Tony Evans' son says he'll be there for his father after admission of past sin
The son of Pastor Tony Evans says it is "an honour" to be there for his father in his hour of need after his recent decision to step away from ministry because of a past sin.
The admission from Evans senior has sent shockwaves through the Christian community. He has not reveal specific details about the sin but said it happened in the past and that he did not commit any crime.
He has now started a process of healing and recovery overseen by elders at his church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas.
His son, Jonathan Evans, who is associate pastor of Oak Cliff's NextGen Ministry, preached the Father's Day sermon over the weekend in place of his father.
He said he only found out about the sin three days before his father's public confession and that he had been told "the exact same thing" as the congregation.
"No more. No less," he said.
Preaching from Psalm 46, which extols God's victory, Evans junior said he was confident that his father would return to ministry in victory.
"Let me tell you, let me put it this way, my dad has been there for all of my challenges," said Jonathan Evans.
"Yes sir, he's been there for a lot of y'all challenges, whether it's counselling, whether it's preaching, radio, some of y'all YouTube, whatever medium [it] has been, he's been there, so it's an honour for me to return the favour."
He said that people have been asking him how he feels about what has happened. He believes the victory has already been won and his father will return to the pulpit.
"Let me tell you, I feel like we've already won. I feel like we're on offence, not defence," he continued.
"I feel like we already have victory. I feel like His word is true. I feel like He's going to finish the work that He started. I feel like, if it's not good yet, God's not done yet. I feel like all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes. I feel like just because it's a shock to you, doesn't mean it's a shock to Him."
He said he would not base his response on current circumstances but "the reality of the Saviour, because His Word is true".
"So what are we going to do? We going to play offence," he said.
"We're going to go and do and be what God has called us to go and do and be. And when he returns, when my dad returns, when that time comes, we going to celebrate a victory we already knew beforehand that we had."