After new allegations of an extramarital affair, Pastor John Gray has issued apologies to both his wife and his church.
According to Greenville News, the faith-based author confronted rumors of an affair after a woman claimed she had been communicating with the pastor. During an almost hour-long virtual sermon, he shares plans for therapy. While he never explicitly confirms or denies the existence of an affair, Pastor Gray acknowledges the damage caused.
“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 extended 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.”
According to Hip Hop Wired, Pastor Gray allegedly engaged in FaceTime and iMessage conversations with a woman identified as ‘Mary’ requesting photos, meals, and sending money.
His legal team insists that in this case, a physical affair was never alleged and Gray is the victim of extortion and blackmail. Attorneys Devon Puriefoy and Kimberly Thomason informed Greenville News the latest claims are alleged to be only phone calls.
“There are allegations that there were phone conversations between the two parties, and that’s essentially the extent of the allegations,” Puriefoy said to the news outlet. “When you take her own words, she says there was no affair, no physical contact, they never met each other, they never saw each other.”
Gray leads the Relentless Church in Greenville, South Carolina, and is an associate pastor for Joel Osteen‘s Lakewood Church in Houston. Gray says he is aware of the damage done to his reputation.
“There are people who may never listen to me preach again, and I am so very sad about that,” he said in the video.
Gray told his congregation that he is undergoing extensive counseling and seeking guidance of other pastors for help.
He was the subject of an earlier controversy in 2019 that Gray had referred to as an “emotional affair.”
-The Griot