. Practice We challenge our people to serve in the following ways: ______________.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Hospitality can be an expression of doctrine beyond the pulpit. Hospitality is the means by which the Church, from the ground level, models the gospel to others.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“We become what we behold.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Moses challenged parents both to teach the faith diligently and to maximize normal encounters or ongoing discussion.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Because children already have a realization of their weakness, is this not the best opportunity to apply the gospel to their hearts?”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“The pastor owns the opportunity to issue of the flock that it is OK not to be OK.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“The Church should spend less time trying to be "relevant", which can come across as disingenuous, and more time trying to align their hearts to the authentic gospel message.”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Peter Drucker”
― Matt Chandler, Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church