Popular pastor returns after ‘inappropriate’ online relationship

FLOWER MOUND, Texas — The prominent pastor of a Southern Baptist megachurch in suburban Dallas received a standing ovation as he returned to the pulpit Sunday, more than three months after abruptly announcing an indefinite leave over an “inappropriate” online relationship.

Matt Chandler, the lead pastor of the Village Church, which attracts about 4,500 attendees to its main campus and has spun off independent congregations in the region, faced a packed sanctuary and apologized for vaguely defined online misbehavior he repeatedly referred to as “my foolishness.”

“I’m sorry, I failed you,” he said. “The Lord met us and he carried us through, and I don’t want to lose sight of that.”

As he took the stage early in the service, he was greeted with cheers and whistles. Someone in the congregation yelled out, “We love you, Matt!” as he appeared to struggle to contain his emotions.

Chandler, 48, a revered national figure within evangelicalism who is known for his dynamic preaching style, had not given a sermon at the Village Church since he tearfully told his congregation in August that he had been involved in a relationship online with a woman who was not his wife. The relationship was not “romantic or sexual” but “unguarded and unwise,” he said then, and included “coarse and foolish joking that’s unbefitting of someone in my position.”

Chandler said in August that a woman had approached him this year in the church foyer to confront him with concerns about his direct messages on Instagram with one of her friends. Chandler said he immediately went to church leaders, who commissioned a law firm to review his messaging history and later placed him on a leave of absence that the church said was both “disciplinary and developmental.” The church has not publicly released any version of the investigation.

Chandler’s departure under cloudy circumstances came at a moment of uncertainty for many American evangelicals. Churches are struggling with persistently lower attendance since the pandemic and are divided by cultural and political conflicts that the Village Church has generally tried to avoid. Many evangelicals are disillusioned over a series of scandals involving prominent leaders including evangelist Ravi Zacharias and megachurch leader Bill Hybels.

The scope of Chandler’s misbehavior is unclear, complicating issues of redemption and forgiveness. On Sunday, Chandler said that during his leave he participated in two “intensives,” which the church described as counseling sessions with professionals specializing in Christian leadership, and a neurological exam. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009 and underwent treatment that included surgery.

A spokesperson for the church said there was no evidence that the cancer had returned.