Applause and applause sounded during Church service after the pastor of a Church in Memphis, Tennessee, admitted that he had a «sexual incident» with a teenage girl 20 years ago.
«This information is not new for me or for our leadership,» — said on Friday, Chris Conley, lead pastor of Highpoint Church.
Earlier in the day in Christian blogs The Wartburg Watch has a story Jules Woodson, who accused the pastor , Andy savage sexual violence against her in 1998 when she was 17 years old.
According to the victim, savage was a youth Minister in a suburban Houston Church. One night he offered to drive the girl home. But after they departed, the man first stopped in a wooded area and pushed Woodson to engage in oral sex. According to the woman, savage also asked her to unbutton his shirt so he could touch her Breasts. After the incident, savage begged the girl not to tell anyone about the incident.
The story of Woodson, in the days that followed it was absorbed by the «fear, shame, anger and pain.» In connection with the overwhelming feelings of the young victim decided to confess to the pastor of the Baptist Church Woodlands Parkway about the incident. Surprisingly, the girls servant urged her to keep quiet about the incident and promised that they will understand, unable to endure dirty linen in public.
And now, 20 years later, during a Sunday service a father of five sons, Andy savage told the crowd in the Church that it had once been a sexual incident. He did not say what exactly happened that night, but he recognized his sin, took responsibility for it and said that it never hid the incident from Church leaders.
«I, as before, very regret their actions, and deeply regret the pain I caused her (Jules Wilson) and her family, as well as for the pain I caused to the Church and Kingdom of God,» said the 42-year-old pastor during the service, which was broadcast live.
After savage finished his address, the congregation gave him a standing ovation for about 20 seconds.
Woodson, watching the video, said he did not believe a single word a pastor. She told me that Savidge sent a letter about a month ago, when it was rocked by a sexual scandal involving the popular host of Today on NBC.
The woman was convinced he was going to apologize or answer something. A month later, when there was no response, Woodson decided to tell you about harassing her publicly.
#HappyThanksgiving from the Savages!
Posted by Andy Savage on Thursday, November 23, 2017
