Pastor Matt Chandler said in a recent Instagram post that he will likely return to preaching “soon” after taking a leave of absence from The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas.
According to The Christian Post, Chandler wrote in the post that he has become “more aware than ever of that earnest and angsty prayer of David’s in Psalm 27:4,” which says: “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”
“He has been my sustaining grace and the strength of this season. I am eager to return to @tvcfm soon and am grateful for a family of faith that have loved me and @laurenchandler so deeply in this season,” he wrote.
In August, Chandler agreed to take a leave of absence after having inappropriate conversations with a woman who was not his wife via Instagram direct messages.
Chandler admitted to messaging the woman after her friend confronted him in the church foyer.
He said he wasn’t aware he had “done anything wrong,” but he told his wife and also confided in Josh Patterson and elder Chairman Jasien Swords.
The elders then commissioned an independent law firm to review Chandler’s messaging history. They found that Chandler “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 church has not released the report to the public.
The elders, however, said the messages between Chandler and the woman were “not romantic or sexual in nature” and “did not rise to the level of disqualification.” However, the elders said that “the frequency and familiarity of the messages crossed a line.”
Chandler called the conversations “coarse and foolish joking that’s unbefitting of someone in my position.”
Related:
Matt Chandler Takes Leave of Absence Following Inappropriate Online Messages
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/kasto80
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
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