When a pastor steps down or is forced to step out due to a moral failure, I always try and learn something from it. To protect myself, my family, and my ministry. Lately, I have been learning too much with too many high profile pastors (some of whom I know) stepping down or out.
Last night, the news broke that Matt Chandler is taking an extended leave of absence at the request of The Village Church elders. I have watched Matt's ministry from a distance and I always appreciated the straightforwardness in the way that he addresses the Bible, cultural issues and theological tensions even when I didn't agree with him. But even upright men make sinful decisions. By his own account, Matt was having inappropriate (non-sexual) communication with a woman in the church who is also married. While the conversation wasn't romantic in nature and wasn't secret from his wife (or her husband), Matt did admit that the content was coarse and unfitting for a pastor. When the standard is above reproach, even inappropriate language and joking misses the mark.
Some online are interjecting that there must be more to the story and that Chandler nor the church would take action over conversation that can be classified as unguarded and unwise. I'm hopeful that there isn't more to the story and that this isn't an act of damage control, but an act of leadership by the elders to discipline and develop their pastor as they state is their desire.
So we do we learn from this one:
1. Every pastor needs a boss. Every pastor needs someone or a group of someones to whom they are accountable. If your church system sees the pastor as untouchable, problems will arise. Some will say this is a mega church problem, but there is no size restriction or size limit to the need for pastoral accountability. Small churches need it. Large churches need it. Every church must have it to protect the pastor and the church. It appears that the elders of the Village church did the right thing by Matt and by the church.
2. No one can protect the pastor more than the pastor. What I mean my that is that personal decisions and healthy God-honoring boundaries are the best protector of any person's ministry. Those boundaries and convictions can only be set by the one who is keeping them. Churches should have standards and policies for staff, but the personal convictions and commitment to right boundaries should be beyond the polices of the church. In Matt's case, he was suspended for breaking the church's social media policy and questionable language. Matt knew the policy and according to the investigative report blew through the policy both with the frequency of communication and the content of the conversations. Policies aren't enough. Convictions and boundaries are a must.
Pastor, church leader, friend, if you are doing something today that you don't want made public tomorrow, repent and live according to your convictions. Reestablish right boundaries and protections. It saddened me to see Matt broken and embarrassed by His own sin in front of his church family. I would hate for it to happen to me or others for the simple lack of convictions and boundaries.
3. Always being on and available is a problem. Matt mentioned the pace at which he lives as one of the reasons he let himself fail in this area. While no excuse justifies the sin, one can understand the challenge Chandler faces leading the Village, Acts 29, speaking around the country and loving his wife and kids. He is always in demand. But you know what, each of these roles is a choice and always being available is a choice. We must guard our heart, our mind, and our ministry by not always being on and by not feeling like we have to be in demand to live our calling. What if we choose less so we can honor God, love our families and serve the local church more? What if the secret to not failing is less not more. May our goal always be well done good and faithful servant!
My prayer is that in this season Matt teaches us with his repentance and learning what restoration and rebuilding of trust looks like. I pray that the Village Church lives out the Gospel together and never forgets their hope isn't in a pastor, but in the Chief Shepherd, Jesus.
Now, on to a few practical things.
Matt's failing came through DMs on Instagram - those private, unheard, yet life altering messages. Another Pastor friend today said that they are the backdoor to a disaster waiting to happen. He recommended deleting FB messenger so I looked into it. Here's the deal. You cannot delete or disable messenger without also deleting or disabling Facebook. For more me, messenger isn't an issue, if it is for you, it's time to get off the platform to protect yourself. This is the modern day equivalent of Jesus telling us to cut off the stealing hand or the pluck out offending eye. Don't worry about what others will think. Just do it.
If trouble is brewing, don't hide it. When Matt was confronted by a church member, he didn't hide it. He confessed it to another pastor, to the chairman of the elders, and to his wife. He went as quickly as he could not to cover his tracks but to let them know and to seek their counsel. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, that's why we hide it. But the fruit of discipline, hard conversations, and embarrassing confessions is righteousness.
