After 48 years of preaching, evangelical pastor Dr. Tony Evans is calling it quits at his church because of an unknown sin he committed.
Evans, 74, who once served as the chaplain for both the Dallas Cowboys and the Mavericks, announced he was stepping away as senior pastor for the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas via a written statement to his congregation.
‘The foundation of our ministry has always been our commitment to the Word of God as the absolute supreme standard of truth to which we are to conform our lives.
‘When we fall short of that standard due to sin, we are required to repent and restore our relationship with God. A number of years ago, I fell short of that standard,’ he wrote in the Sunday message posted to the church’s website.
Evans clarified he didn’t commit a crime but didn’t use ‘righteous judgment’ in his actions.
Dr. Tony Evans, center, has announced he’s stepping down from the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church, an organization he founded in 1976
Pictured: The auditorium where Evans delivered his passionate sermons to hundreds of congregants
He also didn’t say if he’d be open to returning after he goes through his ‘healing and restoration process’ established by church elders.
On May 27, two weeks before he stepped down to address his past sin, Evans posted a clip of one of his sermons where he was talking about how Christians shouldn’t go looking for anything additional in their lives beyond Jesus Christ.
‘What many Christians do today is to step outside of 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 do not 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 over 10,000 members and 100 different ministries targeted at adults, youth, singles and couples.
The pastor also has a popular daily radio show featuring snippets of his energetic sermons called ‘The Alternative,’ which airs on over 1,400 stations in more than 130 countries.
It’s unclear if he will also be stepping away from those responsibilities.
President George W. Bush listens to applause with Pastor Tony Evans at the dedication of the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship’s 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 any elder or pastor falls short of 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 be providing more information in the coming days about what’s next in terms of church leadership, according to the statement.
Evans previously made headlines in 2012 for publicly decrying then-President Barack Obama’s decision to support gay marriage.
