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A Texas megachurch has revealed that its pastor was forced to step down over "excessively personal" and sometimes "sexual" communications with women.
The elders of Cross Timbers church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area said last week that head preacher Josiah Anthony had stepped down due to unidentified indiscretions over the past few years. The church declined to go into details, saying only that he had behaved in "inappropriate and hurtful" ways to "current and former members of the Cross Timbers family and staff."
But in an email to congregants on Thursday, seen by local broadcaster WFAA, the elders clarified that Anthony had stepped down over "a concerning pattern of behavior communicating inappropriately with women", which was sometimes "sexual in nature."
"We should have communicated more clearly and directly with you," said church elder John Chalk, according to WFAA. "Our lack of clarity led to a lot of assumptions about the situation, and in trying not to cause unnecessary harm, we inadvertently did."
It is the latest in a string of sudden resignations by high-profile protestant church leaders in north Texas for alleged personal violations.
In June, Dallas pastor Robert Morris stepped down after a woman accused him of molesting her when she was 12 years old, followed in July by Morris's son and daughter-in-law.
A pastor at Stonbriar Community Church in nearby Frisco also resigned after 17 years due to an unspecified "moral failure," while a former pastor at the North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship in Plano was indicted for attempting to pay for sex.
At Cross Timbers, which reportedly has a congregation of around 3,000, Josiah Anthony resigned after elders received a report of "inappropriate communication" with a female former church member.
When they investigated, they learned of another communication with a former church worker that, although not sexual, was deemed "excessively personal and overly familiar."
At the time, Cross Timbers said that Anthony's known actions did not involve "any children," any "physical or sexual interactions" or "any illegal activity." But after the resignation, elders discovered other messages that were indeed sexual in nature.
"Please know that we are trying not to hide it from you... we shared with you what we knew to be true at the time," Chalk reportedly said at a service on Sunday.
Chalk apologized for statements from church staff members who had appeared to blame Anthony's behavior on his mental health struggles.
He also apologized for a former staff member who had described the communications as "emotional affairs," which Chalk said falsely implied the interactions were consensual and elided the power imbalance between a head pastor and one of his flock.
"That behavior will not be tolerated in our church. It should not be tolerated at any church or in any ministry. We are deeply sorry for those who have experienced it," said Chalk.
The church also thanked the "courageous" women who came forward about Anthony's behavior.
"We believe you, are grateful for your willingness to share your experiences, and we are deeply sorry that your trust was violated," it said.
