TGC-UK: Council unveiled, criticisms voiced

Organisers of the new Gospel Coalition UK (TGC-UK) have shared details of who is on its inaugural council.

It contains a number of high-profile names, including John Stevens of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), Robin Sydserff of the Proclamation Trust, Affinity’s Graham Nicholls, CofE complementarian bishop Rob Munro, AMiE bishop Lee McMunn, Elizabeth Harewood of the Association of Christian Teachers, and others.

But there are also a considerable number of others who are less widely known. The full list of 39 names is published further down this article. There are 35 men and just four women. Representation is drawn from a varied mix of denominational groupings, and from across the four nations of the UK.

Organisers say they want to encourage others who might be interested in joining it, or who have questions about their plans, to engage directly with them.

Mixed response

Confirmation that TGC-UK is definitely happening was first reported by en on 9 December. Online responses have been mixed, with some welcoming it, and others voicing a series of concerns.

These concerns include the question of why it is needed when there are so many existing evangelical groupings; the wisdom of taking it forward given recent scandals in conservative evangelical culture such as around abuser John Smyth; issues and problems that have arisen in the TGC in the US; and its theological ethos.

In a press release sent out to media organisations, TGC-UK said its aim is “to convene groups of like-minded Christians to create fellowship links and serve as a rallying point for mission and developing national resources and initiatives. TGC-UK will publish web-based, multi-media and social media content – primarily from British authors – intended mainly for a UK audience. This will include theological and practical tools to tackle the challenges of pastoral leadership and public witness.”

en approached TGC-UK and spoke with three of its organisers – Andy Mason, Mission Director of London-based church-planting movement Co-Mission; Lizzie Harewood, Executive Officer of the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT); and Graham Nicholls, Director of evangelical umbrella group Affinity.

During the interview, en put to them a wide variety of questions including, among other subjects, its potential relationship with Affinity and the Evangelical Alliance, issues of safeguarding and accountability given multiple recent church scandals, and its theology. Some of the answers were reported in the briefer breaking news piece earlier; some others are reported here, and a few are repeated.

'Wagons not circled'

In relation to the launch of TGC-UK in general, Graham Nicholls said: “Anyone is welcome to engage with us... Mostly what we need is for people to pray and if they have any questions to find their way to one of us.”

And Andy Mason stated: “This is an open thing for leaders of Reformed evangelical backgrounds. If people are interested, there’s an invitation – the wagons have not been circled – to come and find out – by contacting Graham. Or someone might think they want to be involved with the council. They could chat with Graham.”

Asked about how TGC-UK would relate to existing local Gospel Partnerships, of which there are already many in the country, and existing evangelistic organisations, given the new organisation’s aim of wanting “to convene groups of like-minded Christians to create fellowship links and serve as a rallying point for mission,” Mason said: “The key issue is partnership. It is drawing together brothers and sisters from a wide range of backgrounds, but who can gather [around] a common set of theological positions."

He added: "There’s an ongoing conversation with the Gospel Partnerships there, and that has not ended. But this is a chance on a national level to bring together evangelicals with Reformed convictions. That’s really exciting; that’s really brilliant. I don’t think there’s any other organisation that quite does that. I think it is new and innovative and can be really spiritually regenerative and encouraging for the church.”

And Nicholls said: “There are ongoing discussions with Gospel Partnerships about how we can best work with them. Some local Gospel Partnership people are on the council, and Nick McQuaker of 'A Passion for Life' as well, for example, to make sure we are not overlapping with what they are already doing.”

Affinity with a rebrand?

Asked whether TGC-UK was effectively Affinity with a rebrand, Nicholls rejected the idea: “This is not Affinity rebranded. It is a new group built from the bottom up. The future of Affinity is up to Affinity depending on how TGC develops.”

In relation to the Evangelical Alliance, Lizzie Harewood said: “I work with the EA a lot with the work I do in education. And there are evangelicals in the EA who hold to more Reformed and complementarian positions who will be very supportive of this. The profiles of the two organisations are distinct but complementary.” Nicholls also said he had spoken to Gavin Calver of the EA about TGC-UK.

Accountability

Asked about accountability, and to whom TGC-UK would be accountable, given the plethora of recent conservative evangelical scandals, Nicholls said: “It’s a really important question. I was involved with Affinity in writing a book about abuses of power called Challenging Leaders.

"We would obviously want to put in place all the best practice that charities in general and Christian organisations in particular would have in terms of clear lines of accountability, policies in place for safeguarding in general, anti-bullying, whistleblowing policies and so on. In the end, these things are a matter of culture as much as anything else. We want to foster a culture of openness and accountability. The council of 40 is quite a big accountability group, and any individual is accountable to them.”

Mason added: “This is a much wider range of people denominationally and nationally spread, not a bunch of mates. It’s a coming together of a very wide group of people. I think together with robust safeguarding policies [this] will help foster a culture of accountability and gospel partnership. There’s no ultimate safeguard, [but] it is not a narrow clique of mates who have all met at one conference, and it is people who I don’t think you would see in any other one room talking together. I have never seen that any time before.”

Leadership

Asked about how a smaller leadership team might come about, Nicholls said: “The leadership team will be appointed by the council. The council was brought together by me and others talking to loads of people and it was convened from anyone suitably qualified and interested. No-one who wanted to be on it couldn’t be on it.”

