A megachurch in Texas is placing one of its lead pastors, Matt Chandler, on a leave of absence following an investigation into his communication with a woman in his congregation.
The Village Church in Flower Mound hired an independent law firm to look into Chandler’s messaging history across his social media platforms, cellphone, and email, and he fully cooperated, with no instances of romantic or sexual messages found, according to the church. As a result, the church found that “while the overarching pattern of [Chandler’s] life has been ‘above reproach,’ he failed to meet the 1 Timothy standard for elders of being ‘above reproach’ in this instance.”
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Instead, the elders of the church took issue with the “frequency and familiarity” of the messages, which included “coarse and foolish joking, unbefitting of someone in my position,” Chandler said as he addressed the congregation Sunday. His suspension came as the investigation succeeded in “revealing unhealth in” Chandler.
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A woman approached the lead pastor months earlier, calling foul when she learned of the messages between Chandler and her friend. Chandler claimed his wife of 23 years and the other woman’s husband were aware of the messages. Still, the lead pastor took the concerns to two elders, Josh Patterson and elder Chairman Jasien Swords, which sparked the investigation.
Chandler is also the president and chairman of Acts 29, an organization that starts new churches worldwide. However, since Sunday, he has been removed from its website, and there is no replacement listed.