Last night, the news broke that Matt Chandler is taking an extended leave of absence at the request of The Village Church elders. I have watched Matt's ministry from a distance and I always appreciated the straightforwardness in the way that he addresses the Bible, cultural issues and theological tensions even when I didn't agree with him. But even upright men make sinful decisions. By his own account, Matt was having inappropriate (non-sexual) communication with a woman in the church who is also married. While the conversation wasn't romantic in nature and wasn't secret from his wife (or her husband), Matt did admit that the content was coarse and unfitting for a pastor. When the standard is above reproach, even inappropriate language and joking misses the mark.
Some online are interjecting that there must be more to the story and that Chandler nor the church would take action over conversation that can be classified as unguarded and unwise. I'm hopeful that there isn't more to the story and that this isn't an act of damage control, but an act of leadership by the elders to discipline and develop their pastor as they state is their desire.
So we do we learn from this one:
1. Every pastor needs a boss. Every pastor needs someone or a group of someones to whom they are accountable. If your church system sees the pastor as untouchable, problems will arise. Some will say this is a mega church problem, but there is no size restriction or size limit to the need for pastoral accountability. Small churches need it. Large churches need it. Every church must have it to protect the pastor and the church. It appears that the elders of the Village church did the right thing by Matt and by the church.
2. No one can protect the pastor more than the pastor. What I mean my that is that personal decisions and healthy God-honoring boundaries are the best protector of any person's ministry. Those boundaries and convictions can only be set by the one who is keeping them. Churches should have standards and policies for staff, but the personal convictions and commitment to right boundaries should be beyond the polices of the church. In Matt's case, he was suspended for breaking the church's social media policy and questionable language. Matt knew the policy and according to the investigative report blew through the policy both with the frequency of communication and the content of the conversations. Policies aren't enough. Convictions and boundaries are a must.
Pastor, church leader, friend, if you are doing something today that you don't want made public tomorrow, repent and live according to your convictions. Reestablish right boundaries and protections. It saddened me to see Matt broken and embarrassed by His own sin in front of his church family. I would hate for it to happen to me or others for the simple lack of convictions and boundaries.
3. Always being on and available is a problem. Matt mentioned the pace at which he lives as one of the reasons he let himself fail in this area. While no excuse justifies the sin, one can understand the challenge Chandler faces leading the Village, Acts 29, speaking around the country and loving his wife and kids. He is always in demand. But you know what, each of these roles is a choice and always being available is a choice. We must guard our heart, our mind, and our ministry by not always being on and by not feeling like we have to be in demand to live our calling. What if we choose less so we can honor God, love our families and serve the local church more? What if the secret to not failing is less not more. May our goal always be well done good and faithful servant!
My prayer is that in this season Matt teaches us with his repentance and learning what restoration and rebuilding of trust looks like. I pray that the Village Church lives out the Gospel together and never forgets their hope isn't in a pastor, but in the Chief Shepherd, Jesus.
Now, on to a few practical things.
Matt's failing came through DMs on Instagram - those private, unheard, yet life altering messages. Another Pastor friend today said that they are the backdoor to a disaster waiting to happen. He recommended deleting FB messenger so I looked into it. Here's the deal. You cannot delete or disable messenger without also deleting or disabling Facebook. For more me, messenger isn't an issue, if it is for you, it's time to get off the platform to protect yourself. This is the modern day equivalent of Jesus telling us to cut off the stealing hand or the pluck out offending eye. Don't worry about what others will think. Just do it.
If trouble is brewing, don't hide it. When Matt was confronted by a church member, he didn't hide it. He confessed it to another pastor, to the chairman of the elders, and to his wife. He went as quickly as he could not to cover his tracks but to let them know and to seek their counsel. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, that's why we hide it. But the fruit of discipline, hard conversations, and embarrassing confessions is righteousness.