
Why Holiness Is Not a Checklist or a Ladder but a Lifelong Journey | Matt Chandler
From Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews by Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews
May 21, 2026 · 25 min
About this episode
Matt Chandler discusses the concept of holiness as a lifelong journey rather than a checklist, sharing personal experiences and insights from his ministry.
Matt Chandler, Senior Pastor of The Village Church in Texas and author of the new book Becoming Like Jesus, has been pastoring the same congregation for nearly 25 years. He has watched 20-year-olds from the Dallas party scene get radically saved, get married, lose children, walk through divorce, battle addiction, and slowly become more like Jesus across decades. He has also survived a terminal brain cancer diagnosis, endured seven years of a painful marriage, and come out the other side convinced that the Christian life was never meant to be up into the right — and that the lie that it is has sent a generation into deconstruction. Progressive sanctification, the Beatitudes, and the deep work only the Spirit can do: Matt unpacks why the church has over-emphasized conversion at the cost of discipleship, why holiness is not a checklist or a ladder but a lifelong journey of closing the distance between yourself and Jesus, and why the most dangerous thing you can do is expect to be a finished product at any point on the road. He also shares what it felt like to be diagnosed with incurable brain cancer in 2009, why he was with David and Jeremiah in their rawest moments with God…
People in this episode
Guest: Matt Chandler
Topics covered
- holiness
- sanctification
- Christian life
- discipleship
- revival
- personal struggles
Keywords
- holiness
- sanctification
- Christianity
- revival
- Matt Chandler
- The Village Church
- personal struggles
- discipleship
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Village Church, Dallas
Books & works: Becoming Like Jesus
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