Tag: matt chandler

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Village Church Responds to Blowback From Hiring Matt Chandler’s Dad As Custodian, Who Previously Confessed to Child Sex Abuse

The Village Church, led by pastor Matt Chandler, has responded to rumblings over revelations that they employed Steve Chandler, Matt’s father, to be their custodian, even though he admitted to engaging in child sex abuse decades earlier.

In an episode of The Bodies Behind The Bus podcast, former member and lay elder Chris and children’s ministry worker Anna shared that in 2019, during the growing storm of sexual abuse within the SBC, they learned that Steve Chandler, who was hired in 2007 and worked until 2012 as the church’s custodian, had confessed to molesting a child four decades ago.

For more on Chandler and The Village Church:
Matt Chandler Joins Christine Caine, Sadie Robertson Huff for ‘Preaching’ Conference
Matt Chandler Compares BLM Leaders to Prophets- Says Not Participating in BLM Marches is ‘Giving up our Inheritance’
Matt Chandler: ‘You are Complicit in the Unrest and Destruction of our Nation’
Major Acts 29 Church Resigns from Network, Citing ‘Poor Decision-Making,’ Leftward, Theological Drift’
‘Leaky Complementarian’ Matt Chandler Participates in Conference with a Bunch of Pastrixes
Prominent Friend of Matt Chandler Says Situation is Overblown, Explains Nature of the ‘Coarse Jesting’ + Reveals Reaction From Woman He Was DMing
Matt Chandler and Mark Driscoll Back Together for Christian Conference

According to Chris, he was told that Steve “confessed in California, had intensive court-ordered therapy, and he had gone through steps in recovery” and that “it was at one of those recovery meetings that he confessed that he had been a perpetrator of sexual abuse.”

With sex abuse reform the topic de jour, The Village Church leadership met together with lawyers in tow to hash out how and even IF they were going to reveal their past employment of Steven. That year, in 2019, they initially decided to release a statement insisting that Steve was reformed and that safety protocols had been established around him during his time there, ensuring he was always being monitored in some manner.

However, ultimately, they let the incident drop and did not mention it further, which Chris attributes to a sense of pressure he felt to leave it be.

In a statement sent to Church Leaders, The Village Church said it “cares deeply about protecting children and the most vulnerable among us” and has “made it one of our top priorities not only to provide for the spiritual care of our members and guests but also to provide for the safety of those attending our gatherings.”

Noting that they have utilized “best practices, background checks, regular training, and various security protocols that are informed and shaped through ongoing work with external experts,” The Village Church insists they will “invest resources in our growing care ministry to provide Christ-centered transformation, hope, and support” while remaining “committed to serving as a refuge for the broken and suffering to receive the hope of the gospel.”



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Matt Chandler Returns to the Pulpit, Receives Standing Ovation + His Critics Go Nuts

Three months ago, it was announced that Lead Pastor Matt Chandler would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from preaching and teaching at The Village Church after it was revealed he was engaged in an inappropriate texting conversation with a woman not his wife, (the conversation, while not romantic or sexual, was described as “overly familiar” and involved “coarse and foolish jesting.” 

Yesterday Chandler, who was earlier restored by the elder team, took to the stage and received an extended standing ovation, taking a few minutes to apologize to his congregants, telling them, “I’m sorry, I failed you…” while lamenting that his “foolishness” might have caused his congregants hardship and pain. 

Chandler also explained that he’d spent the last few months undergoing “intensives,” which are extended counseling sessions delving into his personality, thoughts and motivations, and even had a neurological exam on account of not being able to recognize his error and wondering whether or not his brain cancer a decade ago where he had his frontal lobe removed might have something to do with it (This is a stretch). He told them:

“Of course I’m sick like I’m just- a couple of things. I very much know that the Christian life is a marathon and there are times in that run where you’re uphill in the snow and not sure if you’re gonna make it, and then there are other times you’re running downhill in the sun and it feels like nothing could ever hinder your love for Jesus and your bold witness.

And if in my foolishness I created any more weight on you, or made this any more difficult on you, please forgive me.

