Lori Anne believes Zacharias broke the terms of their NDA by publishing this statement. So does the attorney representing her now, Boz Tchividjian, who is a victim-advocate lawyer and also one of Billy Graham’s grandchildren. Speaking to Roys, Tchividijian said, “At the time, my clients made the very difficult decision to abide by the legally binding agreement even though Zacharias had apparently decided to do otherwise.”
Lori Anne also told us that she found out later that the authors of the Christianity Today article reached out to the Thompson’s former attorney, Bryant, to get a statement from the couple, but that Bryant chose not to pass on the message. He believed the couple would be troubled by it.
Does Ravi Zacharias Have the Final Word?
After the Christianity Today article came out, it appeared Zacharias had the last word on the matter. The evangelical world seemed to move on from the story. However, there is more to report and more of the story to tell.
Zacharias is no longer here to deny allegations, yet it is clear Lori Anne Thompson still lives with the impact of the alleged abuse. Zacharias himself admitted that he used poor judgment in his extended communication with Thompson.
What is to be gained from reporting this? And what can we learn from this modern-day tragedy, especially as leaders?
For every Christian—whether a leader or not—this is a cautionary tale.
For those who are responsible to provide accountability to ministry leaders, our follow-up article will address what we can learn from the investigation into Zacharias’ actions. We’ll dig into the response of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries to these allegations as well as the internal inquiry conducted by the Christian & Missionary Alliance. We’ll also give you the latest about the new allegations that have surfaced involving the spas Zacharias co-owned.
