Author Sam Allberry resigns roles over past relationship

 Sam Allberry resigned from pastoring Immanuel Church Nashville after its elders unanimously disqualified him from ministry. The elders came to that decision after receiving new information in January about the extent of a 2022 relationship between Allberry and another adult man, according to a statement from the church. Allberry agreed with the decision, was repentant and humble, and was receiving counseling from the elders, the church said. In the past, Allberry openly discussed and wrote about the sinfulness of same-sex attraction, which he said he felt. But he did not refer to himself as gay because he said he rejected the lifestyle and identity.

The church also disclosed that its elders knew about the relationship in question before they called Allberry as associate pastor in 2023. Given the information they had at the time, they deemed the relationship unwise but not disqualifying, according to the church’s statement. The church did not share what new information its elders learned in January. But it referred to Allberry’s conduct as a breach of trust and unworthy of the gospel.

What about the other organizations Allberry is connected with? The Gospel Coalition’s Board of Directors on Sunday said it would remove all of Allberry’s articles from its website, as well as episodes of the podcast for pastors that he co-hosted. The board also said he resigned from the Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. The Desiring God website appeared to have removed his author landing page as of Monday.

Allberry, who is British, also resigned from serving as a canon theologian for the Anglican Church in North America last month, the denomination told WORLD in an email. He also served as a speaker for the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. The organization did not immediately respond to WORLD’s request for information on its stance regarding Allberry.