Beloved Christian author Philip Yancey has publicly confessed to an extramarital affair and announced that he is stepping away from all ministry-related work as he seeks repentance, counseling, and healing within his marriage.

In a deeply personal statement shared with Christianity Today, where Yancey has served as editor-at-large, the 76-year-old writer acknowledged that he engaged in a sinful relationship with a married woman for eight years. “I confess that for eight years I willfully engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman,” Yancey wrote. “My conduct defied everything that 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 did not minimize the seriousness of his actions, describing the affair as “my great shame.” He shared that he has confessed his sin to God and to his wife and has committed himself to professional counseling and an accountability program. “I have failed morally and spiritually, and I grieve over the devastation I have caused,” he said, adding that his focus now is on “rebuilding trust and restoring my marriage of 55 years.”

As a result of his actions, Yancey said he considers himself disqualified from Christian ministry and will retire from writing, speaking engagements, and social media. “Instead, I need to spend my remaining years living up to the words I have already written,” he explained. He also asked the Christian community for forgiveness, praying for healing in the lives of those he had wounded.

Yancey has long been regarded as one of evangelical Christianity’s most thoughtful and honest voices, known for wrestling openly with doubt, suffering, and grace. His books, including Disappointment with God, Where Is God When It Hurts?, The Jesus I Never Knew and What’s So Amazing About Grace? have reached millions of readers worldwide. He often described his approach as that of a journalist rather than a spiritual authority, once explaining that he asked the same questions his readers were asking and sought out experts to help find honest answers.

Raised in what he described as a strict, fundamentalist Southern church, Yancey has spoken candidly about how his early experiences shaped his understanding of faith and grace. Over the decades, his work challenged Christians to rethink easy answers and confront uncomfortable truths, always pointing back to the mercy of God.

Yancey’s public life has not been without controversy. In 2016, comments he made criticizing evangelical support for Donald Trump sparked backlash, though he later clarified that he understood why some Christians might support flawed candidates over key moral issues. More recently, in 2023, Yancey revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, yet continued to travel and speak despite the challenges of the illness.

Now, Yancey says that the season has come to an end. His confession stands as a sobering reminder that no platform, insight, or past faithfulness exempts a believer from accountability. For many Christians, the news is painful and disappointing. Yet Yancey’s own words point toward a familiar biblical tension: the reality of sin alongside the enduring call to repentance, humility, and grace.