PASTOR MATT CHANDLER STEPS DOWN...The RIGHT WAY

On Sunday, August 28th, Pastor Matt Chandler stepped down as the lead pastor of The Village Church over messages to another woman that, in his words, were overly frequent and familiar. In this video, see how I believe they actually got it RIGHT in a Christian culture where too many leaders and churches are getting it WRONG.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

This is NOT what I thought my next video would be about-certainly not after nearly a year off of recording! Yet in light of another heartbreaking situation (some would say “scandal”…I’m not so sure), I wanted to take an approach-and point out a very BRIGHT SPOT-that a lot of people aren’t talking about.

[@Fleur-de-lis_2_27]

Also those were fake tears… one doesn’t go from crying, to making a joke to non Christians about “what the H?” In 30 seconds. What’s worse is the guy hosting this video thinks this guy is humble… If that joke means what I think it does- Jesus is going to be pissed. They will learn about the Fear of the Lord… This is how bad the church is right now…

[@RespondingtotheCall]

We definitely see it differently 🙂

[@Fleur-de-lis_2_27]

@@RespondingtotheCall “Unless there is something hidden in it” 1:53. God blessed me with the ability to SEE the contents of peoples heart. Like a Freudian slip, people can’t help but tell on themselves, especially if God blessed you with that Talent. It’s to be used in the service of his Kingdom, first and foremost, and not one’s self. Also, while we as Christians aren’t supposed to “Judge” we are required to make assessments in order to protect the flock. I think what Jesus would say is we should always try to extend Mercy first, then based on how they respond to our Mercy, we make a final assessment, and issue the reprimand in a clear straightforward manner until corrective action has taken place. Not based on time or labor but in the realignment to God’s will above ours. Word to the wise, Jesus liked Humble people. The man commanded his congregation to forgive him, he did not ask for forgiveness. Go Listen… Only Jesus has the authority to command forgiveness on the behalf of others, but I’m fairly sure he would ask nicely to be forgiven of his own transgressions. Just saying… Just like with Solomon, when we ask or command something in the name of God- the WHY is far more important than the WHAT. Are using it for the kingdom or yourself? Are you healing people for Gods glory, or your own. Jesus even apologized to God once for healing people… saying that the only reason he did it that way was for their benefit (build their faith) because of their total lack of faith, he had to start their journey with a baby step or training wheels. He knew the Father didn’t necessarily prefer the delivery mechanism, but understood that Jesus was bound by their lack of faith. He permitted it because he knows Jesus bears the price of their SIN, and trust Jesus to teach in a way that no one else can- from a position of experience and authority acquired at the cost of extreme suffering. If Jesus humbles himself before speaking publicly on Gods behalf- church leaders who don’t are exalting themselves above Christ by proxy- as Jesus said in the parable about the two servants- Actions, are far more meaningful than false promises.

[@Fleur-de-lis_2_27]

@@RespondingtotheCall One more point- Simon… Don’t think for a second, that I didn’t notice the BLACK T-Shirt… What makes you think you know anything about the meaning of onyx in Genesis- or: Judgement, Fear of the Lord, or MOURNING. Just because the wise don’t bring things up -all the time- doesn’t mean it goes unnoticed… You better hope you and Jesus don’t see things differently… or just like as it was said in the Outlaw of Josey Wales- “Get ready, little lady, Hells coming to breakfast” and Jesus will be sitting at the HEAD of the table. What does the Word say about sitting in another man seat?????

[@Huero87]

Why would he step down over something that wasn’t really a big deal? Why would they need to hire attorneys? This church has a track record of being extremely toxic and cultish. People are so drawn to Matt Chandlers charisma and ability to speak, that they idolize the guy. It’s mind blowing how people can think that’s a genuine cry. While I’m able about forgiveness and restoration, pastors/leaders are held to a higher standard. Chandler is just trying to do damage control, just like he’s done numerous times.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Hey Drew! Appreciate your thoughts on this. While I agree that the church has a pretty dismal track record when it comes to this, I’m not so sure on this one. Chandler has been out front for years and has admitted, confessed, and publicly led TVC through some tough waters before. Whether it was early or late was never in view, at least in my opinion. Barring any other information coming out, hopefully most people will believe the best in this case, especially with how open and serious they are taking it and how quick they are handling it.

