Vaughan Roberts on Justin Welby’s rejection of Church of England teaching on sex
“In a significant interview on the Rest is Politics Podcast England’s Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has denied the teaching of the Bible, and the teaching of his church.
It is Archbishop Welby’s most public betrayal of his ordination and consecration vow to ‘banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture.’
Archbishop Welby’s comments came on the eve of an important House of Bishops meeting in the UK, which considered a request from a group called The Alliance, consisting of 2360 clergy whose churches represent 42% of the Church of England’s Sunday attendance, and who hold to the Bible’s teaching on sexuality.
They are asking for a separate orthodox province to be created within the Church of England.
Vaughan Roberts is the senior minister of St. Ebbe’s in Oxford, and is one of the signatories of the request from The Alliance.”
No crumb of comfort in a tragic and disastrous Church of England decision — with Vaughan Roberts
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“The Church of England has abandoned the teaching of Jesus with prayers for same sex blessings potentially to start before Christmas.
‘Tragic’ says Gafcon.
‘Disastrous’ says the Global South.
‘Deeply Troubled’ says the Church of England Evangelical Council.
‘First order difference requires first order differentiation’ says Vaughan Roberts.
‘It is hard not to dissolve into a flood of tears’ says Mark Thompson the Principal of Sydney’s Moore College.
‘The Archbishop of Canterbury should resign’ says the Church Society’s Lee Gatiss.
The English General Synod has crossed a line that evangelicals across the world had been praying and hoping would not happen.
The General Synod expressed its support by a tiny majority of just a few votes for the continued implementation of the House of Bishops proposals to change the position and practice of the Church of England with regards to sexual ethics and marriage.
We now expect the English bishops to commend prayers of blessing for same sex couples by mid-December (and provide dedicated services soon after), to prepare guidance which will make it possible for clergy to marry their same sex partners, and that future ordinands will not to be asked to indicate whether their lifestyle and personal relationships are in keeping with the doctrine of the Church of England.
Vaughan Roberts is one of the UK’s leading evangelical ministers within the church of England. Vaughan is senior pastor of St Ebbes in Oxford.”
– Watch or listen here. (Links added to the text above.)
Image: Vaughan Roberts speaks in the Church of England’s General Synod on Wednesday morning 15th November 2023.
Hard to believe the Anglican Communion would survive — Vaughan Roberts
In his words to the Church of England General Synod on Wednesday afternoon UK time, Vaughan Roberts warned the chamber of the massive implications of following the lead of the House of Bishops in blessing same-sex marriages (among other relationships).
Watch his address from 25 minutes, 53 seconds into the video.
(Please note that the links will take you to the correct spot in the video if viewed on a desktop / laptop computer, but on the mobile browsers we tested, they default to the start of the video. In that case, just scrub to the correct time.)
Other notable speeches in favour of amendments includes those by Dr Ian Paul – from 4 hours, 18 minutes, 20 seconds – he asks the bishops to show the theological and Scriptural basis for their recommendations –
And many of our readers will be heartened by the impassioned plea from Ben John. He was appealing to the Synod to decline to welcome the House of Bishops’ proposals for the blessing of same-sex relationships.
See it from 4 hours, 38 minutes and 50 seconds –
This was after his concerns had been been dismissed earlier by the Bishop of York.
His father, evangelist J. John, reflects on that incident at Christian Today. –
“Ben was speaking at General Synod, doing no more than justifying the historic position of the Church of England and, indeed, of the majority of churches within the Anglican Communion and asking the question, ‘What measures are in place if bishops fail to believe, teach or uphold doctrine?’ Now, I should say that I’m not concerned about defending Ben; he is perfectly capable of standing up for himself, and that is a good and pertinent question.
The question was met with a response from no less than the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who, I remind you, is the second most senior cleric in the Church of England. Normally, the speech of senior Anglican clerics overflows with bland politeness, seeks to reassure questioners that their views are being heard and offers some measure of a reasoned answer. Today, all this was forgotten and what we got instead, with remarkable frankness, were the archbishop’s own views. There was no answer to the question posed, although the superior and frankly condescending tone adopted clearly implied that the rank of archbishop put you above accountability on doctrinal matters.”
Here’s what was being debated:
The debates on the House of Bishops’ proposals will continue on Thursday (night, Australian time).
Do pray for all the members of General Synod who seek to hold the Church of England to the revealed truth of the Bible.
2018 GAFCON interview with Vaughan Roberts
At GAFCON 2018 in Jerusalem, Dominic Steele spoke with Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St. Ebbe’s Oxford. Worth watching again in the light of this week’s disastrous moves by the Church of England House of Bishops.
“You can’t compromise on the Apostolic faith. … if people move away from the Apostolic faith, they’re the breakers.”
GAFCON interview: Vaughan Roberts
On Thursday at GAFCON in Jerusalem, Dominic Steele spoke with Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St. Ebbe’s Oxford. Watch here.
ACR interview with Vaughan Roberts
The Australian Church Record has published a recent interview conducted by Mark Earngey with Vaughan Roberts of St. Ebbe’s in Oxford.
