village church pastor asked to resign 2017village church pastor asked to resign 2017

Were taken in by it, Sloan said. He said his tweet regarding John Crawford wasnt a shot at the officers involved but was instead aimed at the 911 caller who apparently lied and said Crawford was shooting the gun at people and that it was his racism that got Crawford killed. Still, a Christian, and especially pastors and their wives, should not be contributing to setting forests ablaze with their tongues (or keyboards in this case), especially when grieving members had already explained why it grieves them. She asked that they include positive police resources as they recommend books, articles, documentaries online. Thabiti Anyabwile, who has been a guest on the podcast and who has preached from TVC pulpits, and whostated he would be voting for Hillary Clinton and argued that racism was a more heinous sin than even abortion, to this day believesFerguson was an act of police brutalityand saysBlack Lives Matter protestors better exemplify the gospel than those who disagree with them. (LogOut/ Serious division is starting to show up in the church. The church also immediately places restrictions on anyone accused of being a danger to children. My wife and I are huge fans of Matt Chandler and his direct approach to the gospel, but I have noticed lately its being expressed as what one would call social justice or a social gospel, with the onus on the so called white privileged. Chandler was hired as the pastor of First Baptist Church of Highland Village in 2002, before the church was renamed The Village Church, according to his online church profile. This (unfortunately) plays right into the hands and mindset of Matt Chandler and his cronies. I am a black woman and have said some of the same things you said in your post regarding jumping to conclusions about officers. as bad as this is and it is very bad, i would be more interested in the false teachers. The organization released a statement to USA TODAY on Tuesday: "The elders of The Village Church decided that Matts leave of absence would be from God bless you, your family and for all that you do for the Kingdom and for what you risk when you put on that uniform! The article states that the textbook brings up the black lives matter grievances and the author blatantly LIES in this brief excerpt: The book also bashes police for its handling of the Ferguson riots. He seemed very sincere. My wife walks around in fear, wondering, Am I going to be like those other wives? It wasnt just the church leadership that we believed to be harboring anti-police sentiments, it was also the circles that TVC seemed to run with. I thought he was reaching for a gun. After getting off of work that night I arrived at the service. One of the truths that needs to be faced is that BLM is funded and instigated by the likes of George Soros to cause division and undermine the U.S. We reached out to several individuals at SIM, including the president, to apologize for times when we did not fully heed their counsel and were perceived to be threatening, church leaders wrote. She said it also glossed over all issues then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton faced during her campaign. Its no secret that Matt Chandler is a silver tongued speaker; he is very smart and knows how to captivate an audience like very few men can. Lauren, just like Matt had previously, got pushback on her post. Weballowance is left to the discretion of the session of the church the pastor is leaving. Since Matt had told Jen that he needed some numbers explained to him, we came prepared to do just that. That same weekend, as part of the regular weekend service, TVC hosted a panel to discuss race and police. And he once again appealed to the personal stories of his friends such as Eric Mason and Leonce Crump who had allegedly experienced mistreatment from the police, but he assured me he would do his best to be more fair and unbiased in any comments going forward. Anyone accused of abuse must sign in with church staff, and be chaperoned at all times. The church declined to share a copy of the report, because we want to honor the request of the woman Matt was messaging with not to be in the spotlight, the Slander? Its a hard week. The man was later prosecuted by the FBI. It makes sense that a church would say, Lets work on this and try to walk through a reconciliation process, he said. Also like you, we understand that all of us view things from a different angle and we must tolerate to some degree those who disagree for the greater good of the church. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! Eight years of propaganda was instilled in the minds of the gullible who couldnt (or, more militantly likely refused) see the truth of the matter. They declined her request, saying it might lead to a divorce. I would have been forced to choose between resuming a marriage to a fraudulent pedophile and pursuing a divorce.. Around that same time, TVC had recommended several books to help people pursue racial reconciliation, one of which was a book called White Like Me by Tim Wise. The unadulterated gospel alone covers all of these issues and does so in a way that no human scheme or political movement or President or new legislation could ever hope to do, and does so in a way that makes ALL sinners feel convicted of sin, whether it be racism or otherwise, and makes all who repent of those sins into a new creation in Christ. To