[@Huero87]

@@RespondingtotheCall We're going to have to agree to disagree. What they have done over the years is just good PR to avoid as little backlash as possible. I know to many people who have gone there. The village is going to be another Mars Hill.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

@@Huero87 That’s the beauty of a good discussion, my friend! I’m good with that and appreciate your thoughts. As we let it play out, let’s pray together for them, their families, and TVC. I’m sure that’s something we both can agree on 🤜🏼🤛🏽!

[@charlabrogan7070]

I stopped listening and attending Village Chirch when MC said he was going to build a 70M church away from the wonderful Grocery store Justin road Church to ask people to not come sit in the pews if they were not covenant members if they were not paying members… I stopped immediately… and guess what… God did not grant his that church because he lost the mission.

[@adamriddiough4440]

The amount of unrighteous judgement being expressed by believers over this is staggering and makes me feel sick to my stomach. This is one of very few GOOD examples of handling church discipline of an elder, and especially of a high profile figure in the broader church community. There is a BIG difference between DOUBTING the sincerity and motives behind this, and boldly DENOUNCING the action taken based on speculation about the sincerity and motives. Knowing the failings of my own church in the area of discipline of an elder, this was a shining example of what to do right. Cynicism is definitely NOT a fruit of the spirit!

[@LifeOutward]

I disagree - I'm not sure this was "the right way." Why did he get to do so from the pulpit? Why did he get to say "I will be pastor here in 20 years," dismissing the accusations? Why did he get a standing ovation? He stepped down better than others, but this situation just perpetuates this problem that is for too widespread in the evangelical church.

[@wenhari06]

Being the Pastor for 20 years us because he is undergoing the necessary disciplinary and corrective measures. Doing it from the pulpit is because that's what the presbytery has decided. He is not disqualified from continuing after the correction is done. Peter was corrected by Paul at some point and that didn't end his Apostleship

[@LifeOutward]

@@wenhari06 Well, it is nice for him to have a chance to protect his image. I wonder if his accusers will be afforded the same opportunity and also recieve a standing ovation?

[@wenhari06]

@@LifeOutward he is taking the full brunt of the shame and he will be judged harshly by us who don't have enough information. The other person's identity has been kept secret and their privacy has been respected. Isn't that a good thing? The person who brought attention to the story has seen the response and they know they were listened to. I don't know if it's possible to do right by everyone but why shouldn't public confession, repentance and discipline be enough?

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Well said, Tinashe!

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Hey @MajorMotionMatt, could it be possible that he was offered the ovation from people he has faithfully walked with, served, shepherded, and fought battles with for the last 20 years? Could it be that those very people rose to their feet in support of the restoration, discipline, and healing journey he’s about to go on? Could it be that they LOVE him and his family-a family they’ve openly watched through the years work and sometimes stumble through ministry? I think maybe so. May we all be so gracious-and given grace-to see it that way when our texts, sins, or flaws are in the public eye.

[@leticiasamora5897]

Can’t wait to see what mighty things God is going to do with this situation! God is purifying His church. This case is lifting up our standards to God’s standards, and God gets the Glory!! I speak Complete Restoration and Healing to Matt and his family. By the power and Authority of the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Amen!

[@DiscernmentNow]

Brother if you are fooled by this false teacher, I feel bad for you. Please PRAY for DISCERNMENT DAILY.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Thanks for watching and may you pray the same!

[@JonathanGrandt]

It’s fascinating to watch people bending over backwards to justify this strange decision. Making bizarre excuses to try and make sense of this absurdity. What sin was there? “Oh maybe just not being above reproach” above the reproach of what? What was reproachful? “Oh he was just too familiar.” So now being Too Familiar is sin? “Oh he agreed with the elders decision!” What is he going to do, speak against them? They stood there watching from the shadows. That was weird. The long and short of it is this.. there was no sin. There was no disqualifying issue. You cannot fall short of a standard and also not be disqualified. That is double talk. Stop trying to make sense of this bizarre ordeal. The elder body lacks discernment. They have for a long time. This was not right and nothing about it was done right.