Mark began by asking Vaughan about the relationship between UK and Australian evangelicalism in his own ministry.
– Read the brief, but encouraging, interview at The Australian Church Record.
Vaughan Roberts interviewed at Moore
Vaughan Roberts was interviewed and answered questions during Moore College’s Mission and Ministry Hour last week.
Vaughan shares how he came to faith in Christ, about his influences, ministry at St. Ebbes’, challenges of working in the Church of England, and surviving in ministry.
Encouraging and well worth watching, especially for people in full time ministry, and those supporting them.
Also on the college website, see the progress of Moore’s building project via some time-lapse videos. (What’s being built? Details here.)
Vaughan Roberts at Moore College chapel
Vaughan Roberts spoke on Acts 16 (Paul and Silas at Philippi) at Moore College Chapel this morning.
Listen here. (43MB mp3 file.) Super encouraging.
(You can hear other recent chapel sermons here.)
Lausanne – with Mark Thompson and Chris Edwards
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“5,000 believers gathered from more than 200 nations last month in South Korea.
It is 50 years since Billy Graham and John Stott first launched the Lausanne movement in Switzerland.
Anglican Bishop of North Sydney Chris Edwards has described the congress as like an all you can eat buffet – ‘where some parts tasted amazing / fantastic and I kept wanting more and yet other parts even a mouthful made me feel nauseous’.
Principal of Sydney’s Moore Theological College Mark Thompson says there were some great highlights including a presentation by Vaughan Roberts on sexuality but also areas of concern.”
Related:
The photo of Billy Graham and Jack Dain mentioned in the conversation can be seen here on the Lausanne website.
Read the original Lausanne Covenant here.
Update:
The challenges of mid-life – a spiritual buffet for a 50-year-old – Bishop Chris Edwards at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Updates from the Church of England General Synod Monday 8th July 2024
Anglican Futures has updated yesterday’s post on the Living in Love and Faith debate at the Church of England’s General Synod on July 8th, 2024.
It’s a good summary of a tragic move by the Church of England, with excerpts from some of the key speeches.
Image: Ian Paul addresses the General Synod (link to video):
“If you are thinking of voting for this proposal, please do it with your eyes wide open. Knowing it will destroy trust. Knowing it will divide the Church. Knowing it will lead to greater decline. Personally, I don’t feel that any of these things are a demonstration of the love of God. Vote for this only if you think that distrust, disunity and decline are the price worth paying.”
See also:
CEEC expresses deep disappointment on ‘milestone day’ as Synod approves bishops’ Living in Love and Faith proposals
The General Synod of the Church of England has approved the Living in Love and Faith proposals, brought forward by Bishop Martyn Snow, which will see standalone blessings for same sex couples taking place and a timetable agreed towards clergy same sex marriages.
John Dunnett, National Director, Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), said:
“Yesterday was a milestone in that standalone services have received General Synod support and a timetable to work towards clergy same sex marriages has been endorsed.
“It is deeply disappointing that despite hearing repeatedly in speeches of the need to build trust by avoiding bad process, and CEEC’s continued advocacy of the insufficiency of delegated arrangements, Synod passed the Motion, and the Prayers of Love and Faith bus continues to move forward.
“The leaders of the Church of England seem intent on leading the church away from the biblical teaching and doctrine passed down through the centuries and shared by millions of Christians in the Anglican Communion today.
“CEEC continues to believe that structural reorganisation is the only provision that will guarantee orthodoxy going forward. General Synod’s decision will sadly trigger the launch of a de facto parallel province, as outlined by the recent Alliance letter to the archbishops and bishops, and CEEC will work with our partners in the Alliance to make this a reality. We are committed to remaining within the Church of England and hope that the bishops will come to the table to negotiate an acceptable settlement.”
The motion was carried narrowly by a vote by Houses – Bishops 22 for, 12 against; Clergy 99 for, 88 against; and Laity 95 for, 91 against. The General Synod heard from a range of speakers standing for orthodoxy, including CEEC members – Helen Lamb, Aneal Appadoo, Vaughan Roberts, and Bishop Paul Williams. The speeches tackled bad process and the resulting loss of trust, the likelihood that this motion amounts to a change of doctrine, and the need for a safe space for orthodoxy.
CEEC remains committed to Jesus’s commission to his local church to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you’ (Matthew 28:19-20).
We dare to pray that even in these challenging times God will grant a revival harvest in this country.
– Source: CEEC – July 9 2024. Bold added.
Great Encouragement — yet much Grief that this is needed
Dominic Steele and the team in Kigali have posted a number reactions to the Kigali Commitment.
Do watch them here to understand something of the sadness and pain in this moment, as well as the encouragement to stand firm in Christ.
