{"id":14560,"date":"2026-03-02T13:56:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=14560"},"modified":"2026-03-02T13:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:56:14","slug":"pentecostal-pastor-ted-shuttlesworth-jr-steps-down-after-admitting-to-affair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/03\/pentecostal-pastor-ted-shuttlesworth-jr-steps-down-after-admitting-to-affair.html","title":{"rendered":"Pentecostal Pastor Ted Shuttlesworth, Jr. Steps Down After Admitting to Affair"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@miraclewordchurch \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pentecostal mega pastor Ted Shuttlesworth, Jr. has stepped down after admitting to committing adultery and having \u201cmultiple inappropriate conversations\u201d with other women. Shuttlesworth co-pastors Miracle Word Church<\/a>\u00a0in West Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Carolyn and is a prolific author. He also founded Miracle Word Ministries and Miracle Word University. He comes from a long line of preachers, with his father working as a well-known televangelist.<\/p>\n

Shuttlesworth\u2019s ministries are known for their over-the-top healing services and \u201cslain in the Spirit\u201d style. Protestia<\/a> described the church as the \u201cnew, savvier wing of the prosperity Gospel movement.\u201d Shuttlesworth announced his departure to ministry partners though a letter obtained by Protestia, admitting he had \u201clet my guard down.\u201d \u201cNeedless to say, my actions opened the door, which I allowed, for sin to come in through loose and inappropriate conversations with the opposite sex,\u201d he admitted. He said the letter \u201ccontains no excuses.\u201d Shuttlesworth admitted the sin had crossed over into \u201csexual activity with a woman who was not my wife.\u201d He declared he had repented to the Lord and his wife, whom he called \u201cthe greatest gift the Lord has given me.\u201d He stated he was stepping down, though the letter seems to imply the move will be temporary while he pursues restoration.<\/p>\n

Carolyn wrote her own letter, affirming their ministry\u2019s legitimacy despite her husband\u2019s moral failings. \u201cPlease know this from the depths of my heart: nothing you have prayed, given, or sown into this ministry has been false or in vain. God has faithfully moved, lives have been changed, and souls have been reached,\u201d she wrote, adding, \u201cWhile it can be deeply painful and disappointing when someone we respect falls into sin, I encourage you not to allow one man\u2019s failure to diminish what God has done through your obedience and faithfulness.\u201d She said she and Ted plan to work on their marriage and family, which includes three children. \u201cThe hand of God has been upon this ministry for the past 16 years, and I firmly believe that through Pastor Ted\u2019s sincere repentance before the Lord and those he has hurt, God\u2019s grace will continue to sustain Miracle Word Ministries,\u201d she affirmed.<\/p>\n

Extended members of Shuttleworth\u2019s family had alluded to his adulterous relationship prior to the letters. His cousin, Jonathan Shuttlesworth, who runs Revival Today, released a video saying he had been \u201cestranged\u201d from a family member after discussing a moral failing. \u201cWhen I confronted him, I was not told the truth. I was told part of the truth. I did not receive a complete account. I would be saying all these things exactly like this, if my family member, who I love, was sitting next to me,\u201d he said<\/a>. Whether or not a pastor should be considered permanently disqualified from ministry after committing adultery is hotly debated in Protestant circles. A Lifeway Research survey<\/a> in 2020 found that 27% of Protestant pastors found adultery to be permanently disqualifying. Thirty-one percent were unsure. \u201cScripture doesn\u2019t mince words about adultery,\u201d said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. \u201cFrom the Ten Commandments, to the Apostle Paul\u2019s lists of wicked things, to the qualifications for elders listed in 1 Timothy, adultery is not appropriate for a follower of Christ nor a leader of a local church.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pentecostal mega pastor Ted Shuttlesworth, Jr. has stepped down after admitting to committing adultery and having \u201cmultiple inappropriate conversations\u201d with other women. Shuttlesworth co-pastors Miracle Word Church\u00a0in West Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Carolyn and is a prolific author. He also founded Miracle Word Ministries and Miracle Word University. He comes from a long…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":14563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPentecostal Pastor Ted Shuttlesworth, Jr. Steps Down After Admitting to Affair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pastor Ted Shuttlesworth Jr. steps down after admitting adultery, calling it sin and seeking restoration with his wife and ministry.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/03\/pentecostal-pastor-ted-shuttlesworth-jr-steps-down-after-admitting-to-affair.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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