[@tomy8339]

What Matt said at the beginning of his address I found disturbing and virtually no one commented. "I plan on being the pastor of this church for the next 20 years". I'm sorry, but what a narcissistic, control freak, self appointed statement. You plan do you Matt? Where is the leading of the Holy Spirit on this? He's decided he'll be the pastor for the next 20 years. Done and done, according to Matt, he's decided. Just like someone who runs a business or shop. It's his business, his shop, and he'll run it and be the boss until he says so. Man made leadership, man made church, nothing to do with God's leading. I wouldn't put myself under such a person after hearing him say something like that. And that's what he pompously says whilst confessing an indescrition to the whole world. Now imagine what he's like in the normal course of events of his daily life in private. No thanks. I'm very happy to hear preachers say statements like this. It reveals who they are and hence who to avoid.

[@erichkayser]

This is so incouraging, God will restore!! Hallelujah

[@lisatobben2181]

The fact that we are even having discussion on whether his apology was sincere or not shows that the emphasis is in the wrong place. It's not about his image, his fame, his influence, or what he has meant in people's lives. It's about his sin. It should be exclusively about his repentance. There was not one word of repentance or acknowledgement of wrong doing in what he said. He minimized it by saying the problem was with "frequency and familiarity". And yet, what is the threshold for "frequency and familiarity" when you are having an emotional affair? The elders need to answer this question otherwise this is just an attempt to salvage Chandler's celebrity image and is in no way honoring to God.

[@adamriddiough4440]

They determined there was nothing romantic in the messages. Calling this an emotional affair would be presumptuous at this point.

[@drsusieg]

Yay. There is always more than they tell.

[@cristyvillarreal224]

I'm so glad that I was checking the newest videos of the channels that I'm subscribed to!! I came across your 2 most recent ones!! 👏🏾 Good to see ya brother & it's so good to hear you speak about Matt with such compassion. I honestly hadn't been following what had happened. I'm blown away at how he owned up to his actions! It's true, none of us should feel like we're somehow above being held accountable & for some reason, I'm stirred in my spirit to say this, it doesn't matter what position we hold as believers...whether it be pastors, worship leaders-or a member of any church or ministry for that matter. It's time to check ourselves. What do our DM's look like? What do our conversations sound like? Texts messages? Before any one of us comes out into the world to point fingers or judge..we should all take an inward look at who we know we are. Would we feel comfortable having our texts, what we say to others in a phone call or our DM's exposed? Just sayin.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Great to see you here again, Cristy!! I agree completely and love your heart on this.

[@sherrybwildfire2550]

❤🙏

[@charlabrogan7070]

Woke to spiritual broke. That’s all there is to it!!

[@lakebay972]

It’s all that so-called friend of the other woman’s fault! She should’ve kept her nose of their business. She’s probably jealous that a handsome hunk like Matt Chandler is FRIENDLY with her friend and Matt or someone like him is not doing that to her. Or perhaps she’s one of those who likes to stir up drama in others’ lives because her life is s*it! If the spouses were OK with it, then she should just leave well enough alone! Now, she’s ruined FOUR peoples’ lives and more and tarnished the reputation of a respected pastor.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

@lakebay972 It sounds like the spouses definitely knew and hopefully this is being made to be more than it is. Ultimately, we can all be grateful that TVC is handling this the way they are!

[@jwehrli6]

@@RespondingtotheCall i wouldn't take to much stock in his confession he took responsibility for slavery . he hates himself so much he would step down if he didn't say hi to a black person . probably nothing happened .

[@lakebay972]

@@RespondingtotheCall Yeah, by publicly humiliating Pastor Matt and his family. Oh, so grateful!

[@RespondingtotheCall]

​@@lakebay972 "The elders have decided--and I think they're RIGHT--that my inability to see what I was in probably is revealing some unhealth in ME..." We're certainly going to see if differently, and that's OKAY! Yet I wouldn't call this "public humiliation". At least not for the sake of shaming and embarrassing, like it's commonly understood as. He himself agrees with their assessment and is showing public ACCOUNTABILITY as the lead shepherd of his people. Is it embarrassing? Of course, and I would never want to be in that position. None of us would. But consider the flip side...this gets brought up by that woman, they downplay it or consider it not enough to have him step down...and years later it turns into something like Ravi Zacharias or some other terrible situation. The investigation would read like they ALL have at this point--and it would certainly draw out THIS moment where things were seen and brought up but never dealt with. Which, in my opinion, would be infinitely worse and more devastating/embarrassing to his family, the church, and the name of Christ. Is this overkill? Maybe. But it will play out. If this is all there is to it, Matt will continue to pastor for many years and get through this by being an example and model of what it means to confront, deal with, and kill sin (or the appearance thereof) quickly and seriously. It's what he's always preached and that's what I applaud here.

