Author Philip Yancey Admits to Long-Term Affair
Says he is ending his career in writing and speaking
Bestselling Christian author Philip Yancey stunned readers and church leaders alike this week by admitting to an eight-year extramarital affair and announcing his retirement from public ministry. The news, first reported by Christianity Today, has rippled through evangelical circles, where Yancey’s books have long been trusted resources on faith and grace.
Yancey led affair for 8 years
“I confess that for eight years I willfully engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman,” Yancey wrote in an emailed statement to Christianity Today. “My conduct defied everything 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.”
Yancey, 76, did not attempt to defend his actions. “I have failed morally and spiritually, and I grieve over the devastation I have caused,” he said. “I realize that my actions will disillusion readers who have previously trusted in my writing. Worst of all, my sin has brought dishonor to God. I am filled with remorse and repentance, and I have nothing to stand on except God’s mercy and grace.”
The author, whose works like “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” have sold millions and who is quoted by countless pastors, said he would retire from writing, public speaking, and social media, choosing instead to focus on his marriage and personal repentance. “Having disqualified myself from Christian ministry, I am therefore retiring,” he wrote.
Wife speaks out
His wife, Janet, also spoke candidly to CT. “I am speaking from a place of trauma and devastation that only people who have lived through betrayal can understand,” she wrote, adding that despite her pain, she would not break her marriage vow: “God grant me the grace to forgive also, despite my unfathomable trauma. Please pray for us.”
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 2024 presented Yancey with an award celebrating his lifelong contributions to the church and Christian publishing industry.
In 2016, Yancey, a former editor at Christianity Today, made headlines for openly opposing Donald Trump for Trump’s moral failings. He told the European publication Evangelical Focus that he was “staggered” by the Evangelical support for Donald Trump.
In 2022, another CT editor openly opposed to Trump over the president’s character, resigned after he was accused of the decade-long sexual harassment of fellow employees and subordinates. The Christian magazine’s reporting said an internal investigation of Mark Galli found over a dozen first-hand accounts of harassment.
–Dwight Widaman
