This is a detailed account of the challenge offered by LGBT students against the dominant culture among evangelicals that assumes the gay-affirming position is inevitably wrong. While Surviving Church has not hitherto entered this territory, one that occupies a great deal of discussion and debate among many Christians, it is right for us to be informed as to what is being said in this debate. These two posts do not represent a shift towards debating the issues on a regular basis but simply to ensure that the topic is tackled once in a while. The main reason for avoiding the issue has mainly to do with fact that the whole debate has never been among my personal interests.
Last year a team of ten students from Oxford University Student LGBT Society created, and published the Oxford Safe Churches Project, it received national acclaim.
Consequently, they entered a dialogue with students in Cambridge, Sheffield, Nottingham, and Brighton. This led to collaboration, sharing their research and information, which revealed further potential dangers in some of Oxford’s churches.
The student’s objective for the project was to try and protect students from entering churches with hidden agendas of conversion. It became clear to the students that some churches hide their theology, discipleship, and pastoral care policies and practice, relating to LGBT+ people, in order to attract queer students, but hold a hidden agenda to convert then from their identities as LGBT+ people, and wanting them to repent of, and end their relationships; loving someone of the same sex.
These conservative churches and clergy had made this clear in their letter to the Oxford Diocese bishops in 2018.
“We are concerned too by the references to LGBTI+ ‘identity’, when as Christians we want to urge that our identity is to be found ‘in Christ;’ “
In a questionnaire sent to Oxford’s clergy and churches, the student team asked for honesty, transparency, openness, and clarity from churches, in declaring their theology, discipleship, pastoral care policy and practise towards queer people, especially students, who can be amongst the most vulnerable, in this formative and changing season of their lives.
They want all students to be able to make fully informed decisions, before joining churches, becoming members, and before church becomes their new chosen family.
The project student team said, “This is essential where churches hold a hidden agenda of ‘conversion’. Very subtle coercive dynamics happen too easily, due to authoritarian beliefs and teaching, where highly loaded imbalances of power are operating between clergy and students. Queer/neurodivergent/vulnerable students, or those who have lacked affirming parents, or even had hostile parents, can be very susceptible to clergy who use pastoral gifting and authority, to ‘win’ us over to their beliefs. The need for affirmation lacking in the parent/child relationship is then, even unwittingly, used to ‘save’ us from our identity and or relationships. Sincere compassion can be hard to resist, but motivating beliefs can be deeply damaging”
The student team say they have seen too many friends, students, youth, and adults, severely damaged by homophobic, transphobic theologies, discipleship, and pastoral care practises.
They recorded a sample of their testimonies as evidence, in the 2023 Oxford Safe Churches Project published report.
Since the Oxford students published the report last September, they cite two subsequent events as having a major impact on the ongoing story of the project and its aims.
The 2024 student team continuing the Oxford Safe Churches Project wrote this brief report for their 2024 publication, timed for this year’s Freshers Fayre on October 9/10th;
“Part One. The Alliance, A Brief History.
In September 2022, Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, proposed the acceptance of same-sex marriages, within the Church of England.
In reaction, the conservative sects within the Church of England, formed a lobbying parachurch power group, named, The Alliance, bitterly opposed to Bishop Steven’s proposal for the acceptance of same-sex marriage.
Their beliefs make homosexuality a salvation issue, for which a person’s destiny is either heaven, or hell.
According to The Alliance, and their conservative theology, following it to its logical extremist, fundamentalist conclusions, using their fistful of ‘Terror Texts’, from Ephesians 4 v3-5, Revelation 21 v8, as their punchline; those enjoying same-sex relationships cannot inherit the Kingdom of heaven, and their destiny, is understood as being hell.”
The students Safe Churches team write,
“Clergy and churches who align with The Alliance are rejecting the governance of affirming bishops and dioceses like Bishop Steven and the Oxford Diocese. They cite Vaughan Roberts, a director of The Alliance.
“My reaction to the latest vote (The proposed Blessing of gay individuals, who have been married elsewhere.) is, therefore, exactly as it was then, when I wrote that the decision “represents a shocking departure from the truth of God’s word, which will have serious and distressing repercussions”.
Vaughan Roberts. St Ebbes website, 10 Feb 2023.
Roberts and St Ebbes have refused Bishop Steven a place at their communion table.”
