To Whom it May Concern: The Vineyard Church
Subject: Pastor Matt Chandler
I’m sure it has been a tumultuous time since Pastor Matt stepped down, as a result of inappropriate messages made public. With all that is being posted in the media concerning Christians, churches, and the rise of scandals, finding yourselves to be listed among those who have fallen from grace is not something you hoped, nor probably thought would become an issue for your church. I am not familiar with your church, nor all the doctrines that you teach. I know that you believe in Christ and are biblically grounded. In this time, shame is attached to your name. However, I believe that how you approached the situation will prove itself to allow you to fall into, not out of, grace.
To the woman who confronted the pastor: I know that it must have been hard but thank you for caring enough about your friend and your pastor to say things weren’t okay. Sometimes I have wondered how to address something that may seem out of the ordinary (though, it wasn’t a matter of legal ramifications). Often, I resided in my silence and then hoped someone else was able to bring up the concern. Also, thank you for modeling a biblical way of addressing an offense. In the day and age where one can immediately blast people across the internet and let news spread like wildfire, you chose to go to your pastor directly. What guts! But also, what love! Your actions showed no hidden agenda or bitterness. I wish I could be more like that when something awry comes into my life.
To Pastor Matt: Any one of us can blur lines, especially when the beginnings of conversations are innocent enough. I do not mean to belittle the pain you caused the woman, her acquaintances, nor your wife and family. Due to what has been revealed, there are relational consequences that you will need to attend. I pray that you will be able to heal and build trust once again. Moreover, I want to thank you for being humble enough that when someone brought a concern to you, you didn’t react defensively. You took time to review your messages, and then you brought yourself before your church board for accountability. It is not easy to confess sin or the question of falling into it. It is so much easier to hide. I wish the church was more like this.
This isn’t just about pastors. I say this for Christians, in general. So much of modern American Christianity is bent on comfort and the faith that is dominant is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer described as “cheap grace”. We so often fail to deal with our sins. We just want to be made to feel nice. Pastor Matt’s intentionality to bring something to the light is a lesson I think we all can learn. I wish we stopped having our faith be so private. I wish we didn’t convince ourselves that we have to strong-arm walking the Jesus way, when we know dang well that it is Holy Spirit that does the perfect work in us. I wish we learned to surround ourselves with friends and counselors that spoke lovingly, but also truthfully. But it is easier to live as islands, rather than as a community. And we are dying because of it. If we had people who could encourage us, we would be able to press forward to Jesus; and the moments when we fall, we would find that we are surrounded. And it is in Family that His grace can abound more.
To the Elders of Vineyard Church: Thank you for being godly individuals filled with conviction, and will follow that conviction, no matter the case. You didn’t shrug off this situation. You didn’t give room for the ‘minor’ offense to become a major offense (such as an affair). I know that your church is now listed among others where a scandal has surfaced. However, may I encourage you that if it wasn’t for 21st century technology, that wouldn’t be the case. Frankly, I don’t see any covering up AT ALL in what occurred at your church. When the concern was brought forth, you dealt with it, made adjustments for your pastor to take time to repent, heal, reflect and realign himself back to God. You then made known to your church family the changes and why. If YouTube didn’t exist, I don’t think that the world would’ve found out, nor it would have needed to.
That being said, we cannot fix the century in which we live. And despite the mass knowing and conversation on what has transpired, perhaps in all of this, you will be lifted up as an example of how churches should respond to cases such as this. I wish we didn’t have to worry about pastors falling into sin. Alas, they are human too, and can fall. As we all do. If we aren’t careful, good intentions can lead to blurred lines and blurred lines become excuses. The key in this is that when it does become known, to bring it into the light and address it. You have done that and done it well. This is a painful time, but I hope other churches take a page from your story in how to prepare and address these situations. (When Pastor Matt is healthier, maybe he can share where he slipped, and what preventative measures could be taken to help other pastors not fall in the same situation.)
There is shame and regret. Maybe on some level, disgust and reason to not trust the Church or pastors. It is true that as Christians, we are the image bearers of the living God. And so, when we fall, we fall hard. And somehow the climb is harder, because there is such an expectation to not do something so sinful and wrong. Jesus died for us, but the temptation to not forgive oneself can haunt. Please forgive yourself, Pastor Matt Chandler. Take the time to repent - and honestly, I think that is THE main way the world will, in time, see a difference. What makes a Christian isn’t the absence of struggles or temptations. It is not the absence of sin ever again. We know we are still prone to fall. Yet, the mark of one who knows Jesus is that he or she does not condone it and asks Holy Spirit to make him or her new in a way that was yet to be realized. May you be made new once again. May Vineyard Church be made whole and stronger than ever before.
God bless,
A Sister from Montana