[@lakebay972]

@@RespondingtotheCall Oh, I agree with the elders' decision; but the way they handled it should've been done behind closed doors instead of a public stage. It is NOT all there is to it. After some investigating of my own. (I don't live too far from Flower Mound). It seems Matt Chandler has a serious problem with boundaries and power dynamics involved with his position as senior pastor and being in the limelight. It even started with his relationship turned marriage as a church camp where Matt was a counselor to teenagers. At the time, Matt was 23 and his "student" later-turned-wife Lauren was 16. They got married 3 years later when Lauren was 19 (not a girl, not yet a woman). Not only was the age difference inappropriate; but the counselor-student relationship was as well. I personally don't think Matt should be LEAD pastor at Village Church or any church for that matter. His integrity is shot and no one will take him seriously or trust him anymore regardless of how much he's "changed." Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The whole thing is just a big mess.

[@brooklynsimon2696]

You’re back!?!

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Yes ma’am!

[@sarasweightlossjourney1432]

Thank you for approaching things with love. Glad to see you back I started following you a few months ago and I didn't even realize you hadn't post a video in a year. That's a lot of discipline and it probably was needed for whatever you had going on in your life for the call you have on it. Very inspiring. My husband is working at our church helping the homeless through the week because we have a homeless ministry here in Florida / Sarasota and they've taken such a liking to him our pastor who's also my husband's very close friend is wanting my husband to step in and help lead a study on Saturday nights to the homeless and he's been doing disciple ship classes and a lot of in-depth studies but still doesn't feel like he is ready for that role. I know I just went way off topic but I obviously felt like I wanted to share that so please keep my husband in your prayers that he I recognizes whatever the call God has on his life

[@RespondingtotheCall]

@Sara's Weight loss Journey Thanks so much for the encouragement! Appreciate you being here and supporting this ministry. You're right, it took/takes a lot to really be consistent and felt led by the Holy Spirit to take some time off to REALLY rest and "just be", sitting like Mary at Jesus's feet while my Martha heart screamed to do MORE. It was exactly what I needed. Just PRAYED for your husband! What an incredible ministry to serve men and women who are homeless. PLEASE share with him that nobody ever "feels" ready. That is the anthem of our lives! I know that exact feeling...daily. Believe it or not, I still don't feel ready. But the CALL never goes away. Maybe this might encourage him--Someone once told me that you will know it's God calling you when you start to ache and feel disobedient the more you DON'T do it. Those men and women need him, and they need Jesus, and they SEE Jesus through him. The feeling of inadequacy is GOOD. That's when HIS strength is perfect and put on display--in OUR weakness. His GRACE is sufficient for Saturday night Bible studies!! (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). Blessings to both of you and keep me posted 🙂.

[@sarasweightlossjourney1432]

@@RespondingtotheCall thank you so much for praying for my husband and for this incredible response. I'm going to screenshot this and share it with him right now because it motivated me so I know it will him. I love when we all as Brothers and sisters in Christ lead and love and compassion. Even with the tough stuff, we should approach it with a loving heart and always checking our motives behind why we do the things we're doing. I have to do that every single day. I'm currently on the worship team at my church and over the last 10 years I've struggled with drugs off and on. It's been a pretty frustrating thorn in my side to say the least but I know that God's got bigger plans for me and I was blessed with being able to sing and rather than trying to become famous I realized God wants me to use it for his glory and sharing his word. Just as my husband struggles with worthiness I do myself. I know that I got a long road ahead of me but knowing that he's always there ready to listen to me talk to him and worship him and spending time in his word every single day he's molding and shaping me into the person that I need to be. I was all over the place with my response LOL but I'm just really grateful that you responded to my comments this morning. I've been clean for a little bit and I'm taking it one day at a time and I know the more I lean on him and his word the more he will change the desires of my heart. I used to pray for God to heal me from addiction but I was praying for all the wrong things I needed to realize that it was the desire that needed to be changed... If the desire is not there then I won't use and that's what's truly making a difference is the more I spend time with him and build a relationship with him he's changing my heart. I'm still young in the word. I've read and studied it over the last 10 years but I have so much to learn. I look forward to more of your videos and I just really want you to know how much your responses have touched me today. If I can ask for one more prayer it would be my struggle with isolating. That's my biggest struggle is closing myself off from people. Have an amazing day and bless you. Thank you for praying for my husband and I

