The Rev. Sam Allberry, (formerly?) Canon Theologian in the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast under Bishop Clark Lowenfield has been “disqualified from gospel ministry” by Immanuel Nashville, and has resigned from the church after an investigation into a relationship he had with an adult man. Rev. Allberry spoke at multiple ACNA events, and presented at GAFCON Kigali in 2023 on “Glorify God in your Body.”
It has never made sense to me how the ACNA can have canon theologians who are not even in an ACNA church. This latest scandal shows exactly the kind of folly it was to create those roles. For example:
- Did Allberry have any oversight in reality from Bishop Lowenfield or was he just a celebrity theologian who could speak at events and give ACNA street cred?
- Why didn’t Allberry attend an ACNA parish in Nashville when there are several to choose from?
- Why was he clergy in the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast when he lived in Tennessee?
- Rev. Allberry was announced as a Canon Theologian on June 4, 2021, the statement from Immanuel Nashville says he “engaged in an inappropriate relationship with an adult man in 2022.” Did Bishop Lowenfeld know about this? Did he do anything about it? Or did he have essentially no oversight over someone theoretically in his organizational structure?
The thread tying all the scandals in ACNA together is the lack of investigation or thorough vetting of clergy married with a gut feeling that “I know this guy and he is repentant.” From Atkinson to Allberry and many others there are stories that later emerge that could have been tracked down by talking to people from their past. Bloggers can do that kind of digging but it seems that the clergy cannot.
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