Photo by Scott Heavey
Hi. I’m Matthew Chambers.
From preacher’s kid to preacher to missionary to outsider.
From big church and conference stages to international relief work to timid doubter to willing leaver.
Simply stated, this has been by journey.
As far as my story goes…I grew up the oldest of eight children, homeschooled, son of a Southern Baptist pastor. Even in early childhood, I just didn’t quite fit in. I remember a few times even waking up in the cold sweat of existential dread and rushing to my parents’ room in the middle of the night to raise questions about theology, and a myriad of “What ifs…”.
I met my wife, Jordana (also homeschooled, and raised similarly religious), when I was eleven years old (don’t worry, we weren’t married until we were older-ish, 21 and 20). Marriage from the world we grew up in to where we are today has been quite a revealing ride. Replacing love as a tool of dogma with love as a human connection (with divine roots) is like discovering an entirely new universe.
We have seven children (apple, tree, etc., etc.) ranging from 17 to 5 years old, and we call ourselves The Chambers Village.
One of our children, Jude, has a rare, genetic disorder which has left him profoundly and globally disabled. His diagnosis wasn’t the only catalyst which led me to where I am now, but it was certainly the final, devastating nail in the coffin of the faith of my youth, and the breath of life into a profound, ethos-rearranging, unending pilgrimage.
That pilgrimage has taken me through all the various stages of emotion and sundry points of view. I’ve been the angry prognosticator, the devil’s advocate (ugh, never again), the anti-evangelist, bumbling guru, indifferent non-commital, and wanderer.
But, when we wander, if we’re paying attention, we may not always find what we think we’re looking for, but we’ll definitely find stories. And, those stories are big enough to last well beyond a lifetime. For me, launching Better Sects is about sharing those stories and helping people take permission to discover their own.
In my “day job,” I’m curator of Stories+Craft and Springible (in the midst of being reimagined), marketer, and strategist, but most of all a storyteller and story finder. I’ve consulted, created with, and been featured by dozens of brands, including Nike, Lincoln, Tommy Hilfiger, Williams-Sonoma, Paul Mitchell, Johnson & Johnson, and Veuve Clicquot.
Our family Village lives in East Tennessee (for now), but are always planning our next road-trip adventure (in our 12-passenger van).
Every story tends to be a bit messy (or a lot messy), and you can’t control how everything plays out (global pandemic, anyone?), but finding ways to invite people into a new story or experience can bring life even on the most challenging days.
Thanks for stopping by, I’m glad you’re here.
(Oh…one personal note about my headshot. I wasn’t trying to look any sort of way…we just shot this outside in the middle of winter, and it was especially cold.)