PHILIP YANCEY
Posted on 01/07/2026 9:26:22 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Philip Yancey has admitted to having an extramarital affair with a married woman for eight years, with the bestselling Christian author announcing that he's stepping away from ministry.
In an emailed statement to Christianity Today, where he was editor-at-large, the 76-year-old Yancey stated that “I confess that for eight years I willfully engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman.”
“My conduct defied everything that I believe about marriage. It was also totally inconsistent with my faith and my writings and caused deep pain for her husband and both of our families,” he added in the statement published by the outlet on Tuesday.
“I have confessed my sin before God and my wife, and have committed myself to a professional counseling and accountability program. I have failed morally and spiritually, and I grieve over the devastation I have caused.”
Calling the affair “my great shame,” Yancey added that he was “now focused on rebuilding trust and restoring my marriage of 55 years.”
“Having disqualified myself from Christian ministry, I am therefore retiring from writing, speaking, and social media,” he continued. “Instead, I need to spend my remaining years living up to the words I have already written.”
“I pray for God’s grace and forgiveness — as well as yours — and for healing in the lives of those I’ve wounded.”
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Yancey’s website described his upbringing as being “in a strict, fundamentalist church in the southern USA” that led him to conclude that God was “a scowling Supercop, searching for anyone who might be having a good time — in order to squash them.”
Yancey was the author of several notable Christian books, including Disappointment with God, Where is God When it Hurts?, The Jesus I Never Knew, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? and Where the Light Fell.
A journalist by profession, Yancey wrote for Campus Life and later for Christianity Today, eventually becoming the editor-at-large for the Evangelical publication.
In a 2010 interview with The Christian Post, Yancey said his Christian books were different from others, in part because “I approach any topic as a journalist.”
“Whereas a lot of the Christian books you would see in a bookstore are written by authority figures of some sort, like maybe a pastor like a Rick Warren, or a personality like Chuck Colson or a theologian like a John Stott — people who do have a platform of authority and they are educating the rest of us,” he said at the time.
“I'm very much like my readers; most of them don't know anything about it either. I keep them in mind and say, 'How does this work?' … I interview the experts, then gradually, hopefully, I come away with some helpful picture.”
In 2016, Yancey garnered controversy when, while in Madrid, Spain, he told the European publication Evangelical Focus that he was "staggered" by the Evangelical support for Donald Trump.
"I am staggered that so many conservative or Evangelical Christians would see a man who is a bully, who made his money by casinos, who has had several wives and several affairs … That they would somehow paint him as a hero, as someone that we could stand behind," Yancey said.
Later, in response to backlash, Yancey clarified that he was not endorsing Trump’s 2016 election opponent, Hillary Clinton, and added that “I acknowledged that some issues are so important (for example, abortion) that a Christian may decide to vote for a badly flawed candidate because of those issues.”
In 2023, Yancey was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, yet continued to hold speaking engagements across the United States while battling the illness.
“Me & Mrs. Jones...
We have a Thing, goin’ on.
We both know that it’s wrong
But it’s MUCH too strong
To let it go now!”
😂🤣
Is he gonna step away and focus on an open marriage?
I think he wrote for Campus Crusade Magazine,too.
I believe in family
With my ever lovin’ wife beside me
But she don’t know about my girlfriend
Or the man I met last night
Do you believe in God?
‘Cause that’s what I’m selling
And if you wanna go to heaven
Well, I’ll see you right
You won’t even have to leave your house
Or get out of your chair
You don’t even have to touch that dial
‘Cause I’m everywhere
And Jesus He knows me and He knows I’m right
I’ve been talkin’ to Jesus all my life
Oh, yes He knows me and He knows I’m right
Well, He’s been tellin’ me everything’s gonna be alright
Never mind. The article mentions Campus Life which was the publication of Campus Crusade for Christ. It has been a long time. I used to get the magazine.
Where is this from?
I’m presuming these remarks are lyrics from a song, since most of the lines keep a similar Tick-Tock rhythm.
“Having disqualified myself from Christian ministry, I am therefore retiring...”
He disqualified himself eight years ago. He is retiring now because he got caught.
While we all sin, including wonderful Christian leaders, I think some sins are bigger than others (at least in man’s view) and disqualify them.
In addition to my daily Bible study, I've been re-reading some of CS Lewis' books, and I was planning on some more. Should I reconsider?
Amen.
We've spent fifteen years trying to find a KJV bible-believing church. Given up. We just read the bible.
First one, the 'pastor' came out as a homo using church funds for drugs and male prostitutes.
Second, the pastor's wife was having an affair with the choir director with the pastor's knowledge and approval.
Third, the Children's pastor was diddling kids in his care.
Fourth, the pastor embezzled some hundreds of thousands of dollars from the missionary fund and absconded.
Fifth, the pastor was nailing every chick that wasn't nailed down with promises of money and "counseling".
This is a period of over 15 years across multiple Baptist churches. I am a proud "bitter clinger" to my KJV Bible.
These lyrics are from the song “Jesus He Knows Me” by the English rock band Genesis.
Oh. Thanks. I would not have expected that from Genesis.
Must have been from their early work.
At first I thought it might be Pink Floyd, written with a drop or two of irony.
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