John Chandler

I wrote earlier this spring about the death of Dallas Willard and the impact his life and ministry had on getting the “discipleship” conversation to the forefront in North American evangelicalism. One of the ways he did this was to…

Dallas Willard died on May 8. Or I should say, quoting Pascal, what he once believed, he now sees. Perhaps no other figure in the past 50 years has caused so many North American evangelicals to think so deeply about…

Here’s a no-brainer trend: blogs, Twitter and Facebook pronouncements by public religious leaders going viral with all kinds of unintended negative consequences. Besides making me shake my bald head, it raises the question of what the “best practices” trend will be…

Ten years ago, American prophet and all-time dean of church consultants Lyle Schaller wrote one of my favorite of his 96 books. From Geography to Affinity: How Congregations Can Learn From One Another was a prescient look at the fundamental…

As discussed recently, Mike Breen’s “State of the Evangelical Union” forecasts discipleship entering the center of evangelical focus. That conversation puts identifying ourselves around tribal customs or doctrinal distinctives in the rearview mirror. It also reorients worship gatherings and the…

Mike Breen’s “State of the Evangelical Union” blog highlights a trend that should be part of every evangelical community. That is, how does worship impact mission? How do worship leaders function as mission leaders? Taken seriously, this conversation would affect…

One way to read trends in the evangelical world is to watch how national conferences like Catalyst, Exponential, and VERGE are “theming.” Based on this, there is evidence that the North American conversation is centering on the theme of discipleship….

My friend and mentor Mike Breen is an apostolic leader with keen global eyes. So when he recently issued his “State of the Evangelical Union,” it had my full attention. We’ll explore key themes from it in the next four…

Time in Argentina will give you a snapshot of the world that is coming to North America. The trend will be that our culture becomes increasingly multicultural (and multilingual) and highly urbanized.  Like the current global south, the North American…