I said on the 28th that really the situation disoriented me, it scared me. I’m a man who’s very serious about his life and doctrine and that I didn’t see what I didn’t see really was disorienting to me. And I said I needed to understand that, it revealed some unhealth in me. And so the elders care plan involved a couple of intensives and I actually went even got a neurological exam. I don’t know if you were around for that, but I actually don’t have a right frontal lobe. I had a tumour taken out 13 years ago and radiation and all that, so we needed like, ‘hey, is there something wrong with my brain?’

And that’s the work I’ve been doing over the last three months. Some intensives with some experts and then is my brain okay. And I don’t I don’t have like here the eight takeaways…

Matt did not offer more details on what caused him to be suspended, but we covered that previously here:

Prominent Friend of Matt Chandler Says Situation is Overblown, Explains Nature of the ‘Coarse Jesting’ + Reveals Reaction From Woman He Was DMing

In response to his restoration, social media is alight with criticism, with comments from survivor bloggers being emblematic of the greater whole.

We also got ridiculous videos , which are loaded with assumptions, conclusion jumping and gossipy innuendo.

We’ve had our share of issues with Chandler in the past. We’ve been on the record sayin that the leaky charismatic has been drifting for years, such as when he compared BLM leaders to prophets- saying that not participating in BLM Marches is ‘giving up our inheritance’, then denounced America as ‘demonic’, while saying that racism is theologically woven into our foundation and finally declared after January 6th that ‘everyone is complicit in the unrest and destruction of our nation’. These are all troubling and worthy of rebuke.

But this restoration? Nothing about the situation would indicate that it is not appropriate.

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Matt Chandler To Return to the Pulpit this Sunday After 3 Month Suspension

Months after the elder board of The Village Church temporarily suspended lead pastor Matt Chandler over engaging in an inappropriate, overly familiar conversation with a woman, the church has announced that Chandler has completed his restoration process and is returning to the pulpit on December 4th, the 20th anniversary of the church’s first service. They explain:

“Matt has been diligently working through a development plan that we laid out for him…We asked a lot of Matt, including time spent in study and prayer, personal reflection, and multiple intensives with trusted outside experts. Matt has completed everything asked of him with submissiveness, steadfastness, and humility, and we have received positive feedback from all involved. We have been encouraged by his posture throughout, and we remain so.”

Previously, the Village Church announced that Chandler would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from preaching and teaching after Chandler was accused of engaging in an inappropriate texting conversation with a woman, not his wife. The church said that while it was not romantic or sexual, it was “overly familiar” and involved “coarse and foolish jesting.” Furthermore, the church hired a law firm to conduct an investigation into Chandler’s behavior, and said that the suspension was based on their findings.

According to his friend Preston Sprinkle, the church’s language surrounding the incident suggested a far more severe offence than occurred. He alleges that the “coarse joking” was not sexual at all but involved joking about alcohol. 

Furthermore, he explained that the woman Chandler was DMing was not offended by their banter, did not consider herself a victim, and urged Matt not to apologize. Preston alleged that the woman who confronted Chandler followed a stringent interpretation of the Billy Graham rule that precluded these conversations- an interpretation neither Chandler nor his messaging partner held.

Lastly, Sprinkle claimed that the investigation results by the lawyers into his phone and tablet came back clean, with no porn, sexual messaging, or otherwise inappropriate conversations found anywhere on Chandler’s computers or electronic devices. 

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Matt Chandler Signals His Looming Return to Ministry

Months after the elder board of The Village Church temporarily suspended lead pastor Matt Chandler over engaging in an inappropriate, overly familiar conversation with a woman, Chandler has signaled his imminent return to the ministry, writing on Instagram that he’s “eager to return to @tvcfm soon”

The Village Church announced that Chandler would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from preaching and teaching after Chandler was accused of engaging in an inappropriate texting conversation with a woman, not his wife. The church said that while it was not romantic or sexual, it was “overly familiar” and involved “coarse and foolish jesting.”) Furthermore, the church hired a law firm to conduct an investigation into Chandler’s behavior, and said that the suspension was based on their findings.

