I am heart-broken over this. Any news of a pastor committing adultery, no matter how despised or loved he was, ought to lead to deep sadness; no matter what theological differences existed this news damages the reputation of our Lord and his Bride and ruins in many ways every family involved. This is tragic at so many levels.
Tullian has admitted to this affair now publicly via the Washington Post:
I resigned from my position at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church today due to ongoing marital issues. As many of you know, I returned from a trip a few months back and discovered that my wife was having an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, I informed our church leadership and requested a sabbatical to focus exclusively on my marriage and family. As her affair continued, we separated. Sadly and embarrassingly, I subsequently sought comfort in a friend and developed an inappropriate relationship myself. Last week I was approached by our church leaders and they asked me about my own affair. I admitted to it and it was decided that the best course of action would be for me to resign. Both my wife and I are heartbroken over our actions and we ask you to pray for us and our family that God would give us the grace we need to weather this heart wrenching storm. We are amazingly grateful for the team of men and women who are committed to walking this difficult path with us. Please pray for the healing of deep wounds and we kindly ask that you respect our privacy.
Coral Ridge, once home to the late D. James Kennedy took a sudden turn with the arrival of Tullian Tchividjian as their new pastor. Tullian is the grandson of the legendary evangelist, Billy Graham. His arrival at Coral Ridge changed the long-standing political inclinations of Coral Ridge. Tullian brought a form of contemporary ethos that rejected politics in the pulpit embracing instead a theology of internalization. Once a haven for the American flag, under Tullian that same flag was expelled and replaced with a dogmatic spiritualization of grace. Tullian not only broke with the late Kennedy’s views, but he broke from standard Reformed dogma going so far as separating himself from Carson and Keller and others and forming his own brand called Liberate.
Tchividjian stood for a Lutheran separation of law and gospel and claimed that anything else would make a mockery of the grace of the Gospel. Following in the tradition of the sonship movement of the late Jack Miller, Tullian made grace the center stage of his message arguing that any positive view of the law would minimize the gospel and turn us into Pharisees. Perhaps Jack Miller’s statement best summarizes Tullian’s vision:
“Cheer up! You’re a worse sinner than you ever dared imagine, and you’re more loved than you ever dared hope.”
His following increased as well as the number of opponents of his theology.
His resignation will likely signal another radical change in the Coral Ridge world. Many will confirm their assessment that Tullian’s negative view of the law served merely as an excuse for sin to abound. Tullian and I share the same alma mater, RTS/Orlando. We both sat under the teaching of Steve Brown. I found and I know he also did find much of what Steve taught liberating. Whereas I found Richard Pratt’s material a helpful balance to Steve Brown, Tullian saw Brown as a logical step in the right direction of rescuing grace from the Reformed legalists.
There is more to say and much more will be revealed, I am certain. There is nothing in Tullian’s statement that expresses the immensity of his sins towards God, his flock, and family. At this stage we can only pray for genuine repentance and a full gospel redemption in the middle of this mess. Tullian once wrote:
“God’s ability to clean things up is infinitely greater than our ability to mess things up.”
Tullian messed things up. He and his wife are in desperate need of godly counsel should they have any chance to preserve this marriage. May God clean Tullian and his bride and in the process may our Lord also preserve his Church.
