(OPINION) Weeks after a video surfaced online allegedly showing him kissing a woman who is not his wife and multiple members of his staff quit, Pastor Tavner Smith of Venue Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has announced he will take a few weeks off to get counseling and “spend time with God.”
“I’m going to be taking some time to fill up, spend time with God, and get some counseling so I can come back rested, refreshed, and ready for the rest of the year,” he wrote in an Instagram post on Jan. 5. “I love you and I’ll see you in February.”
At least eight employees of Smith’s fast-growing congregation reportedly quit working for the church last month after confronting him about the video recorded in North Georgia.
Two former employees and four volunteers or members previously connected to the church told The Chattanooga Times Free Press that the eight employees quit after confronting the pastor about a rumored affair with a church employee.
The church previously declined to comment publicly, but court records show that the pastor and his wife, Danielle Smith, who have three kids, began divorce proceedings last May.
That same month, Smith was in the middle of preaching a series he called “Dirty Destinies” where he preached about how God can use people’s “dirt” from their past to minister.
“The question is not ‘Am I dirty?’ because I am,” he said. “A matter of fact, look at your neighbor and say ‘I’m dirty.'” “I don’t think we have any doubts about that anymore. I think we’ve been real about that over the last six weeks,” he continued. “Every single person in here is full of dirt. God did not choose perfect people. God only chooses available people.” READ MORE
