Billy Graham’s Grandson Calls Post-Affair Life a Nightmare, Says He’s Overwhelmed

The evangelical community virtually recoiled when Billy Graham’s grandson stepped down from his megachurch post after admitting to an affair. 

Since his resignation more than a month ago, Tullian Tchividjian is opening up about how he’s spent his time away from leadership at the church. 

“I keep thinking I’m going to wake up one morning and it will have all been a bad, bad dream,” Tchividjian writes on Facebook. “But that morning never comes. Instead I wake up every day and am freshly hit with the fact that this nightmare is real. My family and I are, at every imaginable level, overwhelmed.”

Tchividjian formally resigned as pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in June after having an “inappropriate relationship” and after his wife, Kim, had done the same. 

“My days are spent focusing on my family along with finding a job so that bills can be paid. But one of the big questions I’ve wrestled with is, how do I properly steward this glorious ruin? To be quite honest, I want to crawl into a hole and be anonymous for a long, long time. I don’t want a stage, a platform, a microphone, a spotlight. I want to disappear. Nothing seems more appealing to me on most days than to simply vanish.”

But Tchividjian is still pushing forward, despite a murky future.

“What life will look like from here on out is completely unknown to us. And that scares me. But we are alive and not without hope. We are certain that better and brighter days are ahead,” he writes.

Tchvidjian’s followers are responding with grace to his latest message. 

One person writes: “Pastor, you’re authenticity is unmatched. Never have I encountered someone as open and transparent. Everything you said is true, and I am rooting for you and your family. God is in control even during the days in the desert.”

Another: “Thank you for re-appearing. We’ve been praying and praying and praying, and weeping with you, your family, and Steve. Our hearts, like yours, are broken. But God. And His grace still counts, He knew this was coming and still called you His. And gave you an important message, which is still worthy, and I believe, you’re still the one to carry it. So we pray for restoration, of family, marriage, and when it’s time, ministry. … We still love you and God still loves you. Believe and receive it.”