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Thank you for sharing so much of your journey! And it’s close to my heart because my uncle was a heroin addict. He is also the one who was DELIVERED from addiction and who was responsible for leading me to CHRIST. I’m a believer today because of his testimony. So, by extension, another “struggler” is the reason I’m doing what I’m doing today. I said that to say YOU ARE GOD’S MASTERPIECE (Ephesians 2:8-10). Loved by the Father, called according to His will and purpose, chosen ON PURPOSE and FOR a purpose. Keep pressing into His LOVE. I pray it is a torrent and a hurricane that drowns you in grace. Don’t “try” so hard anymore. Let go and hold your Abba’s hand as He walks you through it. It’s all him, none of our own doing. He’s got you, Sara. He’s going to use you mightily and your story. Keep telling it. Keep falling in love every day with Jesus. Keep seeking HIM first and HIS kingdom, and everything else will be taken care of (Matthew 6:33). Praying.

[@reillybab1]

Awesome!! Good for all !! He took Ownership Accountability absolutely it’s heartbreaking yet healing has begun and let them leave the church . It’s his own journey through this and he owned up to it that took a lot of humility and courage 🙏🙌

[@RespondingtotheCall]

I agree completely @My3LovesJSA. After all the years of watching/listening, this is how we'd expect (and hope) Matt Chandler and TVC would handle it.

[@lakebay972]

He took it after he knew he was caught. Then again, there’s more to the story they’re not telling us.

[@peterpulpitpounder]

My thoughts on the matter are this... This situation has no place on KZbin or social media It should ONLY be handled within the private confines of the church. What Matt Chandler had to say to his church family should not be for public consumption, and neither should other Christians be fabricating and posting videos with the intent of analyzing and discussing the matter. Shut those dam cameras off. Stop recording. Delete that "production" you are about to upload. This situation is NOT the business of other Christians from other churches. If you are not part of the problem or solution, then stay quiet, stay humble, and commit Pastor Matt and his church body to prayer.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Hey @preacherdog, I get where you’re coming from for sure. And a lot of commentary should NOT be published because of how accusatory and judgmental it is…especially from Christians. As far as only being handled in the church, the entire video statement that I used was publicly uploaded by The Village Church for ALL to hear. So, if TVC agreed with your statement, that would have never been put out their for the entire world to hear and would have only been handled inside the confines of their church family. I believe they have it up there for a reason-which is why I shared what I shared. They are doing it right and modeling the seriousness of what it looks like for a ministry or pastor to handle things BEFORE it ever turns into full blown sin, adultery, etc. This was not that, yet they took it very seriously and Matt himself agreed. Thanks for your thoughts on this!!

[@peterpulpitpounder]

@@RespondingtotheCall Thank you for affirming/appreciating my comments and responding graciously. It's just too bad all of this happened. Praying for healing and restoration is needed. Thank you and God bless.

[@jettriggs]

I heard a lot of "if i" or "probably shouldn't have" not thinking this is absolute ownership. Seems like this is a "let's get ahead of this before it gets bad" like an early settlement. Idk. I'm not God, I can't judge.

[@elainewashington3030]

He was so humble about this and I applaud him for this…Not only do this man love God and His direction on leadership he loves His church family enough to not stand in front of them and “act”.. We are praying for you Pastor Matt and we love you.. Jesus loves you!!! It’s about accountability and you took that!!! Thank you for who you are in the kingdom of God!!!

[@sherrybwildfire2550]

Praying with you and over you for all this.

[@marvellinageorge]

This is a nice video

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Thanks for watching and I appreciate the encouragement!

[@peaked_aussie]

Hillsong has lost so much credibility due to the playing down of sexual assault (of young boys) by its founder .This appears to be the polar opposite of that.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Couldn’t agree more @Jacqui Basheer!

