In early January, Phillip Yancey, a prominent Christian author and pastor, shared an announcement that shook many Christians. “To my great shame, I confess that for eight years I willfully engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman,” he wrote in an email to the flagship Evangelical publication Christianity Today. “Having disqualified myself from Christian ministry, I am therefore retiring from writing, speaking, and social media.”
Yancey’s statement was accompanied by a statement from his wife of 55 years, Janet, who promised not to break her “sacred vow” of marriage to Phillip: “God grant me the grace to forgive also, despite my unfathomable trauma.”
Although Yancey has long been a popular figure among Christians, his candid confession made him mainstream news. The New York Times, USA Today, and People all covered Yancey’s affair.