According to his friend Preston Sprinkle, the church’s language surrounding the incident suggested a far more severe offence than occurred. He alleges that the “coarse joking” was not sexual at all but involved joking about alcohol. 

Furthermore, he explained that the woman Chandler was DMing was not offended by their banter, did not consider herself a victim, and urged Matt not to apologize. Preston alleged that the woman who confronted Chandler followed a stringent interpretation of the Billy Graham rule that precluded these conversations- an interpretation neither Chandler nor his messaging partner held.

Lastly, Sprinkle claimed that the investigation results by the lawyers into his phone and tablet came back clean, with no porn, sexual messaging, or otherwise inappropriate conversations found anywhere on Chandler’s computers or electronic devices. 

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Prominent Friend of Matt Chandler Says Situation is Overblown, Explains Nature of the ‘Coarse Jesting’ + Reveals Reaction From Woman He Was DMing

Prominent Christian leader Preston Sprinkle shared an Instagram post about the Matt Chandler situation yesterday, claiming that he’s spoken to the suspended pastor and the situation is overblown.

In the post, Sprinkle, who is the President of the Center for Faith, Sexuality and Gender, on the Revoice Advisory Council, is a New York Times bestselling author, and host of Theology in the Raw podcast, reveals he’s spoken to his friend twice about what’s happened, along with a long-term employee of the church, and that the church’s language suggests a far more severe offense than occurred. He alleges that the “coarse joking” was not sexual at all but involved joking about alcohol. 

Furthermore, he explains that the woman Chandler was DMing was not offended by their banter, does not consider herself a victim, and urged Matt not to apologize. Preston alleges that the woman who confronted Chandler followed a particularly strict interpretation of the Billy Graham rule that precluded these conversations- an interpretation neither Chandler nor his messaging partner held.

Lastly, Sprinkle claims that the results of the investigation by the lawyers into his phone and tablet came back clean, with no porn, sexual messaging, or otherwise inappropriate conversations found anywhere on Chandler’s computers or electronic devices. 

Hey Friends,

I just wanted everyone to know that I’ve looked extensively into all the stuff involving Matt Chandler on the Village Church. I’ve talked to Matt twice and talked to a woman who’s been on staff at the church for over 18 years. I can’t share private details, but I will say that so much of the way the popular media (secular and even Christian) is portraying it is pretty bad and even the church’s messaging framed it in some pretty negative terms that could be misconstrued. The “coarse joking” was jokes about alcohol (not sexual innuendo or lewd jokes) and the big issue was that his DM relationship seemed too “familiar” for someone that he didn’t know terribly well in person. He basically violated the Billy Graham rule.

To be clear, the woman he was messaging wasn’t at all offended and told Matt “don’t you dare apologize; you did nothing wrong!” It was the woman’s friend, who lives by a very strict Billy Graham type of rule, that was offended that Matt was DMing a married woman (even though Matt’s wife and the woman’s husband was fully aware of it)

An independent org scoured his electronics and found no porn and no other inappropriate or romantic sort of messaging.

All this to say, I have no problem still having Matt speak at the Exiles conference this year. I mean, if we applied the same standard to all the speakers, I’m not sure I’d be able to have any speakers at the conference.

Honestly, this whole thing gas made me want to re-integrate the Billy Graham rule into my own life. People give me a hard time because I do try to be extra vigilant in keeping my relationship with other women much more cautious, but I’ve been thinking maybe I should be more friendly and jovial. But it(sic) situations like Matt’s that make me more nervous about this. But, I’ve gotta run.

Hoping(sic) on a plane to Sabbatical.

Preston

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Acts 29 Network Suspends President and Chairman of the Board, Matt Chandler, Following Revelations

Following the revelation that the elder board of The Village Church has temporarily suspended lead pastor Matt Chandler over engaging in an inappropriate, overly familiar conversation with a woman, Global church planting network Acts 29, of which Chandler is the President and Chairman of the Board, has likewise announced that they have placed him on leave.

