 |
| Billy Graham’s grandson Tullian Tchividjian has resigned from his pulpit at Coral Ridge Presbyterian, a high-profile church in south Florida, after admitting he had an affair. He released the following statement to The Washington Post on behalf of him and his wife: |
Billy Graham’s grandson Tullian Tchividjian has resigned from his pulpit at Coral Ridge Presbyterian. (RNS)
I resigned from my position at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church today due to ongoing marital issues. As many of you know, I returned from a trip a few months back and discovered that my wife was having an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, I informed our church leadership and requested a sabbatical to focus exclusively on my marriage and family. As her affair continued, we separated. Sadly and embarrassingly, I subsequently sought comfort in a friend and developed an inappropriate relationship myself. Last week I was approached by our church leaders and they asked me about my own affair. I admitted to it and it was decided that the best course of action would be for me to resign. Both my wife and I are heartbroken over our actions and we ask you to pray for us and our family that God would give us the grace we need to weather this heart wrenching storm. We are amazingly grateful for the team of men and women who are committed to walking this difficult path with us. Please pray for the healing of deep wounds and we kindly ask that you respect our privacy.
Tchividjian’s bio has been removed from the church’s Web site, and repeated calls to Coral Ridge pastors and a spokesman were not returned Sunday evening. Tchividjian, 42, has been married to his wife, Kim, since 1994 and they have three children.
In 2009, Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin) succeeded the late James Kennedy as senior pastor of Coral Ridge. Kennedy was one of the architects of the Religious Right, a movement of evangelicals who became intertwined in more conservative politics. However, Tchividjian decided to preach less about politics, unlike his uncle Franklin Graham, founder of Samaritan’s Purse. Billy Graham, 96, was one of the most influential religious leaders of the 20th century and an adviser to many U.S. presidents.
Before he became senior pastor of the Fort Lauderdale congregation, Tchividjian’s church plant, New City, merged with the larger Coral Ridge. Seven months in, a group of church members, headed by Kennedy’s daughter, circulated a petition calling for his removal. Church members voted 69 percent to 31 percent to keep him, but a group of congregants formed a new church in response.
Tchividjian was described by the Miami Herald as a pastor who would focus on specific Bible passages rather than on the news, preferred more contemporary music over the organ, and chose podcasting over broadcasting.
The Hartford Institute for Religion Institute’s database of megachurches lists Coral Ridge as having 1,900 attendees. The church began in 1978 under Kennedy, and its weekly services were televised as the Coral Ridge Hour, reportedly reaching up to 3 million people. Kennedy was a founding board member of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Moral Majority and developed the popular curriculum “Evangelism Explosion.”
Last year, Tchividjian broke up with the Gospel Coalition network of Reformed leaders over a theological dispute. His popular blog was hosted at TGC and he wrote several books with evangelical publishers Crossway and David C. Cook. Many have considered him a rising star in evangelicalism.
In 2013, three Florida megachurch pastors resigned after having affairs, including the son of megachurch pastor Joel Hunter.
Another high-profile Reformed pastor resigned from his pulpit last year,creating questions over the status of pastors with large national brands, often larger than their own churches. Mark Driscoll stepped down from his Seattle megachurch in October 2014 after being accused of plagiarism, bullying and an unhealthy ego.
Driscoll has more recently been trying to return to some kind of speaking tour at Christian conferences, but earlier this month, Hillsong, one of the most influential international megachurches, cut him from the speaker list at its upcoming conferences in the United Kingdom and in Australia.
