Tullian Tchividjian has an affair after his wife has one.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: A grandson of the influential evangelical pastor Billy Graham has stepped away from the pulpit at a high-profile mega church in South Florida after the establishment’s leaders discovered he was having an affair.
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church said Monday that Tullian Tchividjian resigned last week for actions that “disqualify him from continuing to serve as senior pastor,” according to the Associated Press.
Tullian Tchividjian said that he returned from a trip a few months ago to find his wife having an affair, and that he subsequently turned to a friend in his time of need. “Sadly and embarrassingly, I subsequently sought comfort in a friend and developed an inappropriate relationship myself … I resigned from my position at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church today due to ongoing marital issues.”
In 2009, Tchividjian succeeded the James Kennedy as senior pastor of Coral Ridge. Kennedy was one of the architects of the Religious Right, a movement of evangelicals who became intertwined in more conservative politics.
Tchividjian, 42, has three children with his wife, Kim. Tchividjian was widely considered a rising star in evangelical circles and is the fourth Florida megachurch pastor to resign after having affairs.
According to Time, Tchividjian’s grandfather, the 96-year-old Billy Graham, was an adviser to U.S. presidents including Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson.
During his years as an evangelist, Billy Graham had a rule that he would never meet, eat or travel with a woman alone, reported The Post. The “Billy Graham rule” is still discussed among evangelical circles as some wonder whether it has held women back from rising through the ranks in evangelical leadership.