Matt Chandler was overseas with his wife, Lauren, when their daughter Audrey called in tears. After years of strained conversations, the pastor of The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, braced himself for bad news. Then Audrey told him what had happened. "Dad, Jesus is so good. He just took all my shame."
Chandler recounted the call on the Nov. 11 episode of the POWERS Pod with Chris Powers, as reported by The Christian Post. In the interview, he traced the years leading up to that moment and described how a friend's advice changed the way he and Lauren responded when their daughter pulled away.
Chandler said he and Audrey had been close when she was younger. They went on father-daughter outings, and she sometimes traveled with him for ministry. Their relationship grew strained in high school after a teacher called about Audrey's marijuana use. Chandler said he and Lauren tried taking away her phone and car, but Audrey found ways around those restrictions. He described the years that followed as more painful and disorienting than his own battle with brain cancer.
A friend asked Chandler to consider how lonely Audrey might feel in a household where she didn't share her parents' faith. Chandler recalled the advice in plain terms. "She needs a dad. She doesn't need a pastor."
He said the conversation prompted him and Lauren to put more effort into protecting their relationship with Audrey. They still held to their convictions, he said, but felt less pressure to turn each conversation into a discussion about her spiritual life.
Rebuilding trust took time. Chandler said Audrey moved home after her marriage ended and later began attending a local cowboy church. By the time she made the tearful call, she had also begun reading Christian books. Afterward, Chandler said, she asked to be baptized at The Village Church and began sharing her testimony.
For Chandler, who connected the experience with Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, the call brought home the limits of what he could do as a father. He could stay involved in his daughter's life and speak honestly about his faith. Her response to Jesus, he said, was the work of the Holy Spirit.