[@stevestpierre6041]

We are all sinners and fall short of the Glory of God. Prayers for Matt, his family, The Village Church Elders and Congregation. We support you. May Gods Grace shine throughout all of us.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Amen @Steve St Pierre! No matter what people “feel” about it, we’re all called to pray and strengthen each other.

[@truthseeker9016]

I use to listen to Matt few years ago and I was drawn to his love for the scriptures. God only knows his heart and I am confident that our heavenly Father has Matt where he needs to be. God is sovereign and has keen interest in conforming Matt into the image of His Son; Jesus Christ. But what is true for Matt is true for all of us who confess to follow Christ. God only chastises those He loves. I truly believe Matt will come through this and for the first time ever have true spiritual rest and peace.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Well said @truthseeker!

[@DL-ip4im]

Gracious, honest & redeeming

[@Madhatter675]

honestly love your take man. this is the way one should carry out on talking on such issues. unfortunately, more of these christian commentary channels seem to be replicating their worldly counterpart while speaking on such issues. God bless.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Thanks @lyndon john! I agree with you wholeheartedly, obviously. This is heavy, heartbreaking stuff and we as a community have a call (and responsibility) to be loving, wise, and understanding. Definitely not here to “spout off” like some just to grab some views. This is personal to me and broke my heart. Appreciate your heart, my friend!

[@robertleman5968]

Excellent insight into what is a very challenging topic. Great job as always. Keep it up!

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Thank you @Robert Leman! Appreciate you, as always!

[@Fleur-de-lis_2_27]

While I could speak at length on all of the red flags I see in his “apology” I’ll limit it to the major points. I think if Jesus was watching this he would say the following: One- you shouldn’t be leading a mega church if you don’t know the difference between Grace and Mercy. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve. He received Mercy, not Grace. He deserves to be fired, not get paid time off… Jesus believes in second chances, so he would have offered mercy -but- If he can’t identify that he received mercy and not Justice or Grace than he definitely deserves to be fired, because he is spiritually bankrupt… And doubling down… Second- Religious Leaders and Political Figures should steer clear of wearing purple for a while, as it’s offensive to Jesus to wear a color of Royalty when they’ve let the world slip into the condition that it’s in. They think their royal, which is why we have so many problems. That’s a color specifically associated with Christ being the King of Kings. It’s adds insult to injury to wear it while your being put on leave for conduct associated with what I imagine is found in James 1:26. Christ wouldn’t care for the normal person in the congregation to wear it, he’d actually encourage it, but these false leaders need to stop immediately… their so arrogant, they don’t even see how arrogant they are. They need to learn the art of being quite- they should simply say I’m sorry for my actions, and I do not feel comfortable speaking further publicly, out of respect to God and the congregation, until I’ve had a chance to realign with his values. I know that whatever I say at this time will only further dilute the values of God, until I can relearn what those actually are, I’ll defer to “Pastor X”. Less is more, when your a church “leader” whose disrespected the integrity of the church… Jesus listened a lot more than he spoke publicly. Pastors would be wise to start emulating that quality…

[@sumrican]

Peoples reaction to this have been so wicked they forget hes a brother in Christ who needs grace and mercy like we do. Both he and his family need prayers not stones. He should be held accountable but also be loved. A rod without love only destroys. Were praying for you Chandler Fam. and Village Church

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Couldn’t agree more. Thanks so much for sharing this and for watching! Hope it was a blessing.

[@jwehrli6]

matt can never be restored now since his suspension in front of the church . he can not even go near a woman without being watched and people ask could he be up to.

[@ChristianJames559]

Adam, just watched your video with Mike Winger. Looks like you waited to do an upload on another scandal. You are the scandal guy now. Lol just kidding brother. It looks like you have a lot going on. Fireman, youtube and so much more. Thinking about making a channel as well, praying and thinking about a niche topic.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Ha ha, it appears so! Definitely going to make more videos on a lot of other topics. Would love to hear about yours and what you’re thinking!

[@ChristianJames559]

@@RespondingtotheCall thank you. Doing stuff on secondary issues right now. Nothing like starting off a Channel with Calvinism and Arminianism. Lol! You can tell I keep it simple. 😉 It's been difficult to run a channel with full time work and school and other priorities. But, I try to be consistent. Focusing on "providing sound, unbiased information for Christians seeking truth on biblical topics"

[@christinevillanueva54]

Yes some will slam Christianity but sincere Christians know this has nothing to do with Christ, has to do with the flesh.

