Latest Updates: The Urban Alternative Cancels Cruise after Pastor Tony Evans Steps Down from Ministry
A Christian cruise scheduled to take place this fall with Pastor Tony Evans of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship church in Dallas, Texas, as the headliner has been canceled after Evans temporarily stepped down due to an undisclosed sin. As Crosswalk Headlines previously reported, Evans was supposed to headline a Mexican Riviera cruise organized by his Bible teaching ministry, The Urban Alternative, from Nov. 9-16.
However, after Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship announced that Evans was stepping down, Heather Hair, a spokesperson for The Urban Alternative, told The Roys Report that it was “best” to cancel the cruise as Evans will enter a time of healing and restoration.
“Following the announcement that Dr. Tony Evans will be stepping away from his senior pastoral duties at OCBF (Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas), and as he pursues the healing and restoration process established by the elders, The Urban Alternative has decided it would be best to cancel the Mexican Riviera Cruise with Tony Evans,” Hair said.
She did not respond to questions from The Christian Post regarding the cruise and Evan’s undisclosed sin.
Last week, an agent with Inspiration Travel, which is administering the cruise that includes suites costing up to nearly $4,000 per traveler, told CP that the cruise was still on because The Urban Alternative is a separate entity from Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. Additionally, the agent shared that The Urban Alternative had a contractual obligation to continue the cruise.
However, Inspiration Travel and The Urban Alternative have since removed the cruise from their websites.
Last Sunday, Evans shared in a written statement that he fell short of the biblical standards enforced by his ministry “a number of years ago,” implying it was “due to sin.”
“The foundation of our ministry has always been our commitment to the Word of God as the absolute supreme standard of truth to which we are to conform our lives. When we fall short of that standard due to sin, we are required to repent and restore our relationship with God,” Evans stated.
“A number of years ago, I fell short of that standard. I am, therefore, required to apply the same biblical standard of repentance and restoration to myself that I have applied to others. I have shared this with my wife, my children, and our church elders, and they have lovingly placed their arms of grace around me,” he added. “While I have committed no crime, I did not use righteous judgment in my actions. In light of this, I am stepping away from my pastoral duties and am submitting to a healing and restoration process established by the elders.
Following Evans’ announcement and the cruise’s cancellation, some have speculated online about the nature of his undisclosed sin.
“First things first, Pastor Evans, your sin wasn’t sin when you did it? It’s only sin now a few years later? Now, did it just become a sin now, or is the leak about to happen now?” Pastor Ray Curry Jr., founder of C.H.U.R.C.H. UNLIMITED, argued on TikTok.
Curry said that although he respects Evans for stepping down, he would have commended him if he had confessed his sin when it first took place.
“Now it just feels like you’re trying to have some type of salvaging of your legacy even though you know somethings about to come out,” he added.