Evangelical pastor Tullian Tchividjian admits to cheating on wife who cheated on him

Tullian Tchividjian, the grandson of noted evangelical pastor Billy Graham, has stepped down from his post as pastor to the Coral Ridge Presbyterian church in southern Florida after admitting that he participated in an extramarital affair. The affair, Tchividjian insisted, developed as a result of his wife’s own infidelity.

“As many of you know, I returned from a trip a few months back and discovered that my wife was having an affair,” Tchividjian told the Washington Post. “As her affair continued, we separated. Sadly and embarrassingly, I subsequently sought comfort in a friend and developed an inappropriate relationship myself.”

Kim, Tchividjian’s wife made sure to issue a statement of her own stating that she and her husband did not see eye to eye on the state of their relationship.

“The statement reflected my husband’s opinions but not my own,” she told the paper in her own statement. “Please respect the privacy of my family at this time, thank you. I do thank everyone for the outpouring of love for my family as well during this difficult time and we appreciate all the prayers and support we are receiving.”

Soon after Tchividjian announced his marital issues he took to Twitter to voice his personal concerns, quoting from the bible.

At some point today Tchividjian down his site Pastor Tullian for unknown reasons but, as always, the Wayback Machine has plenty of internet receipts showing that all wasn’t necessarily all that well in the Tchividjian household.

In a post titled “Dating Your Wife” Tchividjian gave a brief glimpse into his relationship with his wife that wasn’t built entirely on their love for one another:

“I enjoy receiving love from my wife,” Tchividjian wrote. “I’m ecstatic when Kim loves me and expresses affection toward me. Something in me comes alive when she does that. But I’ve learned this freeing truth: I don’t need that love, because in Jesus, I receive all the love I need.”

Though Tchividjian’s implicitly condoning his infidelity by pointing out his wife’s indiscretions, it’s interesting to look back on some of his thoughts on cheating. In his book Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different, Tchividjian elaborates on his ideas of sex outside of marriage being a sin of the highest order.

“Sex, for instance, is a structural good that God has built into his creation, while sex outside marriage is an ethical misuse of that good.”