No Topic Off Limits
With younger generations spending hours each day absorbing ideas from social media, many churches struggle to address complex topics like sexuality, technology, politics, and ethics without fear or sensationalism. Church leaders today face cultural complexity: studies show 72% of US adults say disagreements exist between religious teachings and modern social values, and 55% of younger generations view institutions as irrelevant. This disconnect is echoed in social media habits, with Americans spending nearly 2.5 hours per day on social platforms, often absorbing unfiltered ideology. The speaker argues that avoiding difficult topics—like gender, technology, or ethics—creates vacuums filled by secular content and leaves congregations spiritually unprepared and shaped by secular voices instead of Scripture. Instead, he calls pastors to speak the whole counsel of God, grounding every issue in Scripture and offering pastoral care so congregations engage culture with conviction, clarity, and compassionate discipleship.
“The moment we declare certain rooms off-limits to God, we’ve already invited an idol in.”
In his THINQ Summit talk, Matt Chandler delivers a sobering yet hopeful message for today’s Church: courage without Christlikeness isn’t courage at all. Too often, leaders either retreat to avoid backlash or hide behind precision to avoid engagement. Both, Matt reminds us, abandon the flock in a culture desperate for truth and grace.
When thinking through the THINQ lens, Matt challenges us to think theologically about courage, understand historically how the Church has drifted before, and approach today’s outrage-driven culture with nuance and wisdom. His call is clear: we need pastors and believers who are Hope Dealers—people who lead with conviction, compassion, and calm in a world fueled by fear.
As you listen, reflect on the “rooms” in your own life or ministry that you’ve kept closed off. What would it look like to invite Christ fully in—and to shepherd with both truth and tenderness?
Watch as Chandler outlines seven pastoral commitments that re-center the Church on faithful presence in a fractured age.