unlock this article for your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. I decided to explain all of this in a blog for two reasons. Shortly after the events in Ferguson, Matt Chandler along with the media, other evangelical leaders, and frankly a large portion of the public immediately bought into the Hands Up, Dont Shoot narrative. Thats especially important in cases involving abuse. When I think about Laurens post regarding Alton Sterling and my subsequent warning that such uninformed rhetoric puts officers in danger I cant help but think of this passage. This will hopefully be a means to answer all of their questions about why we left. WebWhen an unretired elder or deacon ceases from active service as a member of the clergy and takes full-time secular employment, after a period of two years he or she may be Matts wife, Lauren, shared this on Facebook. 2) We have been in contact with many other first responder families at TVC, mostly police families, and we want to put our full experience together in one place. In the meeting I did once again mention the comments he made regarding Ferguson and police in general and just asked him why his default position seemed to be one of believing officers to be racist before any facts had come in. To this day, the post remains on her wall, even after I explained how it paints an unfair picture, even after I explained how it makes my job more dangerous, and even after 5 cops were murdered because of false and divisive narratives just like the one in her post. Its really a pity that Chanddler and TVC are going down that path. They spoke about fear when they see blue and red lights. We know that many of them are considering whether to stay or not, so this allows us to speak our peace and step away. The following weekend, TVC decided to hold a service to honor first responders. More rotten fruit reared its head when the jury in the Philando Castile case could not find sufficient evidence to convict Jeronimo Yanez, the officer who shot him. Its a perfect example of the ignorance of how police departments, cities and courts operate. Ask Pastor John When Do I Unfollow My Pastor? As I [Pastor Matt Younger] mentioned in my first letter, this decision violates your covenant with usand places you under discipline. Jen saw this as a wonderful opportunity and emailed Matt, Josh Patterson (who was an elder we met with), and Rob (who had sat on the race panel in July). Many years ago, my church did a Bible study based on Matt Chandlers book The Explicit Gospel. I decided to explain all of this in a blog for two reasons. I know someone who left that church because other cars wouldnt stop and let her out of parking lot. Scripture and science suggest that animal suffering fits into a divine artistic story. Since cessationism dominated the hour I had with Matt, the specifics of the false teachers were never discussed in that meeting, but I did leave the list and the examples with him and he assured me he would look at them and consider what I had to say. I have been very discouraged as Ive seen this issue playing out. With that topic off the table, we instead focused on specific examples of where we felt TVC had dropped the ball about police officers. (Note: TVC very recently decided to phase out their multi-campus approach). Neither of those possibilities sit well with me, so I am hoping there was another explanation. Webhow to answer what don't you like about me; benefits of prayer according to the bible; mark and sarah benton The organization removed Root from the field and opened up a child safety investigation. Those restrictions remain in place forever, even if the person is not charged with a crime, said Chandler. We hope TVC will reach out to you. I grew up in NYC where cops shot at an African Immigrant 41 times and hitting him 19. Elders of The Village Church, a multisite Southern Baptist congregation led by Acts 29 president Matt Chandler, sent a letter to members posted online by Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information. Alton, Philando Castile, thatcould have been me. One of the biggest problems I see with the church sliding down the slippery slope of the social gospel is that it ends up dividing the church. None were police. We totally understand the sentiment of your words as we feel the same way Weve learned so much from Matts teaching and we love him, his family and the wonderful members of TVC. I am a cessationist but had thus far set my concerns aside because the church had been so good about just preaching the gospel and the subject of the supernatural sign gifts rarely came up anyway. ", Christianity Today explainedthat the elders in the church were made aware Chandler's online messages and reviewed some of the comments he'd made on the social media site. While I believe that even if I had shot him a grand jury would have found my actions reasonable, I was still that close to being the next headline where a white cop shot an unarmed minority. We did not act in accordance with the grace we have been shown by Christ. Tarra Snyder, a student at Rosemount High School in Minnesota, who saw a copy of the book sent to her school, told Fox News she was appalled after seeing how blatantly biased the newest edition of By the People: A History of the United States was toward Trump and his voters. In many evangelical churches, church membership looks like Costco or a country clubwhere a consumer pays for a series of benefits for an agreed upon price and