Pastor who lost preaching license due to sex scandal plans 2017 comeback

Clayton Jennings, a pastor who was recently stripped of his preaching license after he confessed his involvement in sex scandals with multiple women, has announced his plans for a comeback in 2017.

Jennings said in a YouTube video that he has "so much planned for next year," and he also revealed last week that his publisher will soon release his new book.

"For all of you asking about my book, I had the publisher back up the release date to later this year to be launched with another HUGE announcement. Stay tuned!" Jennings said, according to Christian News.

Last Tuesday, he released a spoken word video in which he detailed his battle with depression.

"I have battles I wouldn't want you to see. And I always want people to see the best in me, but if you see the real me, you see something inside that's been festering. For 10 years, it's been eating me alive," he said.

Jennings stepped down from his ministry after several women came forward, claiming that they had extra-marital sexual relations with the preacher. He submitted himself to undergo a repentance and renewal process with his mentor, Tony Nolan, but he decided to end it weeks later. Nolan said that he opted to use the services of a secular team.

The elders of Jennings' church, Harbour Shores Church in Cicero, Indiana, has sent an email to the congregation expressing their disappointment with the preacher's decision to reject their advice to take time away from the ministry.

"Clayton has chosen to reject instruction from God's Word regarding spiritual leaders and repentance, as well as the counsel of HSC yet intends to continue in ministry," the email stated.

The elders further noted that they have repeatedly attempted to correct Jennings, but he refused to submit to their authority and has joined a different church. They advised against participating in any of Jenning's activities and asked the congregation to pray for his repentance and restoration.

According to Christian News, as many as six women came forward, alleging that Jennings manipulated them into sexual behavior. Two women claimed that Jennings gave them alcohol before he became sexually aggressive. One of them said that the preacher told her to take a morning-after pill to avoid getting pregnant.

Jennings, who married his longtime girlfriend in March 2016, released a spoken word confession on Nov. 13, 2016, but it was taken down the next month. He claimed that some of the details the women gave were false.