Replies

Pastor Isaac Hunter of Summit Church resigns amid adultery scandal

November 29, 2012|By Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel

Isaac Hunter, the popular lead pastor at Summit Church in Orlando and the son of presidential spiritual advisor Joel Hunter, has resigned after admitting to an affair with a former church staffer.

The church, one of the fastest-growing in Central Florida, made the announcement on its blog Wednesday after mailing a letter to parishioners stating that Isaac Hunter’s “moral failing has made it impossible for him to continue in ministry.”

Isaac Hunter, 35, is a married father of three. He could not be reached for comment.

He founded Summit in 2002 with friends from his youth-ministry days in his father’s Longwood megachurch, Northland, A Church Distributed. Three-hundred people attended Summit’s first service, and it quickly outgrew its first home. It now has five locations and nearly 5,000 worshippers.

Many in both the church and community reacted with sadness to the news.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Scott George, senior pastor at Pine Castle United Methodist Church and co-founder of the Community Food & Outreach Center in Orlando, one of many local nonprofit organizations where Summit members often volunteer. “He is a very gifted leader, a tremendous motivator. From the moment I heard about this, I’ve been in prayer for the entire church, the family, the community. The ripple effect of something like this is devastating.”

Isaac’s father, Joel Hunter, is a widely known evangelical pastor who became part of President Barack Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He did not respond to calls seeking his comments.

In the letter to Summit members, newly appointed lead pastor John Parker said Isaac Hunter had offered his resignation Monday and that it had been accepted. Parker urged church members to avoid gossip “as much as humanly possible” and said the church “is bigger than any one of us.”