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Update: The Village Church Apologizes to Karen Hinkley

Earlier this week on our Trending blog, Crosswalk covered the controversy happening at The Village Church over Karen Hinkley, Jordan Root, and the matter of church discipline surrounding the breakdown of their marriage (She Wanted an Annulment from a Pedophile. What Happened Next Ignited a Controversy). 
After much public discussion and feedback from both TVC members and outsiders, Matt Chandler’s church has issued an apology to Karen Root and their membership at large for many aspects of the situation.  
As can be seen on a copy of the letter, TVC elders write:
[W]e are deeply grieved by the way this situation has brought reproach to the name of Jesus. Our hearts are heavy and broken over the things that have been said about our good and faithful God. We often talk about the “ongoing ethics of confession and repentance,” and as your elders, we know that we are not exempt from these ethics. In every way that we’ve mishandled this situation, along with others in the past, we repent and ask for forgiveness. As a church, we talk regularly about the power of the gospel to forgive all our sins, past, present and future. In this moment, we are clinging to that truth, knowing that we and everyone else involved in this situation desperately need the grace and mercy of Jesus.
You can read Crosswalk’s initial coverage of the situation here, and read the full letter of apology to church members here.
Debbie Holloway is the Family Life Editor at Crosswalk.com
Publication date: May 29, 2015