There is now no way Bishop Steven can paper over the cracks in the deep division in his churches, and rejection of his governance by Roberts and The Alliance, this has grave implications over our safeguarding as queer students.”
They point out, “Roberts flew to South Korea, for a global evangelical gathering, to address what he considers the ‘sin’ of same-sex relationships, and the war raging over their love relationships of consent, commitment, and marriage.
“Roberts reminded the audience that all people are affected by the fall, including their sexuality, and that no one is righteous on their own. He referenced 1 Corinthians 5, where Paul instructs the church not to judge the world but to extend a welcome to sinners, as Jesus did. At the same time, Roberts highlighted the need for church discipline when sin goes unrepented within the body of believers.” (Clearly referring to same-sex relationships.)
Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, South Korea. September 23, 2024. Katherine Guo, in the China Christian Daily.
As queer students, we have found ourselves unwittingly, and unwillingly caught up in this internal war raging over and within the Church of England.”
Oxford Safe Churches Project’s student team analysis of The Alliance;
“They will not submit to the governance of affirming bishops, dioceses, or their safeguarding. It would interfere with their ability to ‘discipline’ queer/LGBT+ people for their relationships, without restraint, pastoral care, or respect for our dignity, equality, human rights, mental health or safety; because their theology does not recognise them.
Theirs is a theology of judgement and dominion over us.
Their own Parish Safeguarding Officers will only be chosen if they hold to their beliefs, authority, and attitudes towards us and our relationships. Prejudice is built into their safeguarding system.
As queer students we know, students will be very vulnerable if they enter inadvertently enter these churches, not knowing their theology.”
The second matter which the Safe Churches Project students team said they find deeply disturbing is the actions and behaviour of HTB Network Churches, as they write here;
“Enter HTB* Network Churches.
(*Holy Trinity Church, Brompton, London, the Church of England’s largest, richest, and most powerful church.)
At the 2023 summer meeting of General Synod, the gathering of the CoE governing body, it appeared that Bishop Steven’s proposed compromise had been agreed; Same-sex marriage would not be allowed or recognised by the Synod.
For clergy who wanted to, the option to bless two individuals of the same sex, who had been married elsewhere in a civil wedding, not in a dedicated stand-alone service, but incorporated into a regular service, in the same way that they already have permission to bless hamsters, pets, warships, urinals, and new church halls – seemed to have been approved as ‘The Prayers of Love and Faith’.
This triggered the leadership of the HTB Network, who had hitherto been carefully keeping silent about their theology, discipleship, and pastoral care policies and practice regarding LGBT+ people, to join The Alliance, thus blowing their cover of reticence to speak about LGBT+ people and relationships. Enter Nicky Gumbel, Archie Coates, former and present vicars of HTB. Gumbel president of The Revitalisation Trust.”
The project students say,
“Nicky Gumbel and HTB Network Churches have been recognised by many, as having held for many years, an unspoken policy of secrecy and silence over their theology, discipleship, and pastoral care policy for LGBT+ people. Even their own resident historian evidences this,
St Aldates Church, under the control of Stephen Foster, is now part of the HTB Network. Stephen Foster led Alpha from HTB for ten years prior to taking charge of St Aldates.
St Aldates Church, have claimed during their services, to have a student fellowship of 240+ students.
What does Stephen Foster believe regarding our lives and relationships as queer students? His only public statements so far have been,
“It’s complicated.”
For us as students, this is disingenuous at best.
Foster is a senior figure within the HTB Network leadership, in his role as a trustee for Alpha International, helping manage its annual turnover of £16.5 million.
Stephen Foster would not be allowed to hold such a trusted and exalted position unless he subscribes to the same core beliefs, theology, and practise as Nicky Gumble and HTB Network’s Senior Leadership Team.
Stephen Foster’s secrecy and silence over theology, discipleship, and the pastoral care policy of LGBT+ people, is totally opposed to the values of honesty, transparency, openness, humility and love we are calling for. Such secrecy can, and has, caused real and lasting damage to young and vulnerable LGBT+ lives.
Yet each week he asks us as queer/LGBT+ students to commit our money and time to serving his vision and mission?!
For us as queer students, this secrecy and silence over theology, discipleship, and pastoral care policies in his church creates a culture of fear, over and in us. We do not know how we will be treated.
How can this be healthy for a church, especially the young LGBT+ people growing up in it?”
.
