Recently, Texas Megachurch pastor Matt Chandler confessed to having an "inappropriate online relationship." Here's what is deeply disturbing about the entire affair.
There is only one sentence of your otherwise totally accurate description of mega churches with celebrity pastors who protect their image at all costs, usually by blaming women for their moral lapses, that I disagree with. It’s this one: “Had this actually been any sort of real act of repentance, he would have allowed the woman to speak or at least had her present on stage with him.”
That would only add to her victimization and subject her to public humiliation. The congregation would blame her for embarrassing their pastor and tarnishing his image no matter what she said. I think keeping her identity confidential unless she decides to reveal it and share her perspective on their DM’s is essential for her well-being.
What needs to happen in my opinion is that the complete text of all of the DMs should be made public, with her name redacted. Secrecy is one of the most destructive forces at work in most churches today. That would also help the congregation see who their pastor really is instead of the idealized image he has carefully cultivated.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this. So proud of all the women raising their voices on this complex, hurtful and necessary topic. Proud of all the men too who are speaking out about this in support of women and against the poison of patriarchal church systems. Keep on keeping on, sister!
You seem to be very comfortable making a lot of rushes to judgment about things you simply cannot know. For example, you make the assumption that the woman had to ambush him because he's a celebrity pastor. While what you said is true of some, how do you know that MC isn't available to congregants? And then you assume that because he went to his elder right away that he was thinking about his church rather than his wife. Besides you thinking you can read his mind, he actually stated his wife wasn't home at the time, implying she was out of town, and so going right over to talk is something to praise him for, not judge him for. He didn't try to hide it. Do you know how many celeb pastor/wife combos would conspire to cover this stuff up? Going to the elders provided him with the accountability to the church he needed.
If MC's "deepest, darkest secret" is that he says things in private that are unguarded, I'd say Village Church is in pretty good hands. What if we uncovered everything you had said to a trusted friend during your lifetime. Would you show yourself to be completely without sin? I doubt it. He has never painted himself to be sinless. I've heard him talk about his own sin. Frankly, the only thing that bothers me about the way he shared these things was the use of that "unhealth" word. That's therapeutic garbage that he should know better than to use. But I suspect it's because he's not fully clear on his sin, and that's probably why the elders are suggesting that he take time away to reflect on his own heart, where sin might have been involved, and to deepen repentance. I'd actually be surprised if when he comes back, he isn't able to publicly acknowledge the specific sins he's become aware of that he's now calling "unhealth". I don't think it's PR -- I think it's a lack of clarity on his sin and rather than making a fake confession, he's being honest about where he's at in the process.
I would suggest that MC isn't the only one in need of reflection on sinful motives and actions in their heart .
It’s also interesting, too, why not just text? I do know with IG messages you can go into ‘vanishing mode’ and those messages disappear when you leave your chat… I’m sure someone at some point can retrieve them if they’re computer savvy…
These things meed to be discussed openly and I have no qualm with your discussion, but posting a picture of Matt's wife and children with your article is an awful standard of conduct that does more harm to them. Matt deserves the scrutiny, his family, however does not. Especially not his children. I ask you to kindly reconsider and post a picture of Matt alone in its place.
If the church or Matt Chandler did not do anything, did not communicate with the church, or own things or apologize people would be upset. The leadership and Matt Chandler share, divulge, share, owned his stupidity, admitted his need to grow and learn in some areas, his need to do better, and apologize people are still upset. Only time will tell if he is genuine and will do the necessay work.
Robin, there is truth in the things that you say happen in “mega”-churches and celebrity pastors, troubling issues behind the heart and motivations, manipulating and playing audiences/members/, etc. Unless you have the super powers of reading minds and x-ray vision to see into the heart where things are coming from it is dangerous to assume what is motivating or the heart of the people who shared the information. It is easy to assume and accuse people of evil and it is far more challenging to actually know the heart and motivation behind some of the very huge assumptions about the heart , place, motivation, intentions, calculations, and plans of things you make and describe.
I saw someone in the comments call for revealing the actual messages between Matt and the lady. I believe this is a personal matter for the Village Church as a body to deal with and walk through. They don’t need to make the messages public. There is no basis nor need for that.
There is not one way, nor an easy way to walk something like this out. Any way you do it, it will be messy. Being, doing, and walking out faith in community is always challenging and messy. It is easy to think, process, and criticize from where we stand on the outside looking in, with rocks in hand and ready to hurl accusations and insults, criticizing how things are/were handled. It is a total different thing to step up and into the fray and mess, trying to honor God and people.
I have no issue with calling Sin, sin and calling people to the mat over it but everytime something like "this" happens, I see long treatises mulling over each word and psycho analyzing each comment for it's deeper and truer meaning. Let me say I don't think that most of this analysis is incorrect but I never see what the right response should be? Should Matt Chandler be taken to the Narthex and stoned? Should churches only be allowed to get to certain level of fund raising and then forced to be stopped? It more often feels like articles like these are authors purging their own sense of hurt than saying, how do we restore the church and help it to reflect the Love, Majesty and forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ. If the author is a non Christian who cares nothing about God or the Gospel, then let the church listen and grow and show a repentance that reflects the Love of Christ.
You really call yourself a Christian? How can u hear what was said indept from all side..if you even bother to get the info..an still decided to run with your faulty narrative..an click bait title..you should be ashamed.
