CityView Church in Fort Worth, Texas, has publicly disassociated itself from the Acts 29 church planting network. Notably, CityView Church was planted by The Village Church, which is pastored by Matt Chandler, who also serves as executive chairman of Acts 29’s board.
Chandler was also formerly the president of Acts 29, a role now filled by Brian Howard.
Rick White, who serves as pastor of CityView Church, posted an announcement of the church’s departure from Acts 29 to X (formerly Twitter).
“Our church has resigned our membership from the Acts 29 network,” wrote White. “It saddens me that it had to come to this.”
RELATED: The Village Church Transition: Ushering in the End of the Megachurch Era?
White went on to say that while he hadn’t originally planned to make public remarks about the decision, he felt owed an explanation to the pastors and churches he had recruited to Acts 29 and had previously encouraged to remain in the network despite their misgivings.
“Additionally, because I have defended Acts 29, even while it was becoming indefensible, I feel culpable,” White added.
White expressed that he had attempted to address his concerns with Acts 29 privately but to no avail. He also alleged that the network’s leadership gives greater deference to larger churches and that “the mostly small and medium-sized churches that comprise Acts 29” are not “given a voice.”
White went on to summarize the specific issues that led to CityView Church’s departure from Acts 29, attaching an abbreviated version of a letter he sent to Acts 29 informing the network of his church’s decision.
In the letter, White provided three reasons for CityView Church’s departure from Acts 29.
RELATED: Matt Chandler Responds to Deconstruction Controversy
“First and foremost, it is our conviction that the current Acts 29 organizational structure is flawed and susceptible to corruption and compromise,” wrote White. He went on to point out that Acts 29 employs two of Howard’s family members, one of whom serves as Director of Human Resources.
