The news was recently shared that Sam Allbery had resigned as the lead pastor at Immanuel, Nashville. He has also stepped down from his role with the Timothy Keller Centre, part of The Gospel Coalition. In their announcement, the Gospel Coalition stated that they had removed all articles and links relating to Allberry. I was initially going to focus on that and may return to it in a later article. However, I want to pick up on something which I think is a little bit more pressing.
Most responses have simply expressed sadness at the news and have rightly been slow to comment. “Not the Bee” (an alternative to the Babylon Bee I presume(, went with this approach.
In the linked article, Joel Abbott writes:
“Allberry, who has admitted to being sexually attracted to men, gained accolades in evangelical circles for separating homosexual behavior from “same-sex attraction” – a line of thought that spread like wildfire to church leaders across the West. Instead of preaching against homosexuality, churches could preach celibate homosexuality.”[1]
I want to pause a moment there. You see, one of the responsibilities we have as Christians is honesty. So, let’s make sure that we are telling the truth here. So, for the sake of accuracy, Alberry is one of a number of Evangelicals including those involved with Living Out who have argued that we need to distinguish between sexual orientation and sexual behaviour. Further, those arguments have been long made, well before Alberry and others came to prominence. I am now 51 and I can remember this being argued back in my teens and whilst at university.
Secondly, this wasn’t and isn’t about finding some easy way out. Rather, it is about seeking to understand what Scripture actually says and not adding to it, especially in one specific area of temptation
Abbott then goes on to claim that:
“That “third way” mentality quickly landed Allberry a fellowship at the Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, a ministry of The Gospel Coalition named after the late Pastor Tim Keller. Allberry then moved to Tennessee and joined Russell Moore’s church, Immanuel Church Nashville, as an associate pastor in 2023.
Again, this is an intriguing telling of history. I’m no fan o f the idea of setting up centres named after people but the idea that Alberry “quickly landed” a role there just doesn’t fit the facts. The Keller Centre was set up at a specific time linked to Keller’s passing to glory. A number of apologists were appointed, it can hardly be considered something “quick”, they were all appointed at the same time, no-one could therefore be considered to have been fast tracked for fitting in with specific views. It may also be a minor point but I don’t think any church belongs to a specific person, though Immanuel tends to be more associated with its previous pastor, Ray Ortlund. I suspect that both Russell Moore and the congregation might be surprised to discover that the church is his church. I wonder why he is being named in the article? I do know that Moore previously headed up the Southern Baptists ethics committee and seemed to cross a few people during that time.
Abbott goes on to say
“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what brings us to the inevitable end of this experiment in sin-dabbling:”
Notice there again the presumption, unproven, that Allberry was engaged in “sin-dabbling”. Notice too that this again simply is not true. There are many Christian men and women around the world, some in Christian leadership, some not who seek daily to battle the temptation of same-sex desire. Some, like Allberry will fall. In Allberry’s case, we are told by Immanuel that:
““Throughout this process, Sam has been repentant, humble, and cooperative with the Elders and outside counsel,” the elders said, sharing that will continue to care for Allberry “as a brother in Christ and Member of Immanuel.”[2]
In some cases, we will see men and women fall but we will also see humility and repentance as suggested in Sam’s case. Sadly, in other cases, there will be men and women who will fall and their response will be defiance. They may seek to redefine Christian faith to support sin or they may walk out on the faith altogether. We sadly know of such examples. However, there will be men and women who will face temptation, for some, victory over temptation may mean that the desire is taken away from them, for others, there will be the knowledge that they will face that temptation every day and every day they will say “no” to sin and “yes” to Christ. All of those people repenting and all of those people saying “no” to temptation each day are evidence that Abbot’s snide comments are wrong.
And of course, the point is that this applies to any and every sin. The reality is that each of us will no doubt experience different responses to different sins. There will be temptations that we no longer experience, there will be temptations that we fail at and must do what Scripture says which is to confess our sin, trusting God’s willingness and ability to forgive. There will be temptation that we will faithfully say no to for every day of our life.
So, how do we respond, not just to the news about Allberry but to any news that someone has fallen. If you are part of the same church, then your first response should be to seek their restoration. The rest of us are not in a position to do that and it is usually only in high profile cases that we become aware. I would urge us to guard our hearts to avoid falling into the kind of temptation seen in the “not the bee” article, to rush to make judgements to support our own agendas and to give the appearance of taking pleasure in a brother’s fall. Our response should be grief, we should be sad when we hear such news, then we should be challenged over our own weakness. Finally, there should be gratitude for God’s grace, grace that delivers us from temptation and forgives us when we fall.
[1] Pastor who popularized the idea that same-sex attraction is not sin resigns from Russell Moore’s church after relations with “adult man” | Not the Bee
[2] ‘Unwise,’ Not Disqualifying—Immanuel Nashville Elders Were Aware of Sam Allberry’s ‘Inappropriate Relationship’ With a Man in 2024
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