Church planted by Matt Chandler's The Village Church leaves Acts 29 over 'leftward theological drift'
CityView Church in Fort Worth, Texas, which Matt Chandler’s The Village Church established, has announced its withdrawal from the Acts 29 church planting network, an organization also led by Chandler, over allegations of a flawed organizational structure and "poor decision-making and leftward theological drift."
In a series of posts on X on Jan. 2, Rick White, the pastor of CityView Church, detailed the reasons behind the decision, a move that marks a significant shift for a church he said was deeply involved in the network for nearly two decades.
“Our church has resigned our membership from the Acts 29 network. It saddens me that it had to come to this,” White wrote.
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White said he initially hesitated to make public remarks but felt compelled to explain the decision to those he had recruited and encouraged to stay with Acts 29.
"[Because] I have defended Acts 29, even while it was becoming indefensible, I feel culpable. If I owe apologies or repentance to anyone in these matters, please contact me," he wrote.
Representing a group of Acts 29 pastors, White stated that their concerns, addressed privately to the network's leadership, were not taken seriously. He criticized Acts 29 for favoring larger churches with influential pastors, leaving smaller and medium-sized churches without a significant voice.
With an 18-year history in Acts 29, including leading regions and assessing church planters, White highlighted his church's contributions to the network, including hosting church planting conferences and helping establish multiple churches.
Despite this long-standing commitment, White cited three primary reasons for the resignation: a flawed organizational structure in Acts 29, poor decision-making and a theological shift that he believes makes member churches vulnerable, and a loss of confidence in Acts 29's ability to aid in church multiplication.
“In conclusion, our church has been incredibly loyal to Acts 29 through the years. I remain — and hope to continue remaining — friends and gospel partners w/ many of Acts 29’s staff, leaders and mostly, the pastors of Acts 29 member churches that choose to remain,” he wrote.
“However, I can no longer personally recommend the Acts 29 Network as a good stewardship of one’s time, money, and energy.”
According to the CityView Church website, the church was started in 2006 after White had a “providential run-in with Pastor Matt Chandler of The Village Church” two years prior.
“The result of that meeting led to The Village Church partnering to plant CityView Church. Like The Village Church before us, we believed (and still believe) our particular culture was in desperate need of the Gospel,” the website says.
Acts 29 describes itself as a “diverse, global family of church-planting churches characterized by theological clarity, cultural engagement, and missional innovation.” Chandler serves as the executive chairman of Acts 29's board and previously held the position of president of Acts 29, a role now occupied by Brian Howard.
On X, White also shared an abridged version of the letter sent to church members, in which he further delved into the reasons for the church's departure from Acts 29.
He highlighted how, during 2020, Acts 29 and several of its leaders adopted positions on various social issues that CityView Church viewed as a "shift to the left" and caused relational rifts within many member churches, including their own.
A specific example cited by White was a video titled "Walking with Jesus Among our LGBTQIA+ Friends," posted by Acts 29 in September. Though it was later taken down, White described the video as poorly conceived and an "embarrassing distraction."
Additionally, White criticized Acts 29's handling of the issue of women preaching in its churches. Instead of maintaining a clear stance based on historical positions, Acts 29 reportedly created a task force and surveyed member churches before drafting a letter on Complementarianism.
The letter, he said, "lacked decisive clarity, signaling Acts 29’s intent to continue equivocating on this matter while disregarding and disrespecting its firmly conservative members."
White said the church prays the "candid breakdown" is "transparent, informative, and helpful for understanding why we are separating from Acts 29 at this time.”
The Acts 29 network, co-founded in 1998 by David Nicholas and Pastor Mark Driscoll, gained prominence in church planting circles under Driscoll's leadership. However, Driscoll was ousted in 2014 following allegations of toxic and abusive leadership.
In 2020, Acts 29 voted to remove then-CEO Steve Timmis from the global church planting network after investigating allegations about his "abusive leadership" style.
Chandler, who took over as president in 2012, also faced scrutiny. In August 2022, Chandler temporarily stepped down from his roles at The Village Church and Acts 29 due to an inappropriate non-romantic, non-sexual online interaction with a woman other than his wife, which he admitted involved improper humor and familiarity.
“Acts 29 prioritizes personal integrity and holds our leaders to a high standard of conduct,” Acts 29 said in a statement at the time. “Considering the findings of the TVC investigation and consistent with the leave of absence from preaching and teaching that the Village Church has placed Matt on, the Acts 29 Board has asked Matt to step aside from Acts 29 speaking engagements during this time.”
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
