Pastor John Gray announced he is taking a break from the pulpit after publicly apologizing to his wife and church for his personal shortcomings during a 50-minute virtual talk on YouTube on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020.
Gray, the pastor of Relentless Church in Greenville, South Carolina, is seeking to go into therapy, both professionally and with other spiritual leaders, after allegations of infidelity appeared on entertainment blogs. He has acknowledged that some of the allegations are true while insisting that others are not.
On Aug. 21, a woman went on YouTube to proclaim that she and Gray had been in communication with one another, which was quickly picked up and beamed out by social media and blogs and, eventually, more even more traditional media outlets, including the Greenville News.
Last Sunday, the embattled megachurch pastor, addressed the salacious rumors that have been swirling with increasing ferocity.
“I’m sorry for the areas of my life that I left unattended, that I was apathetic about, the areas where I have treated the calling of God, the grace of God and the hand of God casually in my life. For every area of behavior that has dishonored the holiness of God, I want to tell you that I’m sorry,” Gray said near the beginning of the YouTube video he posted. “There have been a number of things, blogs, some of them accurate, some of it not. But all of it, my responsibility.”
According to the Greenville News, Grays attorneys said the minister was the victim of an extortion plot by the woman. On Sunday, Gray was contrite about his recent behavior without going into specifics. The Cincinnati native and associate of Houston-based pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church also apologized to his wife.
“Aventer, I am sorry for the pain I have caused you, and my prayer is that the life I live from this moment will be one worthy of the love that you have extended and that our family receives from. I am grateful for you and our children,” he said.
“To my church, I am sorry. You’ve gone through enough — from cars, to meetings with leaders that have caused great pain and deep division among political ideologies, to one thing after another. I want to tell you I’m sorry.”
Turn the page to watch Gray’s message in its totality.
