CORAL SPRINGS, FL – Miracle Word Church in Coral Springs, Florida, is listed as closed on its main website. The development comes after the church’s pastor, Ted Shuttlesworth Jr., admitted to infidelity and stepped away from ministry.
In a letter shared with supporters, Shuttlesworth deemed his affair a moral failure. The pastor said he repented before God and his wife and ultimately decided to step down from ministry.
“Unfortunately, in the midst of so many miracles and breakthroughs, I let my own guard down,” Ted Shuttlesworth Jr. said in the letter. “I failed to stand in my authority when temptations came,” he added.
“My actions opened the door, which I allowed, for sin to come in through loose and inappropriate conversations with the opposite sex,” Shuttlesworth continued.
“These sinful actions culminated in sexual activity with a woman who was not my wife. I’m extremely ashamed and deeply grieved by my actions,” the pastor wrote. “For now, I am stepping away from ministry.”
Ted Shuttlesworth Jr. was a traveling evangelist for years before founding Miracle Word Church with his wife, Carolyn Shuttlesworth. The church leans heavily into the Theology of Healing, which was made popular by the late Oral Roberts.
One of the main pillars of the Theology of Healing is that God is fundamentally good. He, therefore, does not use sickness as a way to punish individuals. God, instead, desires to heal more than the ailing person wants to be healed.
Dozens of celebrity pastors have leaned into the Theology of Healing to run crusades and garner financial support for their ministries, which they call “seeds” of faith.
Ted Shuttlesworth Jr. did not give a specific date for his return to ministry, despite some believing his stepping down to be a temporary situation. He did, however, present an openness to return to the pulpit, should God be willing to give him another chance.
“Though I’m currently stepping down from ministry, should God in His mercy give me another opportunity, I’m willing to answer the call,” Shuttlesworth wrote in his letter to supporters. “I’m thankful that we serve a merciful and forgiving God.”
Though Miracle Word Church is presently listed as closed on its website, Carolyn Shuttlesworth will continue the church’s Unshakable Women’s Bible Study ministry off campus.