Interviewees include (not in order) –
* Michael Stead, Statement Committee Chair
* Richard Coekin, Co-Mission Network, London
* Jay Behan, New Zealand Bishop
* Lee Gatiss, UK Church Society Director
* Andy Lines, Bishop for Anglican Network in Europe
* Julian Dodds, USA Bishop
* Vaughan Roberts, Minister of St Ebbes Oxford
* William Taylor, Minister of St Helens London
* Matt and Anne Kennedy, Binghamton New York
* Pete Smith & Jennifer Hercott, Gafcon Australia
* Bill Atwood, Regional Secretary for the Americas
* Rico Tice, Christianity Explored
* Jonathan Pryke, Jesmond Parish Church, Newcastle upon Tyne
* Trevor Johnson, Tim Anderson, Ireland
Photo: William Taylor and Vaughan Roberts speak of their great encouragement at the release of the Kigali Commitment – as well as their sadness and grief that this is needed.
Gafcon23 – Second Day Morning Tea Stream
The Heart of GAFCON livestream at morning tea on the second day of GAFCON IV
Interviewees include Glenn Davies and Vaughan Roberts and William Taylor. (Links are to their segments.)
Key English churches take action as C of E ‘walks away’
“Some of the largest churches in London and Oxford have announced estrangement from the Church of England, including a pause on paying financial contributions.
St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, a large evangelical church with an outreach in London’s financial quarter, was the first to react to the decision by the General Synod to approve a report by the House of Bishops that introduces prayers of blessing for same-sex couples. …”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell summarises the response of key evangelical churches in the Church of England – including the news that St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford is also pausing financial contributions to their diocese.
See also:
A response from Vaughan Roberts – Anglican Ink.
Be encouraged again by Ben John’s appeal to the Church of England General Synod
Amidst the gloom of bishops (and others) who turn away from the clear teaching of God’s Word, take the time to hear the appeal from General Synod member Ben John during Wednesday’s debate.
Do not be ashamed of the gospel – it is God’s power for the salvation for all who trust in Christ. (Romans 1:16, but re-read the full chapter for context.)
See it from 4 hours, 38 minutes and 50 seconds into the Wednesday afternoon video. (We also highlighted that day’s speeches by Vaughan Roberts and Ian Paul on this page.)
GAFCON Response to CofE Bishops Statement
Archbishop Foley Beach responds on behalf of GAFCON to this week’s press release from the Church of England’s House of Bishops:
“What are the faithful in England and around the world to do now that the mother Church has departed from biblical faith and morality? We cannot follow the Church of England down this path which leads to spiritual and moral bankruptcy. Lord, have mercy upon us all.”
“19 January 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ during this Epiphany Season!!
I write to you with a heavy heart as we are hearing of the continued Crisis of Leadership and Faith coming out of the Church of England. Once again, our Western Anglican Provinces continue to ‘go their own way’ on matters of faith and practice without consultation or concern for the majority of Anglicans around the Global Communion. Their actions not only deny holy practice, but reject the authority of Scripture, the teaching of the historic church, and the consensus of the Body of Christ from every tribe, tongue, people and nation alive today.
The release of the recent statement “Bishops propose prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God’s blessing of same-sex couples” (Find It Here) is a clear rejection of Lambeth 1998, I:10, and cannot help but ask the question: “What is next?” We continue to find ourselves disillusioned with the incredible audacity of major unilateral decisions (e.g. changing the nature of what it means to be ‘male and female’ in his image (Genesis 1:27) that run counter to ‘the faith once delivered’ (Jude 3).
What makes this current (and continued) Crisis of Leadership and Faith in the Church of England especially troubling is the clear and willful decision by the bishops to blatantly ignore the global Anglican consensus (as well as many more other Christian traditions) and ‘bless’ in the Name of Christ and the Church what God clearly calls sin. God does not bless sin regardless of the stamp of endorsement by church leaders, clergy, and bishops.
Most of our Provinces have their origins in the Church of England because of the incredible and sacrificial missionary ministry of faithful British followers of Jesus. What are the faithful in England and around the world to do now that the mother Church has departed from biblical faith and morality? We cannot follow the Church of England down this path which leads to spiritual and moral bankruptcy. Lord, have mercy upon us all.
Gafcon has a better story to tell: the story of our Lord Jesus who has and is rescuing us from brokenness (and often ourselves) and His unmistakably gracious offer of salvation which calls us ‘into the light’ where repentance and trust mark a new, right relationship to God through Christ. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus can be saved (Romans 10:13). And in this great salvation story through Jesus, the Apostle Paul remarks about our former way of living, “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” [see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11]. He says further that “If anyone is in Christ, s/he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus adds that his followers are called to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:15-21). We in Gafcon, call on the leaders in the Church of England to repent and return to the teaching and practice of Holy Scripture and the historical one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
Brothers and Sisters, let us pray earnestly for the faithful followers of Jesus in the Church of England as they struggle to fight and repel this false teaching which has been thrust upon them. Let us also pray for their bishops and leaders that God would turn their hearts to return to His ways.
The Lord richly bless you!
Your Brother in Jesus Christ,
The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach
Chair, Gafcon Primates Council and Primate of North America.”
– From GAFCON.
See also:
Together in Love & Faith? Should the Church Bless Same-Sex Partnerships? A Response to the Bishop of Oxford – Vaughan Roberts.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…