MIDLAND, Mich. — An anti-gay pastor in Michigan has resigned following revelations that he regularly solicited men on the popular gay hookup app, Grindr.

Rev. Matthew Makela, a married father of five, resigned as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church and School in Midland, Mich., on Sunday, just one day before Queerty posted screenshots and text messages of sexually explicit conversations between the pastor and other men.

Queerty reports that Makela, who had been at St. John’s since 2010, confirmed himself as a Grindr user, and notes that Makela has a record of disparaging the LGBTQ community, posting (now deleted) screenshots of the reverend decrying same-sex marriage and stating that the “transgender movement is going to assist opportunistic sickos in preying upon children and others.”

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In a statement to parishioners , the church said Makela “has acknowledged that there was sin and repentance,” and warned its congregation they “may be confronted with the details of the sin” that are being reported in the media and online “by those who seek to do harm to the Makela family and to St. John’s.”

Full story at Queerty →