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Biblical Counseling Movement Leader Ousted From Pulpit

Indiana Church Cites ‘Unloving Treatment’ Toward Wife

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Faith Church, a multi-campus church in Lafayette, Indiana, announced it has removed its senior pastor, Steve Viars, from leadership due to circumstances surrounding his recent separation from his wife.

Steve Viars in his September 2024 sermon “The Husband’s Role in Marriage” / Video screenshot

“The pastors and deacons of Faith Church requested and accepted the resignation of our leader of 37 years, Pastor Steve Viars, on 10/17/2024. His marriage condition does not meet the biblical qualifications for being an elder,” the church said in an online statement. “Please pray for the Viars family and Faith Church during this time of transition.”

Viars and Faith Church are prominent names in the biblical counseling movement. During his time as senior pastor, Viars headed the church’s Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries. He continues to be listed as a board member for the Biblical Counseling Coalition.

According to an Oct. 18 email from church leaders (copied to MinistryWatch by church member Christopher Hutton), the pastors and deacons learned of Viars’ marital problems on Sept. 15 and began investigating why his wife, Kris, had moved out of their home.

“These investigations have revealed a story that is sad on many different levels and has led our deacons and pastors to determine that Steve Viars is no longer qualified to serve as a pastor of Faith Church,” the email read. “This has been a difficult situation and certainly is not the outcome we would have desired. The pastors and deacons have requested Steve Viars’ resignation, and Steve has agreed to resign. This is effective immediately.”

The following Sunday, church leadership provided more details to the congregations at all three campuses, but fell short of naming the specific actions that were deemed disqualifying.

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“Five weeks ago today, Kris Viars sent every pastor and deacon an email informing us that she left the home with [their son] Andrew to an undisclosed location and requested help confronting Steve for his unloving treatment toward her. To our knowledge, there was no physical violence or sexual immorality,” the church explained in a prepared statement Hutton forwarded to MinistryWatch.

The church also read aloud Viars’ resignation letter.

“Pastors are held to high standards and rightly so,” Viars wrote. “I do not believe my current family situation meets those biblical standards and I therefore am tendering my resignation as your senior pastor. Thankfully this does not involve a moral issue, but my failures and challenges are serious enough that it is best that I work on them apart from the rigors and requirements of pastoral ministry. Please pray for me, Kris and Andrew in the coming days.”

A successor to Viars has not yet been announced, but Faith Church says it “will follow its constitution to select interim leadership and the next senior pastor.”

Viars took the helm of Faith Church in 1996 as the successor to William Goode, another prominent figure in the biblical counseling movement. Goode established Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries in 1977; and in 1985, he developed the Biblical Counseling Training Conference, which has trained many thousands of individuals, including pastors, missionaries, church leaders and lay Christians.

Today, Faith Church boasts many other ministries in addition to its focus on counseling. These include, among others, a Christian school, seminary, senior living community and emergency shelter for displaced families.

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Tony Mator

Tony Mator is a Pittsburgh journalist, copywriter, blogger and musician who has done work for World magazine, The Imaginative Conservative and the Hendersonville Times-News, among others. Follow his work and observations at twitter.com/wise_watcher.

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