Memphis pastor Andy Savage sees publisher cancel book, petition calling for resignation over sex assault case

A canceled book deal is the latest repercussion for Memphis pastor Andy Savage as the ripples continue to spread from his admitted sexual encounter with a 17-year-old high school senior in Texas 20 years ago.

Also, a petition calling on him to resign his position at Highpoint Church is gaining momentum online, with 836 signatures out of a 1,000-signature goal Tuesday evening.

The victim, Jules Woodson, says, meanwhile, that she is "disgusted" by Savage's public apology and doesn't agree that the matter was "dealt with" at the time as Savage suggested. Woodson has come forward with her story in the vein of others in the #metoo movement.

Bethany House, a Christian publisher, announced Monday afternoon that it is canceling the scheduled July publication of Savage's book, "The Ridiculously Good Marriage."

The tweet announcing the cancellation said the book might still show up on some retail web sites "for a short time until those sites update."

On amazon.com, where the book still shows available for pre-order as of Tuesday afternoon, the description calls Savage a "pastor and relationship coach" who "has been in the trenches of marital hardship."

The cancellation came on the heels of an Austin, Texas, church announcing it was placing on leave a pastor who had been on staff with Savage at a Houston, Texas, suburban church in the late 1990's when the sexual assault occurred.

Larry Cotton, who is now on staff at The Austin Stone Community Church, was on staff with Savage at Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church. It was while there that Savage drove Woodson to a deserted back road and had her perform oral sex. 

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The petition, on change.org, calls for Savage to either resign or be fired from Highpoint, an East Memphis church with additional locations in Collierville and Arlington. 

"He should be disqualified from ministerial leadership," the petition says. "He must resign from his position at Highpoint Church or be fired by its leadership."

Woodson told her story in a blog post detailing the assault. Savage admitted to the encounter in a post on the Highpoint website, and addressed the congregation this past Sunday.

While not offering as much detail as Woodson, who said she thought Savage was taking her for ice cream after church on the way home, Savage admitted in the post and to church members that he "had a sexual incident with a female high school senior" while he was at Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church in a Houston suburb. 

"I resigned from ministry and moved back home to Memphis," Savage said in the written statement that he read to church members, who gave him a standing ovation after his remarks. "I accepted full responsibility for my actions. I was and remain very remorseful for the incident and deeply regret the pain I caused her and her family, as well as the pain I caused the church and God's Kingdom."

Savage said he thought the incident, for which criminal charges were never filed, had been "dealt with" in Texas 20 years ago when he apologized. He said he told leaders at Highpoint about the incident before they hired him, and his wife knew about it before they married.

In hindsight, Savage says he knows more could have been done to help Woodson at the time. He said he "remains committed to cooperating toward healing."

Highpoint Lead Pastor Chris Conlee has expressed support for Conlee, also in a written statement on the church website. Before Savage addressed the congregation Sunday, Conlee told members "there was room to disagree but still respect one another."

"It's not just a right-and-wrong issue, though there was something definitely wrong," Conlee said.

After Savage received an ovation, Conlee said he knows members are supporting healing for Woodson as well as for Savage, who Conlee said God supports "1,000 percent."

Woodson could not be reached Tuesday, but she told The New York Times she saw the video of Savage's remarks to church members and the ovation and found it "disgusting."

She told the newspaper the incident had not been "dealt with," as Savage suggested, because it was not reported to law enforcement. She said she has made a report recently, but it's unclear whether the statute of limitations has expired under Texas law.

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Woodson also said she decided to come forward with the story after she saw a USA Today story in December about Matt Lauer being fired by NBC because of sexual misconduct. She said she first contacted Savage by email, but decided to go public when Savage never replied.

In Cotton's case, he was never accused of being part of the sexual assault but was a church leader at Woodlands Park who did not report it. His current church, Austin Stone, said in a statement Monday that a third party would investigate Cotton's role as the church studies Cotton's "qualifications for his current role of leadership."