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Michael Brown apologizes for relationship with friend’s wife
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Michael Brown apologizes for relationship with friend’s wife

Michael Brown, Messianic Jewish author, columnist, radio host and podcaster, responding to sexual harassment allegations in a video uploaded on December 17, 2024.
Michael Brown, Messianic Jewish author, columnist, radio host and podcaster, responding to sexual harassment allegations in a video uploaded on December 17, 2024. | Screenshot: YouTube/The Line of Fire

Michael Brown, Christian author, radio host and founder of the FIRE School of Ministry, has asked for forgiveness over allegations of misconduct dating back twenty years, as a widower has come forward to accuse him of an inappropriate relationship with his late wife.

In a video Posted on YouTube on Tuesday, Brown responded to the newly reported allegations, saying that in late 2001 and early 2002 he developed an “emotional, not physical, connection with another individual.”

The Roys report published the story of a man identified as “Ray”, who said he and his wife were close friends with Brown and considered him a spiritual mentor. He accused Brown of having an inappropriate relationship with his wife in the early 2000s. The woman died in 2021.

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In his video, Brown said he confessed his wrongdoing in 2002 to this friend and Brown’s wife, Nancy.

Brown said that although he wanted to publicly confess the affair to his church community, the spouses involved in the situation decided it would be best not to disclose the affair, after concluding that it was not no adultery.

“That’s why I never discussed it with anyone else until recently. It wasn’t to hide things. It was to honor my wife that I cared so deeply about. injured,” he said. “In the months that followed in 2002, I made radical changes to my schedule and lifestyle. I received intensive counseling and experienced the holy discipline of Lord.”

Regarding an earlier allegation of misconduct with a staff member at the School of FIRE Ministry, named in reports as “Erin” to protect her identity, Brown said he apologized for the interactions that she considered uncomfortable, which started when she was 18 and involved slapping her buttocks, kissing on the lips and holding hands.

Erin said she stopped working at the FIRE School of Ministry in 2002, when she was just 21, because she became uncomfortable around Brown. The ministry chief said that although he apologized to Erin in front of his wife in 2002, it was now clear he did not understand the “depth of what she was going through as a result of my actions “.

Brown addressed the former staffer directly, asking for forgiveness.

“Please forgive me for my actions, which have caused you so much pain,” he said. “If I had understood the outcome of these actions more clearly in 2002, I would have reacted very differently. Once again, from the bottom of my heart, I ask you to forgive me. I am truly and deeply sorry.”

From there, Brown directed his comments to FIRE staff members, asking for forgiveness from those he has worked with in his ministry over the decades.

“Please forgive me for my failures, my poor judgment and any mishandling of these situations during this period 23 years ago,” Brown said. “I failed to meet the high standards we set. I disappointed you and I hurt you.”

Brown then told the “Wider Body of Christ”: “I deeply regret my behavior 23 years ago, to the extent that it caused pain, or was a distraction, or caused you to question question God, or wondering who the real Dr. Brown is, I also ask you to forgive me.”

“I know I let you down during this time,” he added, promising that he “will continue to work to earn your trust back.”

Brown drew a parallel with Peter, who denied Jesus three times and wept bitterly when he realized the error of his actions, was “restored to the grace of God” and “became a much better man through to his experiences.

“If dwelling on this painful period of my life, a period where I also wept bitterly for several days, deepens my humility and my dependence on the Lord, then I accept all the more what He called me to cross today,” Brun said.

“Regardless of the findings of the third-party investigation, I do not minimize the injustice of my past actions and, in the days ahead, I remain fully submissive to the Firing Line Board as I have entrusted them with process.”

Earlier this month, The Roys report published allegations that Brown engaged in inappropriate behavior with Erin between the ages of 18 and 21.

She reportedly considered Brown a father, while Brown considered her comparable to a daughter, even calling him “daddy” from time to time.

In a statement given to TRR and the Christian Post, Brown denied engaging in adulterous behavior, but also admitted to a “lack of judgment” regarding his relationship with the former staffer.

“Nancy and I had a relationship with the woman in question and considered her a member of the family, and she acted like someone who viewed our relationship the same way. But she was not a member of the family , and certain aspects of my interaction with her, while completely non-sexual in every way, reflected a clear lack of judgment on my part,” Brown added.

The Line of Fire Board reportedly hired the law firm Mitchell, Stein, Carey and Chapman in November to conduct an independent investigation into the abuse allegations against Brown.

Earlier this month, Brown announced he was deactivating his account on social media platform X, where he had some 63,000 followers until the investigation into the allegations was concluded.

“As I cannot comment on the current situation I am facing until the investigation is complete, I will be deactivating my account until then. May the Lord be glorified,” Brown said. written the.

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