Skip Ryan of Park Cities Presbyterian Church (Dallas, Texas) just tendered his resignation as assistant pastor after confessing to drug abuse. Ryan admitted in a letter he recently penned to the congregation that although he had abused narcotics prior to mid-2006, he had experienced sobriety for seven and a half years after that.

This April, he relapsed. An overuse of the medicine Tramadol led him back toward narcotics, he admitted.

“Instead of dealing with this relapse responsibly, I allowed it to continue and grow. Further, I obtained medicine inappropriately and wrongfully. In doing so, I betrayed the trust of the elders of our church who called me to the role of assistant pastor in 2011, and of you, the congregation of PCPC, whom I vowed to serve.”

Ryan has resigned from the pastorate as well as from his post as chancellor and Professor of Practical Theology at Redeemer Seminary (Dallas).

“The remorse, regret, sadness and burden of my failures are not mine alone,” he wrote. “I have profoundly hurt my family and you, my church family, and I have betrayed your trust again. I am so deeply sorry that I have failed to be the Christian my teaching has suggested I am. Ironically, I love our church more than I did in previous years before 2006. You have been our family, showing how much of His grace you have experienced in your own lives. I will always be thankful for the love given to me through the people and the elders of PCPC.”

PCPC senior pastor Mark Davis also responded with a letter, assuring the congregation that the session of PCPC intends to walk alongside Ryan and his wife Barbara in the coming days.

“As a session, our elders desire to show the love, mercy, and holiness of Christ. We love Skip and Barbara and are committed to helping them walk through this challenging chapter of their lives. We are grateful for the faithfulness of our Savior and are seeking His face to know how best to care for Skip and Barbara.”