“While Coral Ridge leadership has not had contact with Tchividjian since his resignation last summer, when we learned of his confession, our leadership immediately sought to verify the facts. The active elder did confirm his knowledge of the affair in 2014 and admitted he acted on outside counsel and failed to report the events to Tchividjian’s family, church leadership, and the other elders. Coral Ridge immediately called a meeting for the elder to share this new information with the entire session, after which the layperson submitted his full resignation….”

This weekend, Tullian Tchividjian’s past two churches confirmed rumors that the Florida pastor had another affair prior to the one that prompted his resignation last summer.

But the pastor who gave Billy Graham’s grandson a second chance says he doesn’t regret it.

Last Wednesday, CT reported how Tchividjian was fired following fresh “disclosures.”

“Repentance is progressive and often painful,” both Willow Creek Presbyterian Church and Tchividjian separately told CT. “It involves disclosing and dealing with the darkest places of our hearts and lives.”

“I remain committed to that painful and progressive process,” Tchividjian told CT.

On Monday afternoon, he publicly apologized for the pain he has caused his family.

“I hope and pray that the events in my own life over the past couple years serve as a warning to all who, like I did, believe they are standing firm,” stated Tchividjian. “Sin is deep. It is real. It destroys. It deceives. May this be an opportunity for all of us to examine our own hearts and beg God for the mercy and forgiveness we all need.” [His full statement is below.]

When Tchividjian stepped down in June 2015 as lead pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, he explained that he “developed an inappropriate relationship” with a “friend” after learning that his wife was having her own affair. His wife disputed his account, writing that his statement “reflected my husband’s opinions but not my own,” but did not offer details.

On March 13, Tchividjian confessed to a prior extramarital affair from 2014, Coral Ridge confirmed to CT. Later in 2014, one of Tchividjian’s friends informed two of Coral Ridge’s then elders of the affair (one elder left the church prior to this month’s revelations).

Coral Ridge stated:

While Coral Ridge leadership has not had contact with Tchividjian since his resignation last summer, when we learned of his confession, our leadership immediately sought to verify the facts. The active elder did confirm his knowledge of the affair in 2014 and admitted he acted on outside counsel and failed to report the events to Tchividjian’s family, church leadership, and the other elders.

Coral Ridge immediately called a meeting for the elder to share this new information with the entire session, after which the layperson submitted his full resignation.

“When taking vows as elders at Coral Ridge, each individual commits before God to strive for the purity, peace, and unity of the church,” Coral Ridge stated to CT. “We are saddened that these two elders failed in their vows by withholding this information regarding our former senior pastor, which has since caused many families and churches much harm.”

The church announced the news to its congregation on Sunday. “We grieve for the individuals involved in this situation,” it stated, “and pray for peace and healing for all.”

Last week, the board of Liberate Network—a ministry Tchividjian founded in 2013 that focused on God’s grace—opted to dissolve the organization and cancel its 2017 conference. Last month, Liberate had announced its relaunch and praised Tchividjian’s restoration process for “going remarkably well.”

“We’d like to thank those that have stood alongside Liberate in championing the message of ‘God’s inexhaustible grace for an exhausted world,’” stated the board in explaining its decision to reverse course. “However it is in the best interest of that very message—which is bigger than any network and any man—for Liberate to come to an end.”

At Willow Creek Presbyterian—the Winter Springs, Florida, church which fired Tchividjian last week—senior pastor Kevin Labby acknowledged to his congregation that it had been “a very difficult week for our church and staff.”

“We had great expectations, and God did something different than we had hoped,” Labby told CT he preached Sunday. “But we’re hoping something good comes out of it.”

One of Labby’s conclusions about the experience: the broader evangelical church has done a poor job rehabbing pastors, a topic he blogged over the weekend.

“In my own experience, I’ve seen men deposed from ministry, and then a month later I’ve inquired about them and other church leaders have no idea where they are,” Labby told CT.

It’s often the victims—in this case, their family members—who pay the price when this happens, he said.

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