Joshua Butler resigns amid criticism over the controversial statement “Sex is an icon of Christ and the church.”
The co-lead pastor of Redemption Tempe megachurch in Arizona resigned from leadership on Wednesday, following controversy over his book, Beautiful Union, in which he postulated that “sex is an icon of Christ and the church.”
Tempe announced his resignation in a letter addressed to members of Redemption Church in Tempe. “Now I want to update you on where we’ve landed,” he wrote. ” I’m resigning as the co-lead pastor of Redemption Tempe. I’ve processed this with our elders. And I’m writing this together with them, with a desire to share my reasons of resigning with you,” he added. Butler further disclosed his resignation was “in joint decision with the elders of Redemption Tempe and him].”
An excerpt from Butler’s book, titled “Sex Won’t Save You (But It Points to the One Who Will)” was published on the website of The Gospel Coalition in March. Butler stated in the excerpt which was officially released in April that “sex is an icon of salvation.” He went on to describe sex in spiritual terms.
Following the excerpt’s release, Butler was backlashed by many for hyper-spiritualizing sex. The excerpt however, was later removed alongside an apology at the request of some Prominent pastors including former Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren and Kevin DeYoung. Rich Villodas, pastor of New Life Fellowship in New York.
Reacting to the backlash, Butler made known his plan to revise the book for future printings. “I’ve worked with publisher to make revisions to the excerpt based on a dozen sensitivity reviews. I commissioned the last month from women ( including sexual abuse survivors, counselors, and those who grew up in purity culture) These revisions will be incorporated into the next printing of the book.”