Austin Stone Worship's Aaron Ivey Fired Over Explicit Homosexual Texts

Austin Stone Church, a multisite Southern Baptist megachurch in Austin, Texas, has fired its lead worship pastor, Aaron Ivey, after he was discovered engaged in multiple instances of predatory homosexual misconduct. Ivey oversaw Austin Stone Worship, and he led a team of nearly 300 worship leaders, artists, storytellers, and musicians. 

The elders of the church write, "On Monday, February 5th, Aaron Ivey was fired from staff after it came to light that he engaged in inappropriate and explicit ongoing text messages with an adult male. Several elders were made aware of this situation on the evening of Sunday, February 4th and after reviewing the explicit nature of these messages, it was clear that termination of Aaron's eldership and employment was necessary in accordance with the clear biblical standards outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and 1 Timothy 5:19-20.

Since then, we have uncovered multiple similar instances with different individuals dating back to 2011 that show a very clear pattern of predatory manipulation, sexual exploitation, and abuse of influence. Three of the known instances involved adult male individuals. However, one known instance, in 2011, involved a minor male outside our formal programming.

Due to these abhorrent instances, we feel it necessary to share the timeline as we currently understand it, though we will not be surprised if more is uncovered:

• 2011: the first known instance, which took place with a teenage male victim and continued over time, involved inappropriate and explicit communications, indecent exposure, and the use of alcohol and illegal substances
• 2020: involved inappropriate and explicit ongoing texts with an adult male
• 2021: involved inappropriate and explicit behavior with an adult male
• February 2024: involved inappropriate and explicit ongoing texts with an adult male (this was the cause for discovery of the pattern of inappropriate behavior)."

Aaron Ivey is the husband of Jamie Ivey. They have four children, including three adopted ones. Jamie Ivey, host of the popular podcast The Happy Hour, appeared on Good Morning America on Friday to promote her new book, Why Can't I Get It Together? Afterward, she posted on her Instagram that she was "off to China Town with my man for some epic Chinese food for lunch!" It's unclear whether she knew at the time of her husband's firing.

 

 

 

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