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Christian author Philip Yancey, married for more than five decades, confessed to engaging in a years-long affair, telling Christianity Today in a statement that he had “disqualified” himself from ministry.
Yancey did not mince his words or seek to defend the case – he acknowledged the fishing of his behavior and the devastating consequences of his actions.
“To my shame, I confess that for eight years I willingly engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman. My conduct defied everything I believe about marriage. It was also completely inconsistent with my faith and writings and caused deep pain to her husband and both of our families. I will not share further details out of respect for the other family,” he said in the statement, according to the exit.
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Philip Yancey at Waterstone Community Church on April 18, 2019 in Littleton, Colorado. (Joe Amon/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
“I have confessed my sin before God and my wife and have engaged in a professional counseling and accountability program. I have failed morally and spiritually and am grieved over the devastation I have caused. I realize that my actions will disillusion readers who previously trusted my writings. Worse still, my sin has dishonored God. I am filled with remorse and repentance, and I have nothing to fall back on but mercy and the grace of God,” he noted, according to the outlet.
“I am 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. Instead, I must spend my remaining years living by 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 have hurt,” Yancey wrote in the sent statement by email, according to Christianity Today.
He also provided the outlet with a statement from his wife.
A Denver County Jail inmate confined in the Twelve Alpha dormitory reads a book by Philip Yancey called Where is God When It Hurts? (Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
In the statement, Janet Yancey noted that in the face of this “trauma and devastation,” she had no plans to break her “marriage vow,” and she asked people to pray for her and her husband.
“I, Janet Yancey, speak from a place of trauma and devastation that only people who have experienced betrayal can understand. Yet I made a sacred and binding marriage vow 55 and a half years ago, and I will not break that promise. I accept and understand that God, through Jesus, has paid for and forgiven the sins of the world, including those of Philip. God grant me the grace to forgive too, despite my unfathomable trauma. Please pray for us,” she said in the statement, according to the outlet.
Christian cross against the sky. (Godong Group/Universal Images via Getty Images)
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In a 2023 article on the diagnosis of Parkinson’s diseaseYancey wrote: “I have an omnicompetent wife of 52 years who views my health and well-being as a personal challenge.”
“Sixteen years ago, while I was tied to a board with a broken neck after a car accident, Janet drove through a blizzard to retrieve me. She was already mentally redesigning our home in case she needed to prepare for living with a paralytic. She demonstrates the same selfless and fierce loyalty now, even as she faces the potentially demanding role of caregiver,” he wrote in the piece.
