These are all great questions and concerns. Having done research on clergy sexual abuse of adults and working with survivors over the past decade my sense is that this is only the tip of the iceberg. What "appears" to have been happening is definitely some grooming and blurring of boundaries, which is always how an abusive leader ultimately gains sexual access to someone. What really bothers me more than anything is "how" all this was made public. Matt Chandler kept referencing himself over and over and then eventually got a standing ovation. That is honestly what has to stop and stop now. Why did he not talk about how this person was injured or the pain he has caused his wife. Why was the congregation not shocked or stunned or totally sober or even grieving? I think congregations have been groomed to stand with their "hero" and overlook the person targeted or injured in a grotesque twisting of the gospel. This whole situation should give us serious pause. Thank you for addressing and exposing more of the underbelly of this.
Excellent write up, and love the book/play references. My question is this: without knowing (thus far) what "that" entails, should MC have been the one to make this statement, giving him the opportunity to apologize, "kind of..."? Or should another leader, say the elder chair, have made a more objective statement on what they were aware of at that point and not sugar coated it?
There seems to be an obvious cohort behind the statement, crafting it to almost make MC look like the victim. Can't help but think perseveration of the ministry was at the forefront of said crafting.
I also want to point out his reference to the last 6-7 years that Chandler made. In 2015 The Village Church had its first major scandal when the church put Karen Hinkley under church discipline, and wrote an email to thousands of people saying she was disfellowshipped, because she was divorcing her husband who used child sexual abuse materials.
I'm pretty sure that this is the reference--the last 6-7 years have been scandal after scandal of them not handling abuse properly. And it does seem to have begun in 2015.
Incidentally, that's why the TVC defenders saying that TVC is merely being overly cautious here doesn't make a lot of sense to me. They do not have a history of erring on the side of caution when it comes to abuse. They have a history of the opposite. So it's hard to believe that this isn't that big a deal in reality, but they're just being overly cautious.
My question is if this situation was questionable enough to have asked Matt to step aside for counseling etc. why was he allowed to continue in ministry since February while investigation was underway. 6 months have elapsed. That is a long time to allow someone to continue on as if everything was ok when obviously there was an issue that needed to be addressed. Was Matt undergoing some kind of counseling in the interim?
The other thing I wondered is what action has been taken to start the process of reconciliation/restoration during the past 6 months. The announcement made it sound like a plan of action was now in place for MC but the question remains - was anything being done the last 6 months?
Could the DOJ investigation into the SBC also be a factor in timing? Maybe getting ahead of anything that could be revealed from the investigation especially since they’ve been sitting on it for the past several months.
These egregious situations always take me back to my days at Southwood Baptist Church. The “pastor” was James “Jay” Virtue Robinson IV. Look him up. He was my first true encounter with what happens behind the church doors, and I saw firsthand how a congregation will support their “hero.” It took almost a decade, but luckily, he made his way to his very own 8x6 cell.
With this current situation, I do not like the vague statements made by Matt. He can try to hide, but the darkness always makes it’s way to the light eventually. Just tell the truth.
These are all great questions and concerns. Having done research on clergy sexual abuse of adults and working with survivors over the past decade my sense is that this is only the tip of the iceberg. What "appears" to have been happening is definitely some grooming and blurring of boundaries, which is always how an abusive leader ultimately gains sexual access to someone. What really bothers me more than anything is "how" all this was made public. Matt Chandler kept referencing himself over and over and then eventually got a standing ovation. That is honestly what has to stop and stop now. Why did he not talk about how this person was injured or the pain he has caused his wife. Why was the congregation not shocked or stunned or totally sober or even grieving? I think congregations have been groomed to stand with their "hero" and overlook the person targeted or injured in a grotesque twisting of the gospel. This whole situation should give us serious pause. Thank you for addressing and exposing more of the underbelly of this.
Excellent write up, and love the book/play references. My question is this: without knowing (thus far) what "that" entails, should MC have been the one to make this statement, giving him the opportunity to apologize, "kind of..."? Or should another leader, say the elder chair, have made a more objective statement on what they were aware of at that point and not sugar coated it?
There seems to be an obvious cohort behind the statement, crafting it to almost make MC look like the victim. Can't help but think perseveration of the ministry was at the forefront of said crafting.
Gotta love us E8s!
I also want to point out his reference to the last 6-7 years that Chandler made. In 2015 The Village Church had its first major scandal when the church put Karen Hinkley under church discipline, and wrote an email to thousands of people saying she was disfellowshipped, because she was divorcing her husband who used child sexual abuse materials.
I'm pretty sure that this is the reference--the last 6-7 years have been scandal after scandal of them not handling abuse properly. And it does seem to have begun in 2015.
Incidentally, that's why the TVC defenders saying that TVC is merely being overly cautious here doesn't make a lot of sense to me. They do not have a history of erring on the side of caution when it comes to abuse. They have a history of the opposite. So it's hard to believe that this isn't that big a deal in reality, but they're just being overly cautious.
My question is if this situation was questionable enough to have asked Matt to step aside for counseling etc. why was he allowed to continue in ministry since February while investigation was underway. 6 months have elapsed. That is a long time to allow someone to continue on as if everything was ok when obviously there was an issue that needed to be addressed. Was Matt undergoing some kind of counseling in the interim?
The other thing I wondered is what action has been taken to start the process of reconciliation/restoration during the past 6 months. The announcement made it sound like a plan of action was now in place for MC but the question remains - was anything being done the last 6 months?
Could the DOJ investigation into the SBC also be a factor in timing? Maybe getting ahead of anything that could be revealed from the investigation especially since they’ve been sitting on it for the past several months.
ALL. OF. THIS.
It’s the manipulation for me.
And the friend definitely was giving BIG E8 energy
These egregious situations always take me back to my days at Southwood Baptist Church. The “pastor” was James “Jay” Virtue Robinson IV. Look him up. He was my first true encounter with what happens behind the church doors, and I saw firsthand how a congregation will support their “hero.” It took almost a decade, but luckily, he made his way to his very own 8x6 cell.
With this current situation, I do not like the vague statements made by Matt. He can try to hide, but the darkness always makes it’s way to the light eventually. Just tell the truth.