A prominent Detroit pastor has admitted he had “inappropriate relationship” with a former member who had posted allegations of their affair on social media and has a tell-all book in the works. But Bishop Charles Ellis III, senior pastor at the mega-church Greater Grace Temple, contended that some of the allegations are false.

On Monday, Ellis sent his congregation an email addressing the relationship, according to the Detroit Free Press and The Christian Post.

 “I recently was made aware of social media posts shared by a former member of my congregation, with whom I had an inappropriate relationship over 15 years ago,” Ellis wrote. “These posts include accusations, some of which are deeply troubling and untrue.”

Ellis did not identify the former member or indicate which accusations were untrue.

Ellis said he asked his legal counsel to “carefully review all matters, in particular a joint bank account with my name on it.”

The 67-year-old pastor added that these “indiscretions” with the former member had already been addressed with his bishop “in a redemptive process, which included counseling.”

In his email, Ellis asked for privacy during this time.

“I ask for continued prayers for myself, my family, as well as this individual and her family,” he said. “My deepest hope is that all parties involved can find peace and healing.” 

The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Greater Grace Temple for further comment but did not hear back prior to publication.

Ellis has led the Pentecostal church — which currently claims around 6,000 members — for two decades. He has been married for almost 37 years and has three children, one of whom passed away in 1994, according to the church’s website.

Woman alleges 16-year affair with Ellis

The allegations against Ellis rose to the surface after a user writing under the name Melodicstory on TikTok accused the pastor of having an “on-and-off” affair with her from 2002 to 2018.

To back up her claims, she shared supposed screenshots of text messages between them, photos of them together, bank statements that appear to bear both her name and that of the bishop, and images of financial gifts from him.

In one video, the woman explained that she isn’t speaking out to “make this messy” or get revenge, but to share her truth. 

“It is what it is at this point,” she said. “It’s my story, it’s my testimony of what God did in my life . . . Women need help. The people need help. If my testimony, my story, can help somebody, that’s what I am going to do.”

According to one website specializing in clergy sexual misconduct, it is considered clergy sexual abuse when pastors engage in relationships with church members. This is because the members are under the pastor’s “spiritual care” and are in a “position of less power and authority,” it says.

Melodicstory highlighted this power dynamic in her posts.

“For a long time I feared for my life just to share my story,” she wrote in one post. “For a long time, I wanted to protect him because I loved him. But the more mature I grew into loving myself, I found out this wasn’t love at all! It was an exploitation of my need, my brokenness and weakness.”

She continued, “I suffered greatly behind his lack of righteous leadership, and I am still healing and making sense of my experience.”

The former member alleges she met Ellis in 2002, as a 22-year-old single mother. She connected with Ellis when he “christened my baby in his office b/c I wasn’t married, and this is the inception of the relationship.”

In another post, Melodicstory said Ellis was her “so-called sugar daddy” and that “God allowed it for a time.”

She noted she confronted Ellis in 2023 about their relationship and claimed he refused to “acknowledge his wrong.”

“He is pompous swine. This isn’t about money,” she said. “My soul was on the line. He’s someone I cared about that I had to realize exploited me emotionally and spiritually. I often thought how my life would’ve been different had he ‘fathered’ me righteously.”

Melodicstory alleged that Ellis “needed love” from her.

“But, when I grow up and loved myself, I understood the damage it caused me and my family,” she continued. “He could’ve literally just said ‘I’m wrong and I apologize’ for mismanaging you spiritually. If this was about money I could’ve stayed a sidepiece and been quiet. But God revealed to me my value. Not a woman or a Man. GOD!”

Melodicstory is now using her TikTok account to promote a tell-all book about her relationship with the bishop, called The Bishop, His Wife, and Me. The bulk of those responding to her posts were skeptical of her claims and some asked why she waited so many years to report her allegations.

Controversy with Grande

This isn’t the first time Ellis has made headlines.

In 2018, Ellis publicly apologized to singer Ariana Grande after images surfaced that showed his arm around her in a way that many on social media decried as inappropriate. Ellis interacted with the singer after she performed at the funeral service for Aretha Franklin, which was held at Greater Grace Temple.

“It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast . . . I don’t know, I guess I put my arm around her,” Ellis told The Associated Press. “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar, but again, I apologize.”

Ellis contended that he had hugged several performers that day and he treated each of them the same, regardless of sex.

“I hug all the female artists and the male artists,” he said. “Everybody that was up, I shook their hands and hugged them. That’s what we are all about in the church. We are all about love.”

Greater Grace Temple also held the funeral service for Rosa Parks in 2005.

Ellis previously served as presiding bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, according to the church’s website.

His church has a 4,000-seat auditorium in the church, which cost $36 million at the time it opened in 2002. The church’s 20-acre complex is known as the “City of David.”

Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.