Today I was alerted to an article by David Virtue, Disgraced Homosexual Priest Had Deep Anglican Roots reporting on events surrounding Living Out founder, the Revd Sam Allberry. David is a member of the schismatic Anglican movement in the USA, ACNA, the Anglican Church in North America, a journalist who was very active back in the era when I was Director of Changing Attitude and attending Lambeth Conferences, General Conventions in the USA and Primates’ Meetings and meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council.
Sam Allberry was a co-founder and the most visible member of Living Out, a group built on the premise that “same-sex attracted Christians could live faithfully by embracing celibacy and finding their identity in Christ rather than in their sexuality.” Virtue says that Living Out “became one of the most influential voices in conservative evangelical and Anglican circles on questions of homosexuality and the church, its resources widely used in Church of England parishes, ACNA congregations, and Reformed churches alike.”
Allberry subsequently moved to the States where, as Virtue now reports, he used Anglican and other platforms to ingratiate his views into the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), the Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, and The Gospel Coalition (TGC), before admitting to an inappropriate relationship with a man. The disclosure has brought down his ministry and embarrassed at least three Anglican bishops who, by their own enthusiastic association with him, demonstrated a staggering failure of discernment.
Canon Theologian in the ACNA
Allberry was appointed Canon Theologian in the ACNA Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast, and served as Associate Pastor at Immanuel Nashville, an independent congregation founded in 2008 by Reformed evangelical theologian Ray Ortlund. ACNA is the breakaway Anglican Church of North America. It was formed following the various schismatic developments after the confirmation of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire.
Allberry studied theology at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford which, says Virtue, gave him the clerical credibility he would later trade on with considerable success. He cultivated a carefully constructed public identity as a man who experienced same-sex attraction but remained celibate, insisting that his sexual feelings were not part of his identity in Christ. That positioning made him a uniquely marketable voice across Reformed evangelical networks for well over a decade.
The elders of Immanuel Nashville announced that Allberry had been found to have engaged in "an inappropriate relationship with an adult man in 2022," constituting "a serious breach of trust and a failure to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel." The elders had first been made aware of the relationship in spring 2024 but initially determined it was not disqualifying. In January 2026 they received new information that had not previously been disclosed, reopened their investigation, and unanimously ruled him disqualified from ministry.
David Virtue comments
“Anglican bishops who should have known better must now face the uncomfortable fact that they allowed an allegedly non-celibate homosexual priest to officiate, speak, and pass himself off as a theologian and cultural spokesperson across some of conservative evangelicalism's most prominent platforms. The reckoning, long overdue, has finally arrived.”
David Virtue reports that Allberry has now resigned as Canon Theologian but remains affiliated with the ACNA. No formal clergy misconduct proceedings have been initiated against him within the ACNA. Virtue thinks this is deeply inadequate given the circumstances. “That the elders had knowledge of the relationship two years before acting — and allowed Allberry to continue in ministry in the interim — raises questions of its own that have yet to be adequately answered.”
Living Out
“The revelations about his conduct strike at the very heart of what Living Out exists to promote — not merely as an institutional embarrassment, but as a profound pastoral betrayal of the many same-sex attracted Christians who looked to him as a credible model.”
Living Out's response was stating that his "many past contributions retain their value" and that the organisation "exists because of people like Sam, and for people like Sam."
Living Out website
Living Out’s website describes their leadership team, Leading the team is Ministry Director Ed Shaw, the Pastor of Emmanuel City Centre in Bristol. Co-ordinating training for churches is the Training Director Andy Robinson who was a pastor for 19 years and now works part-time leading a ministry training course in Oxford. Co-ordinating their engagement with under-25s and those serving them is the Emerging Generations Director Andrew Bunt who loves wrestling with big questions and has degrees in theology from Durham University and King's College London. Helping engage young people and equip youth leaders is Ashleigh Hull, Emerging Generations Associate who has somehow been involved in youth work for more than 10 years. Helping to engage with our supporters is Engagement Lead Jo Arkell who lives in London with her husband and four sons and training up future speakers is Training Associate Adam Curtis, an Associate Minister in a town on the outskirts of London.
Living Out’s vision is to see Christians living out their sexuality and identity in ways that enable all to flourish in Christ-like faithfulness. They want to “encourage our Christian sisters and brothers – especially those who experience same-sex attraction – to flourish through faithfulness to biblical teaching on sexuality and identity.” They complement the work of organisations like True Freedom Trust who offer biblical support and encouragement to Christians who experience same-sex attraction.
Before emigrating to the USA and ACNA Sam was a member of General Synod. Here he is, speaking at Synod in February 2017.
Sam Allberry, author
Sam is the author of a number of books, including What God Has to Say about Our Bodies and Is God Anti-Gay? and is the cohost of the podcast You’re Not Crazy: Gospel Sanity for Young Pastors. He co-authored a book with Ray Ortlund, You’re Not Crazy: Gospel: Sanity for Weary Churches. The blurb about the book on Amazon says:
“Being a pastor is hard. Whether it’s relational difficulties in the congregation, growing opposition toward the church as an institution, or just the struggle to continue in ministry with joy and faithfulness, the pressure on leaders can be truly overwhelming. It’s no surprise that pastors are burned out, tempted to give up, or think they’re going crazy.
“While we’re quick to assert what the gospel says, we’re often too slow to admit what the gospel should do for our churches: reflect Christ’s beauty through a godly, grace-filled culture.
“In this practical guide, seasoned pastors Ray Ortlund and Sam Allberry help weary leaders renew their love for ministry by equipping them to build a gospel-centred culture into every aspect of their churches. Emphasizing the importance of healthy doctrine, they explain that failing to also nurture a healthy culture can be frustrating, polarizing, and even unbiblical. This encouraging guide features Scripture-focused advice on honesty, honour, preaching, leadership, and mission to support leaders and help them regain a beautiful, Christ-centred vision for their ministries.”
Healthy and Unhealthy Christianity
Unadulterated Love’s primary purpose is not primarily to report on events affecting LGBTQIA+ people in church and society but to explore healthy contemplative Christian life. It’s the mention of nurturing “a healthy culture” and “healthy doctrine” in the blurb for You’re Not Crazy: Gospel: Sanity for Weary Churches that prompts me to report Sam Allberry’s downfall here. We live in insane times. Donald Trump is actively infecting our planet with his infantile, reckless, egocentric obsessions. There is no adequate healthy counter-movement in the Church of England to the unhealthy infection that is affecting people everywhere. Life sort of continues as normal, but my experience of the C of E is that is anything but normal, according to my own spiritual and theological awareness. People don’t see how damaging the HTB movement, the Revitalise Trust, the Alliance, GAFON etc. are. The ethos of the Church of England is becoming more and more unhealthy. The majority of people I meet in church are unaware of the spread of unhealthy teachings and practice. I believe it is necessary to identify the elements of a contemporary healthy vision of Christianity. This is why I continue to blog and the Changing Attitude England group on Facebook still has over 570 members.
And it’s why, at every opportunity, I’m asking friends and followers to contribute to my Go FundMe appeal. You’ve probably never heard of Living Out or ACNA or the Alliance, but I can tell you they are having a disproportionate and very unhealthy, damaging effect on the C of E. Any contribution, no matter how small, will make a difference to my capacity to expand a healthy vision of Christian life.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/colin-coward-mbe-changing-attitude-and-unadulterated-love