Questions Linger as Tony Evans Is ‘Restored’ but Replaced as Pastor

Oct 13

Megachurch founder Tony Evans returned to Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship after more than a year away, calling it a “restoration,” even as the church installs new leadership and questions over his moral failure remain.

Written By David Samuels // EEW Magazine Online

*Photo Credit: Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Facebook*

Last week, Tony Evans returned to ministry at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. After more than a year of absence, his restoration brought both celebration and a swirl of unanswered questions to the Dallas megachurch he founded nearly fifty years ago.

On “Restoration Sunday,” October 5, Evans, 76, walked onto the sanctuary’s stage to a standing ovation, thunderous applause filling the room. But beneath the cheers, a quieter current runs through the congregation: What did he do, exactly, and why is he not allowed to lead again?

Evans, who stepped down in June 2024 citing a “moral failure,” has never disclosed the nature of his offense.

“As you know, this last year has been an extremely challenging time, a time of being separated from what I love most, the proclamation of God’s word,” Evans said in a video posted to his YouTube page. “A lot of that was due to my own fault, and I had to go through a period of repentance and restoration so that healing could take place.”

The church, for its part, has been equally circumspect. “Dr. Evans acknowledged in a public statement falling short of God’s standard and a need to submit to the church’s discipline and restoration process,” said Associate Pastor Chris Wheel during the service. “We are pleased to report that Dr. Evans has fully submitted to the church’s discipline and restoration process.”

The process, according to Wheel, was guided by biblical principles and received the “unanimous affirmation of the elder board.”

“The good news,” Evans told his supporters, “is our God is a God of restoration.”

Yet, restoration comes with unmistakable limits: Evans will not be returning to any staff or leadership role at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. The congregation was told that he is not resuming his former post. Instead, his son Jonathan Evans is expected to become the church’s new lead pastor. The church has said this is not a punitive measure, but a decision made with “joy” as they look forward to “how God uses Dr. Evans’ gifts and ministry” outside his old role.

For all the assurances of accountability, the lack of specifics has left some church members and outside observers unsettled. The phrase “moral failure” floats through the sanctuary and across social media, imprecise and unsatisfying.

In an era when religious communities are increasingly called to transparency, the absence of detail is its own kind of statement. For some, Evans’s humility and willingness to step aside for a season is proof of true repentance; for others, the silence breeds suspicion and confusion.

*Wife, Carla Evans, left, with husband Tony Evans, right (Photo Credit: Oakcliff Bible Fellowship Church Facebook)*

In an interview with Religion News Service days before “Restoration Sunday,” Evans acknowledged that the past season has involved more than spiritual discipline.

He said some have struggled to accept his remarriage to Carla Evans following the death of his wife of 49 years, Lois Evans. He also alluded to other personal challenges he preferred not to detail.

Evans, whose influence in American evangelicalism has been profound, now faces a new chapter—one defined less by pulpit authority and more by the limits of grace, restoration, and institutional trust.

For now, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship moves forward under Jonathan Evans’s leadership, carrying both gratitude for the past and the weight of questions that may never be publicly answered.

Tony Evans’s latest book, “Unleashed: Releasing God’s Glorious Kingdom in and Through You,” will be released by Thomas Nelson on Oct. 28. He has also begun booking speaking engagements at churches and conferences, following his first major public address in more than a year at a conservative Christian summit in Des Moines, Iowa, in July.