The Oxford Safe Churches Project teams students, are well researched, and informed, and have the support and advice of many clergy, university chaplains, tutors, and professors, across many disciplines.
The Safe Churches Project students conclude their report;
“HTB Network Churches, Alpha, and its powerful partner, Revitalisation Trust, with their immense wealth and power, carry huge influence upon and over many bishops. We hear some say that bishops are fearful of HTB Network/Alpha/Revitalisation Trusts power, wealth, and influence, and of losing their ‘blessing’ and ‘sponsorship’.
It appears to us, that HTB Network Churches and Revitalisation Trust, now, as part of The Alliance, have the capacity to make, or break, a bishop’s career, and determine a diocese’s ‘success’, or failure. Under the leadership of Gumbel, Coates, Bishop Ric Thorpe,and others, it seems the balance of power lies not with affirming and progressive bishops like the two remaining bishops of the Oxford diocese, but with the clergy and churches aligned with, and loyal to The Alliance and the HTB Network.
HTB Network, Alpha Churches, and the Revitalisation Trust model, are central to the Church of England’s vision and strategy for the future of the church, therein lies their real power.
Yet, simultaneously, the Alliance is openly calling on clergy and churches to stop giving their Parish Share to affirming bishops and diocese. A blatant threat and abuse of power.
The Oxford diocese bishops need their blessing and sponsorship.
The opposite, we feel, cannot be said to be true; The Alliance have already rejected the governance of affirming bishops and diocese.
Why is all this politics critical to us as queer/LGBT+ vulnerable students?
Because for clergy and conservative churches aligned with The Alliance, (and their Parish Safeguarding Officers), any treatment they mete out to queer people is understood by them as being an issue of ‘discipline’.
For us, it will most likely be experienced as judgement, exclusion, rejection, coercion, and bullying,
- especially when we did not know this was the church’s position, prior to becoming a member.
As students we are caught in a very powerful trap by both conservative churches and the diocese.
As Richard Moy points out in his blog article linked above, Sex, spin, and the Bible in One Year, HTB Network are silent and secretive about their traditional and conservative theology, discipleship, and pastoral care policy for LGBT+ people, because they do not want to jeopardise the success of Alpha in reaching students and young people, by appearing homophobic.
Stephen Foster, and St Aldates Church are clearly operating under this policy, a sudden, almost overnight reversal, and stark contrast to the open and very public and vociferous campaigning against LGBT+ dignity, equality, and rights, by St Aldates Church under the previous Rector, Charlie Cleverly and Pastor of Theology, Simon Ponsonby, for almost twenty years. A history well documented in many places.
We would ask Stephen Foster, and Bishop Steven to reconsider St Aldates current policy of secrecy and silence in the light of the bishop’s guidance. ‘The Six Pastoral Principles’, given to the Church of England, alongside their ‘Living and Love and Faith Materials’, to help inform how they speak and act towards us, as queer/LGBT+ people;
“The Pastoral Principles identify six ‘pervading evils’: prejudice, silence, ignorance, fear, hypocrisy, and power. These ‘evils’ hinder our personal growth as Christians, hurt other people, and create barriers that stop our churches from growing into Christian communities of welcome and belonging.” “
If we join a church, not knowing its theology, discipleship and pastoral care policy and practice, believing it to be an affirming and inclusive church, as many have already done, only to subsequently discover, many months, or even years later, it is not, and we then suffer teaching, and practices of judgement, exclusion, and ‘discipline’, this is clearly deliberate, deceptive, manipulative, coercive, and dangerous practise by churches and clergy.
If Bishop Steven knows the theology, discipleship, and pastoral care policy of St Aldates Church regarding us as queer students, but is also keeping a silence over it, then he too, is complicit in the wounding been done to LGBT+ people by such churches, as published in our report.
If Bishop Steven, like us, does not know the theology, beliefs and policies of Stephen Foster, and St Aldates Senior Leadership, then that proves he has no governance over St Aldates.
Secrecy and silence regarding theology, discipleship, and pastoral care policy for LGBT+ people cannot be considered gospel practise, or safe or healthy practise for a church or diocese;
only cults keep secret how they disciple their members.”
In Part Two, the Oxford Safe Churches Project Team talk and write about the use of exorcism, both integral within ‘Conversion Therapy’, and as a normalised part of discipleship within charismatic Anglican churches over the last forty years.