In a message posted to their website, the Acts 29 network, which has around 800 congregations under its wings, wrote:

Acts 29 prioritizes personal integrity and holds our leaders to a high standard of conduct. Considering the findings of the TVC investigation and consistent with the leave of absence from preaching and teaching that the Village Church has placed Matt on, the Acts 29 Board has asked Matt to step aside from Acts 29 speaking engagements during this time. 

We hope that Matt can use this time away from speaking to focus on the process that TVC elders have laid out for him.

Chandler isn’t the first high-profile leader suspended or asked to step down from the network. Mark Driscoll, who founded Acts 29 in 1998, handed over the presidency to Chandler in 2012 after being involved in several controversies and was removed from the network in 2014. In 2016, Vice President Darrin Patrick was terminated after being disqualified by his church for ‘historical patterns of sin.’ Two years ago, Acts 29 CEO Steve Timmis was also removed after being accused of being a bully and having an abusive leadership style.


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Village Church Hired Law Firm to Conduct Investigation into Matt Chandler

As the Village Church announced that lead pastor Matt Chandler would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from preaching and teaching after it was revealed he was engaged in an inappropriate texting conversation with a woman not his wife, (the conversation, while not romantic or sexual, was described as “overly familiar” and involved “coarse and foolish jesting.”) it was also shared that the church hired a law firm conduct an investigation into Chandler’s behavior, and that the suspension was based on their findings.

During the service Chandler mentioned that events happened “several months ago” when in reality they occurred in February 2022, half a year ago. It is unclear why the investigation took so long, or rather why the church took six months to make it public. According to a statement by The Village:

“While the messages were not romantic or sexual in nature, the frequency and familiarity of the messages crossed a line. They revealed that Matt did not use language appropriate for a pastor, and he did not model a behavior that we expect from him.”

As a result:

“(We) commissioned an independent law firm to conduct a review of Matt’s messaging history across social media platforms, cell phone, and email. The investigators’ report led the elders to conclude that Matt violated our internal social media use policies, and more importantly that, while the overarching pattern of his life has been “above reproach”, he failed to meet the 1 Timothy standard for elders of being “above reproach” in this instance.”

The law firm they hired to sift through his social media is Castañeda and Heidelman, described as a “boutique law firm with a national presence focused on litigation, investigations, employment, regulatory compliance, and intellectual property/data privacy” who serve “Fortune 500 corporate clients, medium sized private businesses in diverse industries, sophisticated faith-based and humanitarian non-profits, and high net worth executives.”

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Matt Chandler and Mark Driscoll Back Together for Christian Conference

On March 29, 2012, Mark Driscoll resigned as President of Acts 29 (and TGC) , the organization he founded. It was taken over by Matt Chandler, who, two years later, removed Driscoll and Mars Hill from membership, citing his “ungodly and disqualifying behavior.” and noting that “it is our conviction that the nature of the accusations against Mark, most of which have been confirmed by him, make it untenable and unhelpful to keep Mark and Mars Hill in our network.”

Months after that, Driscoll would resign from Mars Hill altogether and leave the church after refusing to submit to church discipline. He would later go on to start another church which is fast gaining megachurch status, but has also come under criticism after it was revealed that Driscoll has purposefully removed his elder board so that he has no accountability, and in turn has been acting abusively. You can See more about Driscoll Here:

Nearly 40 Former Mars Hill Elders Issue New Statement: Mark Driscoll is ‘Unfit’ and ‘Unrepentant’.
Mark Driscoll Lies About Where His Bible Came From
Cultish Bullying! Mark Driscoll Hired 24/7 Surveillance on Congregant + More Abusive Behavior
Mark Driscoll Church Structure Leak Confirms our Suspicions + Woman Protests His Church
News Station Investigating Mark Driscol Puts Fox in Charge of the Henhouse
Mark Driscoll Shuns Elders and Accountability at New Church
Wayne Grudem, Mark Driscoll, Michael Brown Sign Joint Statement Affirming False Prophets

Now, the gang is back together again, with Driscoll speaking at a conference that Matt Chandler is headlining in May 11-13, 2022, called the Theos Conference. Hosted by Theos U with the theme of “Spirit and Truth” the conference advertises that there is “No wishy-washy woke BS (Bulls****) per usual” and that it contains “prime Grade-A theology buffet’

Other speakers include Eric Metaxas, who we last saw Sucker-Punching a Passing Antifa Protestor, Landon Macdonald, son of disgraced pastor James Macdonald, and Nathan Finochio, a former pastor at Hillsong NYC, as well as Samuel Sey and Allie Beth Stuckey.