[@attieyag]

Man……… DANG.

[@fredmorgan5387]

If it hadn't been brought out then it could have turned into something bad. Time for him to reflect and breath, praying for a happy ending. Shalom

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Amen, Fred! I'm praying for the same and agree wholeheartedly. So glad they acted quickly and all signs point to this being very preventative. Appreciate you watching!

[@jwehrli6]

this was not a secret his wife knew and her husband knew . that seems to be overlooked .

[@Jennreb-Art]

They are blowing this way out of proportion! This was NOT intimate conversations, it’s a FRIENDSHIP! His family knew all about it.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Hey Jennifer! I think that might actually be the whole point-not to blow it out of proportion, but to understand the weight of where it could have gone (even for Matt Chandler) and to deal with it swiftly and correctly. He even said he absolutely agrees with the elders and it is how they SHOULD handle it. That means a ton!

[@christinevillanueva54]

Then stupid family.

[@leannes7704]

If that’s the case then what is the “sin” issue I’m not understanding?

[@RespondingtotheCall]

@@leannes7704 l can only assume based on his statement that the “sin issue” is the violation of the call of an elder/overseer/pastor to be “above reproach” according to 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6-7. Matt himself said that it is unbecoming of someone “in his position” to be too familiar and too frequent in their communication with someone who is not his wife. Although both spouses knew about the friendship (and the non-sexual, non-intimate nature of it), it still doesn’t remove the responsibility to give no appearance of impropriety or evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). To be “above reproach” by definition is to live in such a way that no criticism can be made against your character and integrity. The reason I am encouraged by the way this situation is being handled is because they ARE making such a big deal about something that others could have easily waved off. Many Christian leaders have done that and it led to deeper scandal, deeper hurt, and deeper damage than ever, both personally and corporately for the entire Christian community. Hope that helps!

[@leannes7704]

@@RespondingtotheCall I understand my husband was an elder of the church and to me it just seems like damage control. I have a feeling much more is going to come out

[@sarasweightlossjourney1432]

He definitely owned this very humbly he didn't act as though "oh man I got to apologize because I got caught." It seemed very authentic and brought me to tears because I could feel his pain and I cannot imagine how it felt sharing this message and walking off that stage afterwards.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

@Sara's Weight loss Journey That's exactly why I shared this, and I agree completely! When the story first broke, I prayed it wasn't like the others. Barring anything else coming out (which it sounds like the independent investigation has been completed), this truly does sound like something they handled right away--before anything happened.

[@sarasweightlossjourney1432]

@@RespondingtotheCall agree 💯 You truly delivered it with love and humility

[@sarasweightlossjourney1432]

This actually made me cry hearing him

[@RespondingtotheCall]

@Sara's Weight loss Journey -- You and me both.

[@sarasweightlossjourney1432]

@@RespondingtotheCall ❤️

[@chloesimon9412]

Very good job!!

[@jshlittle]

Two things I can appreciate here, 1. How Matt and Village are handling this issue. And being open and honest. 2. I appreciate your video with real truth. Ive seen several videos bashing Matt and making this something it is not just for the clout/views. So thank you for your integrity and approaching this with truth and brotherly love.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

Thanks so much @jshlittle! Appreciate you watching and glad it was encouraging!

[@stepone6159]

Indeed Matt owned up to what he did very well. And. It was good to hear him say that the elders did exactly as they should have done. No glossing over. No pretending like it was no big deal. I applaud him and may God get at the root cause of whatever it is/was that is in him that he succumbed to this in any way.

[@RespondingtotheCall]

I appreciated that about the elders as well, @step one! This can be redemptive all around.

[@jwehrli6]

@@RespondingtotheCall no he will be watched every time he is near a woman . remember we don't know the identity of the woman so he could talk to her at church and nobody know it's her.

[@wenhari06]

This needs to be THE response that those looking for a response will watch. The Pastor and the presbytery seem to have done the right thing. We commend them for doing what a lot of church boards failed to do. God bless you for being brotherly in your response. Don't know the Pastor and the Church enough to have an opinion on anything before this but this seems like the right thing to do. Not all our curiosities will be satisfied but we need to allow the church license to keep private what needs to be kept private. At least the public admission shows a heart to do the right thing