A WORSHIP pastor at a Texas megachurch has been fired for allegedly sending explicit texts to men for over a decade.
The Austin Stone church elders explained their decision to dismiss author and podcaster Aaron Ivey on Sunday.
Aaron defied his employment agreement after allegedly sending "inappropriate and explicit ongoing text messages with an adult male," leaders at the church said in a statement.
The alleged messages went against a Bible passage in 1 Timothy which asks church leaders to be faithful to their wives, the elders said.
Aaron is married to podcast host and bestselling author Jamie Ivey, and the two share four children.
Concerns over Aaron were raised on February 4, causing the elders to launch a 24-hour investigation into his text conversations.
They allegedly uncovered multiple similar instances that showed "a very clear pattern of predatory manipulation, sexual exploitation, and abuse of influence," the statement read.
The earliest alleged instance they found dated back to 2011, and the latest inappropriate conversation happened in February, which is how they discovered his behavior.
The elders wrote that they were "heartbroken for the victims and their families" and are praying for healing.
"Knowing the Lord's sheep are worth our protection and our love, we are committed to loving this body and rooting out evil," the statement read.
"We know this may affect your trust because we know it certainly has rattled ours."
Aaron's wife Jamie broke her silence on the allegations in a statement released Sunday while she was on tour promoting her new spiritual self-help book.
She described it as "devastating news" and said that she would be "pausing all public appearances at this time."
"On her behalf, our team asks for prayer and support for everyone involved who are hurting," the statement reads.
The heartwrenching statement came just two days after Jamie shared on Instagram that she was discussing her book on Good Morning America 3.
She shared a picture of herself smiling in front of the GMA3 sign after the interview and wrote in the caption that she was "off to Chinatown with my man for some epic Chinese food."
Aaron and Jamie rose to fame for hosting podcasts together where they would discuss marriage tips and open up about the struggles of raising three adopted Black children in a primarily white community.
In 2021, the two wrote the Bible study Complement which explores how scripture can save a marriage that's "stuck in a rut."
In 2019, Aaron was a panelist for the Southern Baptist Convention's discussion on God's design for manhood and marriage.
Now, Jamie hosts the popular podcast The Happy Hour and is still writing books on her own.
When asked to comment on the firing, The Austin Stone told The U.S. Sun they were asking for "time and space for our church family to process, pray and work toward healing."