While we were initially surprised to see Samuel Sey there, who we are big fans of, all indication is that he accepted the invitation to speak before he knew the entire speaker list, writing on Twitter.

And honestly, slow clap for that. Sey’s actions are almost unheard of, and we love to see it, and appreciate the brother even more.

There is no word on whether Beth Stuckey will also follow suit.

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Matt Chandler Compares BLM Leaders to Prophets- Says Not Participating in BLM Marches is ‘Giving up our Inheritance’

Matt Chandler, the charismatic pastor of the Village Church, head of the Acts 29 network, and prolific conference speaker who never met a conference invitation to speak he could turn down, no matter what scoundrels and theological riffraff he was speaking alongside, continues to openly promote demonic organizations like Black Lives Matter and sex-perverts like Martin Luther King Jr, explaining that by being critical of BLM protests and marches and refusing to participate, Christians are giving up their “inheritance.”

“If you’ll study the civil rights movement in the 60’s, there’s a pattern that emerges there. So the predominant leader there is Martin Luther King, Jr., which we really like right now because he’s dead. I have to believe that a Martin Luther King, Jr. right now, he’d be a liberal Marxist socialist that everybody despises. We’ll quote him now because he’s not here to offend us in the now.”

This is what Jesus means when he says ‘you love the prophets that are no longer with us but you don’t love the prophets that are with us today’.

Chandler explains that the civil rights movement was born out of the church which led the movement, but they have abdicated that role today due to their refusal to participate in social justice marches as defined by BLM.

The church, by and large, has refused to participate (In BLM Marches and activities) which means we have turned over- God help us- we have turned over what is our inheritance to dark ideologies. Like when you say ‘hey we’re not going to get involved (in BLM marches) let’s just preach the gospel to that’, which by the way I find so hypocritical.

You don’t just preach the gospel to sex trafficking. You don’t just preach the gospel on the issue of life and abortion. No, you act! And so it’s like this brain-broke disjoint that’s got us acting absurd, and then critiquing this movement as being evil and dark when we have given up our inheritance.

You cannot point out all the flaws in this current movement while you have abandoned the place we were meant to play. You cannot point out all the ‘well this means this and this believes this and that’s this and that’s this’ and ignore the sorrow and lament of 12 to 13 million image-bearers in our country, you can’t do that. We mourn with those who mourn.

That Martin Luther King Jr. was a Christ-denying, serial adulterer and sexual pervert is irrelevant in Chandler’s eyes. In fact, it sounds about right to set the bar low for who can be considered a prophet in charismatic circles. 

MLK was one prophet and BLM leaders are others, though something tells us they wouldn’t pass the biblical tests.

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Matt Chandler Denounces America as Demonic, Says Racism Theologically Woven into Foundation

(Reformation Charlotte) Matt Chandler recently joined a host of woke, anti-white racists at the heretical IF Gathering to denounce America as a demonic nation that has racism woven into its very foundation. Among his co-guests was Latasha Morrison, a racist person who once had an entire stadium of white students at a Campus Crusade (CRU) conference stand up and repeat a prayer of “lament” for being white.

During the panel session, Matt Chandler was asked “where do we go from here,” to which he replied:

“I think until we acknowledge that we’re dealing with some principalities and powers…we’re just going to talk. Until there’s a kind of a heartbreak that gets all of us asking the Spirit of God to break this thing that was woven into the foundation of the nation…theologically it was, in regards to the system to the system of structures, it was. In regards to the mindset, it was. So the quick fix here is for the Spirit of God, by the grace of God to destroy this principality and power that sits over us…”

By the way, do you catch how Chandler always culturally appropriates himself when he’s around black people? Did you catch the…

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Editor’s Note. This article was written by Jeff Maples and published at Reformation Charlotte.