INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- The Rev. David Tyrell Moore, senior pastor of the Southwest Community Church in Indian Wells and founder of the non-profit Moore On Life radio ministry, resigned on Nov. 23 amid a growing scandal centering on nude photographs and non-payment of taxes.

According to three reports in the Desert Sun, four days before, nude photographs of Moore, wife Sonya, and married parishioner Lori Ebeling in a hot tub together were made public.

Curtis Pickering, Ebeling's former husband, alleged in custody papers filed in September that she and Moore had an affair, which Moore has denied.

Moore's resignation was made public during an annual and emotional congregational meeting held on Nov. 23. Moore, 49, was not present.

"The best thing for Southwest right now is for me to step back," Moore wrote in a letter read by Southwest Community director, Andy Weigel. "With a broken and sorrow-filled heart, I am resigning. ... I am sorry. My lack of discretion is obvious. I only wish my sorrow was equally obvious."

Shouts of "No!" came from among some of the 1,800 people in the sanctuary, and several congregants stomped out of the building.

"I'm furious. I'll find out where he's going and I'll follow him," said Jane Comelli, who has attended the church for four years.

Moore, Southwest's senior pastor for 14 years, saw the average attendance at its services grow from 400 to almost 7,000 since his arrival in 1987. He also oversaw the building of the valley's largest church, a $36 million, 300,000-square-foot complex on 42 acres.

The Rev. Steve Highfill, district superintendent for the Evangelical Free Church (EFC), the governing body to which Southwest belongs, said the EFC will conduct a "process of inquiry" into Moore's behavior.

Church officials have not decided whether Moore will receive severance pay. His annual salary was $250,000.

In the wake of his departure, officials announced a shakeup of some church leadership. Three pastors and three church directors resigned in the aftermath, as did 38 of the church's 80 staff members.

Highfill and his staff will appoint a temporary board of five directors from outside Southwest, with an invitation to serve at least six months.

Highfill noted the sense of loss expressed by the church's members.

"I have known Dave personally for over 15 years," Highfill said during the annual meeting. "The thousands of you either hearing my voice or reading my words have been helped, educated, inspired and encouraged by the special gifts and quality of leadership that God uniquely granted to this man."

In addition to the photo scandal, in mid November, an internal memo written in 2000 by Gordon K. Marcy, then executive director of Moore On Life, claimed that the nonprofit's books had been stolen for years prior to 1997. That memo and other comments made to church officials by an unidentified former board member raised questions about financial management of Moore On Life.

Several documents allegedly show that Moore took a 1990 Mercedes 560SEL donated to the ministry to his Maui condominium and registered it in his own name.

Also, the memo said Moore on Life had not paid $80,000 in California sales tax on tapes of Moore's sermons and other items from 1997 to 2000.