The Church of England is under judgment because it has largely ignored a strong prophetic warning; it has seriously compromised with the world over sexual and gender issues and has sinned against God by failing to take action against some cases of child abuse.

God gave a prophetic warning in the 1980s

There were three different aspects to the warning:

• Do not appoint people to become clergy or bishops who deny credal beliefs (such as the bodily resurrection of Christ).
  
• Do not depart from biblical teaching over sexual behaviour.
  
• Do not undermine the fundamental truth that Jesus is the only Saviour.

Not surprisingly, the sexuality issue caught the headlines. In the context of a national campaign, I wrote to all 10,000 clergy in England, and I put a private member’s motion to the General Synod. In November 1987, the synod voted by A 98% majority in favour of the following wording (amended by the Bishops):

“This Synod affirms that the biblical and traditional teaching on chastity and fidelity in personal relationships is response to, and expression of, God's love for each one of us, and in particular affirms:

1.  that sexual intercourse is an act of total commitment which belongs properly within a permanent marriage relationship;
   
2.  that fornication and adultery are sins against this ideal, and are to be met by a call to repentance and the exercise of compassion;
   
3.  that homosexual genital acts also fall short of this ideal, and are likewise to be met by a call to repentance and the exercise of compassion;
   
4.  that all Christians are called to be exemplary in all spheres of morality, including sexual morality, and that holiness of life is particularly required for Christian leaders.”
   

So, by an overwhelming majority, (403 for; 8 against; 8 abstentions) the General Synod reaffirmed biblical teaching on sexuality.

An Important Comment

Note the wording “homosexual genital acts also fall short of this ideal, and are likewise to be met by a call to repentance and the exercise of compassion.” Let me say that I am strongly in favour of such compassion. It is tragic that some homosexuals feel rejected as people by conservatives in the Church. God commands us to love our neighbour whatever his/her sexuality, race, religion, nationality, social standing. We are called to love all our neighbours equally. The Bible is clear that not to do so is a serious sin. In fact, God says that if we don’t love them, we don’t love Him. We must love and respect our neighbour who has homosexual inclinations. That has always been my attitude.

However, loving our homosexual neighbour does not mean that we have to agree with him/her. Love is consistent with respectful disagreement. A loving parent may love his children but not love some of their behaviour. I believe in the biblical teaching that sex is a wonderful gift of God to be fully enjoyed within the context of heterosexual marriage. Nevertheless, I believe homosexuals should be given support to face the emotional pressures on them.

But reaction against the warning eventually developed

Sadly, the Church of England eventually began to go back on the Synod reaffirmation of biblical teaching on sexuality. An increasing number of church leaders gradually turned against it, despite it being biblical teaching, which the Church is bound by law to uphold.
The legal basis of the Church of England states, “The doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures.” It also states, “The Church of England affirms, according to our Lord's teaching, that marriage is in its nature a union permanent and lifelong, for better for worse, till death them do part, of one man with one woman…”

The Church of England is not only spiritually obliged to obey Scripture, ... it is also legally bound to do so.

So, the Church of England is not only spiritually obliged to obey Scripture, including over marriage (which is defined as heterosexual), it is also legally bound to do so. Nevertheless, it eventually began to make decisions which contradicted these spiritual and legal requirements.

Changes in Recent Years

• 1991: The House of Bishops published Issues in Human Sexuality, which stated the Church cannot approve of gay Christians who choose to be in sexually active relationships.
• 1998: The worldwide Lambeth Conference of bishops “rejected homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture”.
  
• 2003: the bishops released Some Issues in Human Sexuality, which proposed no changes to doctrine on sexuality but did set out the variety of views within the Church on the controversy.
  
• 2005: the bishops said clergy could individually provide prayers for a homosexual partnership.
  
• 2005 onwards: numerous clergy did enter into civil partnerships and some refused to be celibate.
  
• 2013: the bishops published the Pilling Report, which said clergy could offer public services to “mark” same-sex relationships.
  
• 2014: Same-sex marriage was legalised in England. The Church of England chose to stay with the church law which makes it illegal for the Church of England to marry same-sex couples.
  
• 2017: the House of Bishops concluded there would be no change to the Church’s doctrine on sex or marriage.
  
• 2020: The bishops produced Living in Love and Faith, which didn’t recommend any changes.
  
• 2022: the Bishops of Oxford, Worcester and Dudley called for an end to the ban on same sex marriage.
  
• 2023: The General Synod backed a plan to hold services of blessings for same-sex couples. The bishops said that prayers of blessings could be used from December 2023.
  
• 2024: The General Synod voted to remove restrictions on using prayers for same-sex blessings in “stand-alone services”. Bishops approved it by 22:12; clergy 99:88; and Laity 95:92. What does that mean? Just that there is not yet an official liturgy.

