MIAMI - The leader of a Florida megachurch has resigned after confessing to church administrators a "moral failing" preventing him from fulfilling his duties, according to a church statement over the weekend.
Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, a branch of the California ministry founded in 1965, on Monday did not provide any additional details as to why the church's longtime pastor abruptly left the organization last week or why recordings of Bob Coy's sermons were no longer available on its website.
The church statement did not specify Coy's moral failing.
Coy, 58, moved to south Florida from Las Vegas in 1985 to found what became one of the nation's largest, fastest-growing churches with about 20,000 members and more than $135 million in assets.
About 7,500 church staff and parishioners attended a Sunday meeting announcing Coy's resignation, according to the Sun-Sentinel newspaper in Fort Lauderdale.
"We're not commenting any further," said church spokesman Mike Miller.
The church has 10 campuses throughout the state including its sprawling headquarters near Fort Lauderdale. It has hosted a number of popular evangelical speakers including Kirk Cameron and Billy Graham.
