"Korn has parted ways with guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch, who has chosen Jesus Christ as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end," a statement from the band reads. “Korn respects Brian's wishes, and hopes he finds the happiness he's searching for."

The announcement puts to rest weeks of rumors that Welch was unhappy with Korn's direction. On February 8, he had apparently written a "letter of resignation" to the band's management. In the note, Welch detailed a long list of reasons for leaving the band, including increased moral objections to Korn’s music and videos. In particular, he was upset by how he was portrayed in the clip for their cover of Cameo’s "Word Up", off their recently released "Greatest Hits, Vol. 1" album. In the video, Welch's face was superimposed on a dog patrolling a strip club.

Welch further explained his decision to leave Korn this past Sunday, when he addressed the congregation at the Valley Bible Fellowship in Bakersfield, California.

An audio recording of Brian addressing the congregation can be heard here. Download the audio in two parts: Part#1 (6.7 MB), Part#2 (12.2 MB).

Korn are currently in the studio working on a new record, which is due in stores in September.

The former guitarist spoke to MTV News Thursday night (Feb. 24) about his decision to leave the band to rededicate his life to Christianity.

"I love everybody in the band — I was afraid to leave. It made me sad to think that I would be hurting the band if I left. For the last year and a half, I wanted to leave, but someone would always talk to me and convince me to stay," Welch said. "But I've had a problem with the way things were going since the second record. I mean, we would do things, and I would be like, 'Oh, this is metal! This is the rock and roll life!' But inside, I thought they took it too far. It was a little too crude for me.

"I have a 6-year-old daughter, and I want her to be able to look me in the eye. I'm a single dad, that's what it comes down to," he said. "And the guys were really accommodating when I would tell them that. They'd be like, 'Bring your daughter on tour! We'll work the tour around you.' But that's not the place for a 6-year-old. She would be sitting backstage sometimes, just counting dollars. Because Fieldy would tell her, 'Every time you hear a curse word, you'll get a dollar. It will help us stop cursing.' And at the end of the day, she'd turn to me and be like, 'Look at all my money, Daddy!' "

Regarding how his bandmates reacted to the news that he was leaving the group, Welch said, "I think it made the guys mad. It confused them. I left at the worst possible time. We got off Sony, and all the money was there, we were going to own all of our songs, but I had to prove to myself that money wasn't my God," he said. "I talked to Jonathan [Davis] and he said, 'I don't get it, man, you're all happy and we're sitting here grieving because our band is breaking up. And I wanted to tell him, 'Well, for years, you guys were out partying while I was sitting on the tour bus wanting to die.' "

Welch also said that he has been recording songs on his own, which reflected his growing spirituality. The material — which will be released under the name Head — will not be Christian music. Rather, he said, he wants it to be an "extension of the Korn family."

"I always loved that Korn's music helped kids let out aggression. But with my new music, I want kids to know that there's more out there," he said. "I want to show them there's a light at the end of the pain tunnel. That there's more out there than just aggression. I want to say to them, 'Hey kids, come over here. Let's bounce back and forth and have fun.' "

For more information, check out Head's new web site — www.HeadToChrist.com — which launched Friday (February 25).