The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke out against biblical teaching and church law

In October 2024, the Archbishop of Canterbury made a statement about gay marriage: “Where we (the Church) have come to is to say that all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship, whether it’s straight or gay. We’re not giving up on the idea that sex is within marriage or civil partnership. We’ve put forward a proposal that where people have been through a civil partnership or a same-sex marriage under the 2014 Act, they should be able to come to a church for a service of prayer and blessing.” He added that his statement aligns with the position of the Archbishop of York and many other bishops.

Was this pressure to resign an aspect of God’s judgment?

Shortly afterwards, the unrelated issue of very serious leadership failure over sexual abuse in the Church came to a head. The Archbishop resigned under pressure over the latter – but should have resigned over the former, which was contradicting the spiritual and legal responsibilities of the Church – a very serious error for an Archbishop. Was this pressure to resign an aspect of God’s judgment?

There are other very serious failings in the C of E

A recent survey by Christian Research found that only half of the clergy believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation. A third doubt or disbelieve in the physical resurrection of Jesus and only half believe in the virgin birth. This is, of course, another cause of judgment on the Church of England.

The church is suffering huge damage to its reputation and witness

It is obvious that the sexual abuse scandal is doing huge damage to the Church’s reputation (as is the case with some other denominations). The fact that church leaders have committed sexual abuse, including of children, is a terrible evil. Also, the fact that the hierarchy has seriously failed to respond well to this, including by covering offences up, sometimes to save the Church’s reputation, is extremely serious.

The fact of the Archbishop resigning over this is very damaging. He is the first Archbishop to resign because of a scandal. This is not the only failing of the Church, but it is perhaps the most damaging. Anyone enquiring about the Christian faith would seriously reconsider joining a Church of England congregation, and many are leaving (as happened in the Methodist Church over accepting gay marriage).

We are seeing other aspects of judgment:

• There is growing division in both the Church of England and in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Overseas churches have, for some time, said that Justin Welby is not fit to be heading the worldwide Anglican Communion. This is largely caused by the sexuality controversy. They have set up new organisations to support Anglicans who reject Welby’s views. There is also division in England, with evangelicals seeking oversight not from their official bishops but from bishops not appointed by the C of E. Some of these churches are refusing to give financial support to the Church.
• There has been a dramatic fall in the number of people starting training for stipendiary ministry. It has dropped from 417 in 2020 to 229 in 2023, a nearly 50% decline. The division over the sexual issue is seen as one important cause of that.
  
• This is alongside the on-going fall in the number of attendees in the Church (Some people deny this. But Dr Peter Brierley, executive director of Christian Research, and an expert in the subject, has said that over the last 10 years or so the Church of England attendance has been declining. Its annual issues of Statistics for Mission show that the Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) has fallen from 860,000 in 2012 to 710,000 in 2019 – before Covid). A further calculation from a different source showed that regular Church of England Sunday attendance in 2022 was 510,000. Congregations are increasingly elderly and so will decline more rapidly.
  
• There is also a growing financial crisis in the Church.
  
• The current crisis is likely to increase calls for the Church of England to be disestablished, i.e. no longer be the state Church.
  

We desperately need a special divine intervention.

What do we do now - sit back, fold our arms and say ‘You brought this on yourself’? No. We enter into the next phase of God's calling – praying and preparing for Revival. It is the only hope for the Church of England. We desperately need a special divine intervention.

Revival is the only hope

Revival is a supernatural event in the Church and society. It is a work of the Holy Spirit which brings:

• an overpowering sense of God’s presence leading to uplifting, inspired worship;
  
• an awesome sense of God’s holiness leading to a deep conviction of sin, even amongst those outside the Church;
  
• a supernatural drawing of people together and an outpouring of love for one another, all of which leads to a huge number coming to faith. People’s lives and whole communities are transformed.
  

The 18th century Methodist revival had a profound effect on society, which previously was very corrupt. In 1738 Bishop George Berkeley said that morality and religion had collapsed “to a degree that was never before known in any Christian country.” Many historians say that this revival saved England from the equivalent of the French Revolution. It had a very profound effect on the great evils in society. There have been many subsequent revivals, such as the one in the Hebrides in 1949-52 which have had a significant impact on society as well as the Church.

In order to see revival we need to pray in depth.

In the Methodist revival, by the time of John Wesley’s death in 1791, between 50,000 and 80,000 people had come to faith. In the 1859 revival, over a million converts were added to the Church in the UK. In the 1904 Welsh revival, 100,000 people came to faith.
In order to see revival we need to pray in depth. God is looking for people who will pray persistently and earnestly for Him to do so, and allow Him to prepare them in repentance and holiness. (The Church of England certainly needs to repent in depth). The disciples didn’t simply wait for the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, “They all joined together constantly in prayer.” I have found prayer for revival to be a spiritually transforming experience.

You’re welcome to find out about the Network for Revival, which God led me to start in 2018. There are a large number of Anglican clergy on the mailing list, as well as lay folk and many people from other denominations. Our newsletters teach extensively about how to pray and prepare for revival, and describe numerous revivals.