Popular Christian Pastor Tony Evans of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship stunned the Christian world when he announced that he would be stepping away from his position in leadership after confessing an unspecified sin that he had committed at some point in his past. The public have not been given much insight into what kind of sin might have made Evans feel it was necessary to step away from the pulpit, but, according to his son Jonathan, the family doesn’t know much more than we do.
via The Christian Tribute:
Jonathan Evans, who holds a leadership position at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship as the associate pastor of the NextGen Ministry, told the congregation during a Father’s Day sermon that his dad had told his family the same thing he told the church.
“Three days [before the public confession], my dad would call us [his family] and tell us the exact same thing he told you. No more. No less. And then on Monday, he said, ‘Hey, I need you to preach Father’s Day for me,” he went on to say, as reported by The Christian Post.
The Christian Tribune reportedon the initial news that Tony Evans would be stepping down from the pulpit, where he released a statement vaguely describing a moral shortcoming that failed to live up to biblical standards several years ago. He claimed that he had shared this with his family and church.
“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 explained in his confession. “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.”
As of this writing, there has been no specified date for Evans to return to the pulpit, which he has been preaching from for the last 48 years. Then again, when a man is willing to take responsibility for his actions the way that Evans is, a required period of healing is necessary in order to restore that person to their vocation, so long as the sin in question does not disqualify him from serving in leadership.
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“Let me tell you, let me put it this way, my dad has been there for all of my challenges. Yes sir, he’s been there for a lot of y’all challenges, whether it’s counseling, whether it’s preaching, radio, some of y’all YouTube, whatever medium [it] has been, he’s been there, so it’s an honor for me to return the favor,” Jonathan said about the situation.
He then defended his father, offering a very hopeful message about his potential return some time later down the road.
“People have been asking me all week, ‘how do you feel’? Let me tell you, I feel like we’ve already won. I feel like we’re on offense, not defense. I feel like we already have victory. I feel like His word is true. I feel like He’s going to finish the work that He started. I feel like, if it’s not good yet, God’s not done yet. I feel like all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes. I feel like just because it’s a shock to you, doesn’t mean it’s a shock to Him,” he further explained.