The Good Fight

Great interview here by CT with Matt Chandler on gospel-centered sanctification.

Here is one section that I greatly resonate with. He is asked what gospel growth looks like at his church:

We acknowledge that most of us do struggle with sin. Most of us wrestle. We work really hard to create an environment that says, "It's okay to not be okay." I'll give you an example. On Sunday morning during the worship set, we'll show a three or four minute video testimony. A few months ago the video was really powerful. The guy was in a bad spot, frustrated with sin, nowhere near where he wanted to be. In the middle of his story, he just started crying, wiped his tears, and stopped the recording. He couldn't say anything else.

We used the video because we thought it would help people understand the reality of growth. It's a process. Sanctification isn't instantaneous. That's a healthy message for the congregation.

CT: A lot of churches wouldn't have shown that video.

There are people I love and respect, good friends, who strongly disagree with my perspective. They believe that if you create an environment where it's okay to not be okay, you will discourage growth. I disagree. We want to say, "Its okay to not be okay, but it's not okay to stay there."