Church apologizes for disciplining wife of confessed pedophile

FLOWER MOUND (BNG)—A Dallas-area megachurch apologized to a wife subjected to church discipline for leaving her husband without permission after learning he is attracted to children.

Elders of The Village Church, a multisite Southern Baptist congregation led by Acts 29 Network President Matt Chandler, sent a letter to members posted online by blogger Matthew Paul Turner admitting to mishandling a disciplinary process instituted against former member Karen Hinkley.

Earlier, church leaders said Hinkley violated her membership covenant with Village Church by having her legal marriage to Jordan Root annulled without seeking reconciliation after he confessed to her that he is sexually stimulated by little children and had viewed child pornography throughout their courtship and marriage. Root was not disciplined because he repented and entered counseling, but his access to children was restricted.

Missionaries with SIM

Previously, The Village Church financially supported the couple, who served as missionaries in East Asia with Serving in Mission USA until Jordan Root was dismissed for violating the mission organization’s child safety policy. 

In February, Karen Root—who later returned to using her maiden name—notified church leaders she was withdrawing her membership. The elders refused to accept her resignation and put her under church discipline for spurning their attempt at pastoral care.

Hinkley went public May 20 on Watchkeep, a blog written by abuse-survivor advocate Amy Smith, in a statement criticizing The Village Church pastors for “minimization and secrecy” about Root’s offenses and urging them not to assume he has told them the whole truth. 

Early on, church leaders were inclined not to reveal Root’s confession to a number of former employers, churches and families where over the years he had access to children, but elders informed the church membership after the story was reported on blogs and news sites and was under consideration by the Dallas Morning News.

Sparked Internet debate

The incident sparked an Internet debate over the use of church covenants, a practice prevalent among the neo-Calvinist movement popular in some evangelical circles. The Village Church covenant includes an agreement “to walk through the steps of marriage reconciliation at The Village Church before pursuing divorce,” ending a marriage, but it does not mention annulment, a legal declaration the marriage wasn’t valid to begin with because it was based on fraud.

The latest communique to “covenant members” at The Village Church defended the membership policy but said in this case the elders “unfortunately allowed our practice to unnecessarily lead us rather than us leading our practice with patience, gentleness and compassion.”

“In receiving more information and considering the way we’ve ministered to Karen specifically, we believe that we owe her an apology,” the letter said.  The elders will move forward with releasing her from membership and will continue their commitment to support her financially through August, the letter said.

Hinkley declined further comment in an email May 29, citing a need for “space and time to step back from the craziness and process everything that has unfolded this week.”

“It’s taken a huge toll on me,” she said.

The elder letters said Chandler would “speak generally about member care and church discipline” in a sermon but “will not speak directly to the situation at hand.”