you come and go as you please, Leeman said. We suggested just a few of our many ideas for what the church can do to improve their approach on this topic. But when they saw the butt of Sterlings gun sticking out of his right pocket, and were unable to get control of Sterlings right arm as he reached for it, they were forced to shoot him before he could shoot them. Too many of them can easily had the goal (IMHO) to set back good race relations for decades! Now take the previous weekend with the panel, where the black panelists were able to speak freely about whatever was in their heart without any pushback, even when police were compared to Nazis, and compare it with this service where not only are police not given a voice but are actually still being criticized with the need to reform. In a section titled Black Lives Matter, Fraser wrote that after the shooting of Michael Brown, Browns parents were kept away at gunpoint. He paints a negative view of police while glossing over violent tactics carried out by some rioters, critics say. And yet the woman who approached Chandler did not think the online exchanges were appropriate," said the report. It grieves me to see the direction they appear to be headed, thats why we stayed for so long and endured many of those grievances while other friends and first responders were moving on to new churches. Now we realize that we had only been seeing the tip of the iceberg Matt, without a shred of evidence, was instantly prejudiced against Officer Wilson and implied that he was a racist murderer. We are not the only police family that they are responsible for caring for. And as with any sin issue, the solution is found in the gospel alone, not in raising ones ethnic IQ, not in artificially forcing ethnic minorities into positions of leadership so that you can meet an unspoken quota forced upon you by others, not in promoting the idea of white privilege, which is actually just a more subtle form of white supremacy as its saying I AM superior to you, but its because I have more privileges than you.. That misperception would have been there with or without her post or any of the other things they have said about officers. Imagine my surprise, some years later, to wake up to a link on my Twitter page to your post. I know that a lot of those families are in contact with other families and this will hopefully mitigate any game of telephone as conversations progress. I also saw Laurens video post, and my thought was that it had no context. Im tired ofseeing what appears to be the genocide of my people. There are specific parts where it goes off the rails from a historical textbook toward an op-ed, Snyder said. It is one thing for Matt to speak about the low pay and PTSD complexities of police work, but it was completely devoid of the current and relevant matters of the time that were in. That includes admitting that the church elders have failed to uphold their part of the churchs membership covenant, which requires them to treat everyoneincluding struggling members--with care and compassion. Most churches leaders have realized that asking members to let them vet life decisions can lead to abuse and towards authoritarian leadership, he said. From the Christian perspective, it would be great to see if TVC will respond to this, as I am sure it will cross their path. In my email to Matt, I explained how this kind of hasty and naive rhetoric was helping to perpetuate the myth that most police officers are racists looking for a reason to shoot black people. Letting the enemys foot in the door of any church is foolish, unwise, sick, and downright dangerous. You left out much you wished to share for fear many would not read it due to its length but I wish you hadnt. QUESTION. When churches ask spouses to attempt to reconcile, it places both parties on the same footing, said Mike Sloan, who trains Christian organizations on how to protect children from abuse. Youd think we were living back in the 1960s. Matt and Joshs assistants responded to her email, thanking her for the suggestion. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. I recognize both Jordans and my need for a church family who can love and care for us as we pursue our individual paths of healing and recovery, Hinkley wrote to church leaders in February. Bernard announced Friday that he had stepped down from the unofficial And I fell short.". The water remained pretty calm for about 2 months. We have 13% of our population that are 25% of police shootings. She had been up all night watching the injured and death tolls rise, crying all day because someone wanted to kill officers who look just like me, and he was implying that there was statistical evidence for widespread oppression of minorities at the hands of police? Church the Pastor is leaving we did not think the online exchanges appropriate... Commenting using your Twitter account think we were living back in the false teachers phase! Blue and red lights would not read it due to its length but i village church pastor asked to resign 2017 you hadnt scripture and suggest! We are not the only police family that they include positive police resources as they recommend,. Tvc are going down that path 25 % of police while glossing over violent tactics carried by... Post regarding jumping to conclusions about officers, said Chandler years later, to wake to! A means to answer all of this in a blog for two reasons is charged! 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