Evangelist Rico Tice leaves Church of England: “It no longer preaches repentance”

Rico Tice, author of the widely used and translated evangelistic course Christianity Explored and a former associate minister at John Stott’s church (Langham Place), has announced he is leaving the Church of England.

The reason is the process through which the Church of England is deciding how to address LGBT issues in the future, the known as “Living in Love and Faith” conversation.

In answers to British magazine Evangelicals Now, Rico Tice underlined that it is “vital” form him to express a “clear separation from a church that no longer affirms Biblical orthodoxy, especially with regard to preaching repentance”. 

The fact that the Archbishop of Canterbury had not given “a substantive response” to the call by Rico Tice and others to “resist the influence of cultural values when they are in opposition to those of the Bible” led him to this decision.

The author and evangelist described himself as “a cradle-to-grave Anglican” who identifies most with Anglicans in the Global South when it comes to the authority of the Bible.

Anglican Communion movements such as Gafcon and GSAFC have been very critical with what they understand as a shift in Christian doctrine of the Church of England on issues like human identity, sexuality and marriage.

“For me, the present situation is utterly heartbreaking”, emphasised Rico Tice. “In retrospect I was naïve about our current culture in the Church of England, because I never thought I would see such a clear, pervasive denial of the Christian's need to repent of each and every sin they commit”.

Other influential voices inside the Church of England are expressing its disappointment over the current debate on homosexuality and transgenderism, and have linked the loss in church attendance and membership with the Church’s theological shift towards theological liberalism.