Former Orange CEO Re-Classifies Relationship with Joiner as Abusive

In an email to the Orange board, Kristen Ivy said the ministry founder repeatedly abused his power.

Former Orange CEO Kristen Ivy has changed her characterization of the relationship she had with Orange founder Reggie Joiner.

In April, Orange announced the resignation of both Ivy and Joiner because of a past “inappropriate relationship.”

Kristen Ivy, R, and Reggie Joiner, L, at the 2022 Orange Conference 2022 / Photo via Facebook @Kristen Ivy

Now, Ivy says what she previously called “inappropriate” was really abusive.

“The truth is that Reggie has repeatedly abused his power and used it to gain access to vulnerable, often very young women, slowly crossing boundaries, isolating them, and eventually coercing them into agreeing to the abuse,” she wrote in an email to Orange Board Chairman Joel Manby and Board Member Jennifer Barnes that was obtained by The Roys Report.

Orange is largely known for hosting one of the world’s most prominent family ministry conferences. “Orange aligns the church and the family,” its website states.

Ivy, who graduated from college in 2004, is married with three kids, while Joiner is 63. Ivy did not provide exact timing for when the inappropriate behavior began, but she wrote in the email that “[w]hen the relationship was sexualized, I was a ‘director’ and he was the CEO.”

Ivy’s husband also worked at Orange, so speaking openly would put their family income at risk, she said.

Joiner also allegedly told Ivy that speaking about the relationship to a counselor, friend, family member, or anyone else would risk “the security of the company”, “the employment of my friends,” and would “devastate” people she cared about.

Ivy said the “abusive relationship” has been her “lived reality” for well over a decade, adding that she tried to resign multiple times, but she “could only submit that resignation to Reggie and he refused to accept it.”

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When she first admitted the relationship, Ivy said she characterized it as “inappropriate” because she was intending “to maintain a humble posture and shoulder the burden of responsibility.”

But after reflection and seeking professional counsel, Ivy said she realizes she is “experiencing a high level activated trauma — not just from the past weeks, but also compounded trauma from many years of emotional and psychological abuse.”

Ivy offered an apology to the board for “misrepresenting the nature of the relationship” in her original interviews.

Because Ivy believes there is evidence that she is not the only victim, she requested that Orange’s board “publicly amend their statement, launch a credentialed investigation (independent, trauma-informed and forensic) and begin to make a safe path for others to come forward.”

Before founding Orange in 2006,  Joiner was one of the founders of North Point Community Church led by senior pastor Andy Stanley. Joiner was involved in family ministry at North Point for 11 years.

Mike Clear is serving as interim president, according to the Orange statement, as the group’s board undertakes a nationwide search for a new CEO.

Orange, also known as The Rethink Group, has yearly revenue of more than $25 million. It is not a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

Orange did not immediately reply to our inquiry about the change in Ivy’s characterization of the relationship or her request for an investigation.

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