Recently, pastor Tony Evans shocked the Christian community by announcing that he would be stepping down from his pastoral duties due to an unspecified sin he had committed in the past. In the days following the news, it was reported that the Dallas-based church was hosting a prayer meeting for Evans.
However, after CBS Texas reported it on Thursday, an Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship representative denied that the church hosted such an event. The church’s media relations representative, Shari Carroll, explained that no such event took place. “There is not a prayer meeting tonight [for Pastor Tony Evans]. That is not correct,” the representative clarified.
Evans had served as the church’s senior pastor for over 40 years. Since 1976, the congregation has impressively grown from just 10 people to well over 10,000 people in recent years along with more than 100 different ministries, making Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship one of the most powerful organizations in Christian culture.
While not specifying what sin he committed, Evans released a message on his departure from his leadership role that he fell short of the high standard ascribed to Christian leaders. Evans will seek “healing and restoration” as prescribed by the church’s elders.
“A number of years ago, I fell short of that standard. I am, therefore, required to apply the same biblical standard of repentance and restoration to myself that I have applied to others. I have shared this with my wife, my children, and our church elders, and they have lovingly placed their arms of grace around me,” he added. “While I have committed no crime, I did not use righteous judgment in my actions. In light of this, I am stepping away from my pastoral duties and am submitting to a healing and restoration process established by the elders.”
In the aftermath of Evans stepping down from his pastorate, many prominent figures throughout the Christian community have weighed in on the controversy. “I do think, from my perspective, …that he owes his congregation more clarity than his statement gave. He may not owe the internet clarity, but I do think that he owes his congregation specificity,” Christian podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey said.
Roy E. Ciampa, Armstrong Chair of Religion and Chair of the Department of Biblical and Religious Studies at Samford University wrote on social media, “This is very disappointing. If this took place years ago. Is he (temporarily) stepping back now, bc he was just recently exposed? In any case, he covered it up for years & he’s supposed to be ready for healing & restoration? Consider me skeptical.”
Christian blogger and podcast co-host Michelle Lesley suggestedt hat the sin could sexual in nature based on how euphemistic Evans and the church as been toward it. “When they euphemize in every way possible without naming the sin, it’s usually some form of sexual immorality. If you’re truly repentant over your sin, you’ll confess it, not finesse it. I hate that this happened, but he was already not someone to follow,” she said.
Featured image credit: The Urban Alternative, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tony_Evans_The_Urban_Alternative.jpg