Matt Chandler is one of the most notorious woke pastors, famously stating that he would prefer a diversity higher over a more qualified White guy, provided that the quality difference wasn’t too great. Nevertheless, The Village Church is still a megachurch with give or take 5000 people in Flower Mound, Texas.
Village Church is undergoing a major renovation branded as “Beyond” which is a $50 million multiphase project, with the current phase affecting the sanctuary. Matt Chandler and the elders decided that closing the church to ensure uninterrupted construction was the best stewardship of money. Chandler put out a Facebook reel explaining the church’s decision to go virtual for a few weeks.
Additionally, the church’s Instagram post this as an occasion for practicing the Sabbath:
Matt Chandler’s decsion prioritizes the smoothness of the construction project over the necessity of the body of Christ to assemble. This was a major issue during COVID, and the church should have learned that, outside of providential circumstances, gathering is essential.
Matt Chandler’s shortcut makes the church subservient to the sanctuary rather than the sanctuary subservient to the church. But it’s an entirely unnecessary action. Sure, the set-up and take-down time is reduced saving tons of money on labor. But the project was neither behind schedule nor overbudget. Additionally, they don’t even seek to rent a separate space for a temporary basis as a substitute meeting location. (This would admittedly be difficult.)
Thus, allowing the construction to persist longer is the correct course of action if the priority is faithfulness over saving some money. Sure, completing a major renovation ahead of schedule is impressive, but revamping the sanctuary with no interruption to the Sunday gathering is the real flex.
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