Matt Chandler - The Sanctity of Human Life

If you have your Bibles, go ahead and grab those. We’re going to be in Genesis chapter 1, looking at four or five verses there. We’ll really camp out there and then, from that place, begin to flesh out some implications. If you’re one of our members and are able to attend our Wednesday meeting, you know that this has been a very difficult and heavy week in the life of our church. If you are a guest who has hung out with us for a long time and identify this as your church home, even though you aren’t a member, I need to read a statement about the events of the last eight days. It will be heavy, and I know some of you might not understand why we would do this, so I want to create some space for it, especially for our Fort Worth campus. I know this will be disorienting.

Last week, we learned of a sin issue that required the Elders of The Village Church to make a sober and serious decision. Anthony Moore, our Fort Worth Campus Pastor, has committed grievous immoral actions against another adult member that disqualify him as an elder and staff member based on the biblical text in 1 Timothy and Titus chapter 1. He has been removed from his role as campus pastor and village elder due to these actions. Anthony acknowledged his sin when meeting with the Fort Worth elders and the three lead pastors of The Village Church. We want to make it abundantly clear that we believe he is unfit for ministry at this time, including speaking engagements at conferences or other churches. Our hope and desire are for him to walk in faithfulness and repentance. We believe he is in need of deep healing and strong counseling for an extended period.

We do not plan on sharing any additional details about the nature of the sin issue at this time, although we completely understand the desire to know more. We believe we have a duty to protect the person who has been directly sinned against in this situation, as well as Anthony’s family. As with all members and staff, we value the confidential nature of specific sins shared with us and want to demonstrate our responsibility to steward that information. An elder gives up some privacy when they step into such a public role, but we believe sharing anything more than what we have is not helpful to anyone, especially the person directly sinned against in this situation.

We are committed to caring for all involved, including Anthony, those hurt by this sin, the person directly affected, Anthony’s family, and the people of The Village Church. We are charged with ministering to the brokenhearted and offering the grace of Jesus that he has given to each of us. There are serious and difficult consequences involved, but we will do everything we can to walk with every person wounded by this sin, not just now but in the months to come.

This difficult news means that the Fort Worth campus transition will not happen at this time or in the foreseeable future. The Lord has shown his grace and providence in a group of local elders who are leading well in Fort Worth, and they will be joined by the staff and elders of the other campuses of The Village Church in guiding and shepherding the future of that campus. We pray that in this situation, we will all see a sober reminder for each of us to confess our sins to one another and to our holy God. Sin is always crouching at our door, looking to destroy and devour, but thanks be to God for his grace that heals and saves.

In Isaiah 6, we read that although King Uzziah had died, having reigned for 60 years, the Lord was still on his throne, high and lifted up, with the seraphim saying of him, «Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the Earth is full of his glory.» Our great, mighty, and holy King is still on his throne. He is not surprised nor shaken. He is near to the brokenhearted and faithful to redeem. Please pray with us that we will keep that hope ever before us as we seek to heal. Please be in prayer for the Fort Worth campus, the Moore family, and the member directly hurt by this situation.

I just want us to sit in this for a second. Fort Worth, I know this is especially difficult and painful for you, so I want to say, from me and our elders, that we are heartbroken and as ferociously committed to you as we have ever been. We are hopeful that the story we have seen played out in this space, your space, in that sanctuary—of seeing things that were broken being put back together by the beauty of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit—we will see yet again in this situation.

So, what I want us to do is spend some time praying together as a family across all of our campuses. Fort Worth will drop off the stream in just a moment or two, but I want us to spend some time praying. Here’s what I want us to pray for: I want us to pray for Anthony and his family, that the deep parts of us that need to be healed—those deep parts that drive compulsion—find the spirit of God to do a work.