And questioned about whether people would be encouraged to join TGC-UK as “members,” Nicholls said: “We have yet to form the charity, but in principle it will follow the model of the other TGCs around the world. The driving force would be the council and staff members, but we would aspire to having some sort of mechanism where people could affiliate.”

TGC-UK’s position theologically is to be complementarian, but not have a definitive view on other issues such as seven-day creation or the continuance or cessation of spiritual gifts.

Theology

Nicholls said: “We’re not taking any lines other than the TGC confessional statement, so not taking lines on creation or spiritual gifts. There will be people who have been described as charismatics. By definition non-complementarians wouldn’t join because they wouldn’t adhere to the confessional statement.”

Mason stated: “TGC is not the borders of the Kingdom of God or indeed evangelicalism. We think TGC, like the gospel partnerships, enables significant collaboration while accepting there’s a range of views on things. Where do you set the boundary? With TGC-UK it is a broadly Reformed theology.”

And Harewood commented: “The resourcing could well be used by those who don’t hold complementarian positions, but it does offer particular help in providing space for those who believe in male headship to come together outside denominational lines. But because it is complementarian, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to offer the wider church.”

She also said: “I am really excited about this space for British complementarian women to come together… It will be nice not to have to battle or debate over the issue but relax and get to grips with what the Bible says. I am excited. I think there’s loads to come that will fit a distinct UK context.”

Gospel

Mason stressed: “It’s a gospel coalition not a complementarian coalition. It’s a gospel coalition that happens to be complementarian.”

Asked whether TGC-UK would be adding another conference to the already-packed schedule of evangelical gatherings each year, Nicholls said: “We will have whatever conferences are needed to supplement, not duplicate.”

News of the TGC-UK announcement is drawing a mix of responses. Gavin Calver of the Evangelical Alliance told en: “I have met with Graham Nicholls a couple of times around this and look forward to hearing more.

"At the moment the information is limited but I am always hopeful about anything that will help the church share the gospel more effectively. The Evangelical Alliance is here to serve all evangelicals in the UK and as such we will continue to do all we can to support and serve complementarian, Reformed evangelicals into the future too.”

'Dysfunctionality'

Writing on social media platform X, retired bishop Pete Broadbent said: “We really don't need their dysfunctionality this side of the pond. There's enough of it in the English complementarian tribe already.”

And Tomos Roberts-Young commented: “American Christianity. Sad.”

Dr Daniel Johnson, Theology, Worship, and Music programme leader at London School of Theology, described it as “very sad news.” Writing in a personal capacity on X, he said: “TGC has a terrible track record - Driscoll, Butler, Chandler, et al - and their conflation of ‘the gospel’ with neo-Reformed complementarianism is more divisive than unifying. UK conservative evangelicals - UCCF, Oak Hill, FIEC - should get their house in order first.”

In the Evangelical Times, writer Paul Smith expressed concern about the inclusion of charismatic Calvinists and also Anglicans in the new organisation. He wrote: “TGC was co-founded by Tim Keller, who used the term complementarian loosely.” Citing potential concern about articles on the TGC US website from people such as Gavin Ortlund, Andrew Wilson, Glen Scrivener and Rebecca McLaughlin, he concluded: “TGC appears to be on a socially liberal trajectory. Time will tell whether TGC-UK influences evangelicals more towards faithfulness to Scripture or compromise with the culture.”

Well-known blogger Dave Williams, who has himself expressed some concerns about a potential TGC-UK, responded to that article in a post here.

Council members

The full list of TGC-UK council members as given to en after the interview with its three representatives is: Colin Adams (Greenview Church, Glasgow); Martin Ayers (St Silas Church); Wale Akinrogunde (Grace Church Walthamstow); Remi Adedire (New Life Church, Catford); Jeremy Bailey (Evangelical Movement of Wales); Tim Blaber (Commission: a sphere of New Frontiers); Clive Bowsher (Union School of Theology); Thomas Brand (Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches); Richard Bray (Regional Gospel Partnerships); Iain Clements (IPC Brentford); Jonny Dyer (Christ Church Fulwood); Davy Ellison (Irish Baptist College); Andrew Giffen (Free Church of Scotland); Ed Hambleton (York Evangelical Church); Elizabeth Harewood (Association of Christian Teachers); Andrew Haslam (Grace Church, London); Fran Kirby (Affinity); Oliver Land (Elmstead Baptist Church); Rhiannon MacKintosh (Free Church of Scotland); Andy Mason (Co:Mission); Timothy McGlynn (Free Church of Scotland Continuing); Lee McMunn (Anglican Mission in England); Nick McQuaker (A Passion for Life); David McKay (Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland); James Mildred (CARE); Rob Munro (Bishop of Ebbsfleet); Graham Nicholls (Affinity); Steve Robinson (Grimke Europe); Orlando Saer (Christ Church Southampton / 9:38); Tim Savage (TGC); Graeme Shanks (East Scotland Gospel Partnership); John Stevens (FIEC); Robin Sydserff (Proclamation Trust); Jon Tuckwell (Christ Church Cockfosters); Ben Virgo (Christian Heritage London); Becca Whittaker (Swindon Evangelical Church); Jonathan Winch (Westminster Seminary UK); Hamish Wishart (Cornton Baptist Church); and Paul Yeulett (Grove Chapel, Camberwell).

en subsequently approached TGC-UK for a comment about the gender balance, but did not receive one.