There is only one sentence of your otherwise totally accurate description of mega churches with celebrity pastors who protect their image at all costs, usually by blaming women for their moral lapses, that I disagree with. It’s this one: “Had this actually been any sort of real act of repentance, he would have allowed the woman to speak or at least had her present on stage with him.”
That would only add to her victimization and subject her to public humiliation. The congregation would blame her for embarrassing their pastor and tarnishing his image no matter what she said. I think keeping her identity confidential unless she decides to reveal it and share her perspective on their DM’s is essential for her well-being.
What needs to happen in my opinion is that the complete text of all of the DMs should be made public, with her name redacted. Secrecy is one of the most destructive forces at work in most churches today. That would also help the congregation see who their pastor really is instead of the idealized image he has carefully cultivated.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this. So proud of all the women raising their voices on this complex, hurtful and necessary topic. Proud of all the men too who are speaking out about this in support of women and against the poison of patriarchal church systems. Keep on keeping on, sister!
There is a certain “evangelical style” that comes across as manufactured and inauthentic.
Great article! Thanks.
You seem to be very comfortable making a lot of rushes to judgment about things you simply cannot know. For example, you make the assumption that the woman had to ambush him because he's a celebrity pastor. While what you said is true of some, how do you know that MC isn't available to congregants? And then you assume that because he went to his elder right away that he was thinking about his church rather than his wife. Besides you thinking you can read his mind, he actually stated his wife wasn't home at the time, implying she was out of town, and so going right over to talk is something to praise him for, not judge him for. He didn't try to hide it. Do you know how many celeb pastor/wife combos would conspire to cover this stuff up? Going to the elders provided him with the accountability to the church he needed.
If MC's "deepest, darkest secret" is that he says things in private that are unguarded, I'd say Village Church is in pretty good hands. What if we uncovered everything you had said to a trusted friend during your lifetime. Would you show yourself to be completely without sin? I doubt it. He has never painted himself to be sinless. I've heard him talk about his own sin. Frankly, the only thing that bothers me about the way he shared these things was the use of that "unhealth" word. That's therapeutic garbage that he should know better than to use. But I suspect it's because he's not fully clear on his sin, and that's probably why the elders are suggesting that he take time away to reflect on his own heart, where sin might have been involved, and to deepen repentance. I'd actually be surprised if when he comes back, he isn't able to publicly acknowledge the specific sins he's become aware of that he's now calling "unhealth". I don't think it's PR -- I think it's a lack of clarity on his sin and rather than making a fake confession, he's being honest about where he's at in the process.
I would suggest that MC isn't the only one in need of reflection on sinful motives and actions in their heart .
It’s also interesting, too, why not just text? I do know with IG messages you can go into ‘vanishing mode’ and those messages disappear when you leave your chat… I’m sure someone at some point can retrieve them if they’re computer savvy…
These things meed to be discussed openly and I have no qualm with your discussion, but posting a picture of Matt's wife and children with your article is an awful standard of conduct that does more harm to them. Matt deserves the scrutiny, his family, however does not. Especially not his children. I ask you to kindly reconsider and post a picture of Matt alone in its place.
If the church or Matt Chandler did not do anything, did not communicate with the church, or own things or apologize people would be upset. The leadership and Matt Chandler share, divulge, share, owned his stupidity, admitted his need to grow and learn in some areas, his need to do better, and apologize people are still upset. Only time will tell if he is genuine and will do the necessay work.
Robin, there is truth in the things that you say happen in “mega”-churches and celebrity pastors, troubling issues behind the heart and motivations, manipulating and playing audiences/members/, etc. Unless you have the super powers of reading minds and x-ray vision to see into the heart where things are coming from it is dangerous to assume what is motivating or the heart of the people who shared the information. It is easy to assume and accuse people of evil and it is far more challenging to actually know the heart and motivation behind some of the very huge assumptions about the heart , place, motivation, intentions, calculations, and plans of things you make and describe.
I saw someone in the comments call for revealing the actual messages between Matt and the lady. I believe this is a personal matter for the Village Church as a body to deal with and walk through. They don’t need to make the messages public. There is no basis nor need for that.
There is not one way, nor an easy way to walk something like this out. Any way you do it, it will be messy. Being, doing, and walking out faith in community is always challenging and messy. It is easy to think, process, and criticize from where we stand on the outside looking in, with rocks in hand and ready to hurl accusations and insults, criticizing how things are/were handled. It is a total different thing to step up and into the fray and mess, trying to honor God and people.
I have no issue with calling Sin, sin and calling people to the mat over it but everytime something like "this" happens, I see long treatises mulling over each word and psycho analyzing each comment for it's deeper and truer meaning. Let me say I don't think that most of this analysis is incorrect but I never see what the right response should be? Should Matt Chandler be taken to the Narthex and stoned? Should churches only be allowed to get to certain level of fund raising and then forced to be stopped? It more often feels like articles like these are authors purging their own sense of hurt than saying, how do we restore the church and help it to reflect the Love, Majesty and forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ. If the author is a non Christian who cares nothing about God or the Gospel, then let the church listen and grow and show a repentance that reflects the Love of Christ.
You really call yourself a Christian? How can u hear what was said indept from all side..if you even bother to get the info..an still decided to run with your faulty narrative..an click bait title..you should be ashamed.