After 48 years of preaching, evangelical pastor Dr. Tony Evans is resigning from his church because of an unknown sin he committed.
Evans, 74, who once served as chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys and Mavericks, announced he was stepping down as senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas in a written statement to his congregation.
‘The foundation of our ministry has always been our commitment to the Word of God as the supreme and absolute standard of truth to which we must conform our lives.
‘When we fall short of that standard because of sin, we must repent and restore our relationship with God. “Several years ago, I did not meet that standard,” he wrote in the Sunday message posted on the church’s website. website.
Evans clarified that he committed no crime but did not use “fair judgment” in his actions.
Dr. Tony Evans, center, announced he is leaving Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church, an organization he founded in 1976.
Pictured: The auditorium where Evans delivered his impassioned sermons to hundreds of parishioners.
He also did not say whether he would be willing to return after going through his “healing and restoration process” established by church elders.
On May 27, two weeks before resigning to address his past sin, Evans aware a clip from one of his sermons where he talked about how Christians should not look for anything additional in their lives beyond Jesus Christ.
“What many Christians do today is turn away from God to get help to deal with something real in their lives,” he said.
‘So if you are a believer and you have Christ, you don’t need to add anything outside of what Christ demands and expects in order to live victoriously.’
Evans started Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in 1976 as a Bible study for just 10 people. Now, the church has more than 10,000 members and 100 different ministries aimed at adults, youth, singles and couples.
The pastor also has a popular daily radio show featuring excerpts from his energetic sermons called ‘The Alternative’, which airs on over 1,400 stations in over 130 countries.
It’s unclear whether he will step away from those responsibilities as well.
President George W. Bush listens to applause with Pastor Tony Evans at the dedication of the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Youth Education Center, October 29, 2003 in Dallas, Texas
A statement shared by the church itself said the decision to sideline its most popular preacher “was made after tremendous prayer and multiple meetings with Dr. Evans and the church elders.”
‘Dr. Evans and the elders agree that when an elder or pastor fails to meet the high standards of Scripture, the elders are responsible for providing accountability and maintaining integrity in the church,’ the statement continued.
Bobby Gibson, another pastor at the church, will provide more information in the coming days about what’s next in terms of church leadership, according to the statement.
Evans already made headlines in 2012 for publicly denouncing then-President Barack Obama’s decision to support gay marriage.