The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (OCCA) announced that it has suspended Sam Allberry as one of its associate speakers following the news that he was disqualified from ministry by the elders of Immanuel Nashville.
Allberry, an apologist, author, and speaker, was disqualified from ministry for engaging in an “inappropriate relationship with an adult man.” He served as an associate pastor at Immanuel Nashville since 2023.
“In spring of 2024, the Immanuel Elders were made aware that Pastor Sam Allberry engaged in an inappropriate relationship with an adult man in 2022,” the elders said in a statement. “This relationship concluded prior to Sam being called as a pastor at Immanuel in 2023.”
Following a thorough investigation, elders determined that Allbery’s conduct was “unwise” but it “did not rise to the level of disqualification.”
In January, the elders received new information about his relationship with the man. This prompted the elders to reopen their investigation which led them to discover additional details that resulted in Allberry’s disqualification from ministry.
According to its website, “OCCA exists to respond to the questions that often keep people from Jesus. We train and support Christians to communicate the good news Jesus offers to everyone, addressing misconceptions and responding to objections that can be barriers to faith.”
“We are saddened to hear the news of Sam Allberry’s resignation from Immanuel Church, Nashville, USA, following the disclosure of an inappropriate relationship with a man in 2022,” OCCA’s statement said.
“We have no further information beyond the statements issued by Immanuel Church and The Gospel Coalition, but we will be reaching out to Sam for clarity and to offer support,” OCCA continued. “During this process we are suspending Sam as an Associate Speaker for OCCA, but we will not be removing content by Sam at this time, pending these further discussions.”
OCCA concluded its statement asking for people to join them in praying for Allberry.
“We do understand that news like this can be deeply unsettling for people,” OCCA said. “If this is you and this news has raised issues for you personally, please do speak to your church leaders, contact support helplines like ThirtyOne:Eight or check out Living Out’s website for support and resources.”
“Please do join us in praying for Sam and all those involved,” they added.
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