CT Editor’s Note: The Presbytery of Nashville issued a statement this week clarifying some details of his process and stating that Scott Sauls has been restored to his ordination. The presbytery had temporarily suspended his ordination six months ago, after an investigation revealed “a pattern of relational, emotional and spiritual neglect.” Sauls confessed these findings, in addition to “fostering a culture of mistrust among [church] staff.”
Since then, the presbytery discovered that he had “engaged in intensive counseling, pursued a process of repairing damaged relationships, expressed his confession and repentance to Christ Presbyterian Church, and sought reconciliation with those he had wronged,” it said. The presbytery approved Sauls’ resignation from Christ Presbyterian Church, but he is now up to date and will continue as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America.
YesScott Sauls, an influential pastor and author, resigned from the Nashville megachurch he had led for the past decade.
Members of Christ Presbyterian Church (CPC) voted to accept Sauls’ resignation during a congregational meeting Sunday night.
Sauls had been in a indefinite leave since May after apologizing for an unhealthy leadership style. A group of church leaders known as the session had asked the congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) to accept Sauls’ resignation.
Addressing the congregation, Sauls apologized to those he had hurt and said he and his family would continue to serve Jesus.
“We were hoping to move forward and help with CPC,” Sauls told the congregation during the meeting, according to The Tennesseewhich first reported the news of Sauls’ resignation. “But now we believe that the most merciful thing is to step aside so that the church can seek new leadership and we too can seek the Lord’s will for whatever comes next.”
The church declined to comment on the news of Sauls’ resignation.
Saul’s tenure in the church began with great promises and was marked by growth. TO protected from According to the late Tim Keller, Sauls promoted a Christianity marked by kindness and grace, rather than culture war politics, in books such as A kind response: our “secret weapon” in an era when we are against them, Befriendand Irresistible faith.
Sauls admitted earlier this year that he had been harsh on church staff and had used the power of the pulpit as a weapon against those who disagreed with him.
“I expressed insensitive and verbal criticism of the work of others,” he said in an apology to the congregation earlier this year. “I have used social media and the pulpit to silence dissenting views. “I have manipulated facts to support the paths I desire.”
During Sunday’s meeting he apologized again.
“To anyone who was hurt, whether known or unknown, I am deeply sorry,” he said. “I don’t make excuses and I ask for forgiveness.”
According to the PCA Book of Church Order, the end of Saul’s tenure at Christ Presbyterian must be approved by the Nashville Presbytery, a regional group that oversees pastors.
The presbytery clerk did not respond to a request for comment.
After announcing his departure from Christ Presbyterian in May, Sauls was indefinitely suspended by the presbytery. The process of pastoral discipline in the PCA has been criticized due to lack of transparency.
Concerns about pastoral leadership styles have come under increased scrutiny in recent years.
Many megachurch pastors followed a top-down corporate leadership approach popularized by pastors like Bill Hybels and Mark Driscoll, which has led in some cases to unhealthy and sometimes abusive leadership cultures. And the line There is much debate between ecclesiastical conflict and spiritual abuse.
According The TennesseeSauls told the congregation that a presbytery committee planned to lift his suspension and that the decision to resign was his.
“It has been an honor to serve this community,” Sauls told the congregation at Sunday’s meeting, according to the newspaper.
“We are going to miss you. We wish you the best and we love you.”
