Letter: Editorial: Addressing a minister’s social media improprieties

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Matt Chandler’s mess has gone viral. But please pause before chalking it up to schadenfreude.

Many have suffered abuse at the hands of the church. After decades of, at best, being harmed and then ignored, communities of victims and advocates are organizing, and people are hearing them. Attributing the attention around Chandler to society’s insatiable appetite for celebrity downfall diminishes the voices of those making progress.

Advocates and survivors have warned us that Chandler’s church has a history of harm, including:

• In 2015 punishing a member missionary because she left her marriage with a child-porn-viewing husband without first consulting church leadership.
• In 2018 protecting a children’s pastor accused of sexually assaulting a child, leading the congregation to believe he was leaving due to “Alcohol Abuse.” They settled last month, and immediately attempted to undermine the victim’s story in their announcement.

That’s not all. Yet, what have they done to protect the vulnerable?

Attention must be paid to high-profile cases like Chandler’s, because it helps inform the otherwise unaware. If it’s happening at the level of Village Church, where they have ample influence and money to lose, it is just as prevalent in smaller communities with far fewer peering eyes and advocating voices.

Sunday morning Aug. 28, Matt Chandler “confessed” and then walked off the stage to an ovation. None of those hurt by his church were afforded an opportunity like that. Most were treated to something resemblant of the opposite. That’s wrong. It is important that we help fix it.

Levi With
Denver, Colo.


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