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A pastor of a well-known evangelical megachurch in Texas has taken a leave of absence after "unwise" messages between him and a woman, who is not his wife, were exposed.
Matt Chandler, the lead pastor of the Village Church near Dallas, gave his congregation the news during a tearful service on Sunday (August 28), according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I didn’t think I had done anything wrong in that. My wife knew that, her husband knew that, and yet there were a couple of things that (the friend) said that were disorienting to me," he said. Chandler added he took these concerns to his elders and his wife. "I fell short," he added.
The elders hired a law firm to review the messages, the news outlet reported. "And (the elders) had some concerns. Those concerns were not that our messaging was romantic or sexual. It was that our conversations were unguarded and unwise," Chandler said.
Because of the frequency and familiarity of these messages and because Chandler needs a "greater awareness" of his boundaries, the elders suggested he take a leave of absence, which the pastor agreed with.
The Village Church, which learned of this relationship a few months ago, issued the following statement:
"In this case, while the messages were not romantic or sexual in nature, the frequency and familiarity of the messages crossed a line. They revealed that (he) did not use language appropriate for a pastor, and he did not model a behavior that we expect from him. Matt’s leave of absence is both disciplinary and developmental, which allows him to focus on growing greater awareness in this area. The timeline for his return will be dictated by the expectations the elders have laid out for his development.”
Chandler told the congregation that he's embarrassed of his actions. "I feel stupid. I feel dumb. I feel like I’m embarrassing my wife and kids. Putting a ton of pressure on our staff. I feel like I’ve fallen short for you," he said.