Vaughan Edward Roberts (born 17 March 1965) is a
Church of England clergyman. Since 1998, he has been the
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of
St Ebbe's, Oxford
St Ebbe's is a Church of England parish church in central Oxford. The church is within the conservative evangelical tradition and participates in the Anglican Reform movement. It has members from many nations, many of whom are students at Oxford U ...
. In 2009, he became Director of the
Proclamation Trust.
Early life
Roberts was born on 17 March 1965 in
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, Hampshire, UK. He was educated at
Winchester College which is an all-boys
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
in Winchester.
He studied law at
Selwyn College, Cambridge, and graduated from the
University of Cambridge with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1988; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a
Master of Arts (MA (Cantab)) degree in 1991.
In 1987, he was President of the
Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union.
After graduation, he spent a short time in student ministry in South Africa.
Roberts then moved to
Oxford and in 1989 entered
Wycliffe Hall, an Anglican
theological college.
There, he studied theology and undertook training for
ordained ministry
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vario ...
.
Ordained ministry
Roberts was
ordained in the
Church of England as a
deacon in 1991 and as a
priest in 1992.
In 1991, he joined
St Ebbe's Church, Oxford
St Ebbe's is a Church of England parish church in central Oxford. The church is within the conservative evangelical tradition and participates in the Anglican Reform movement. It has members from many nations, many of whom are students at Oxford U ...
, a
conservative evangelical church, as a
curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
under David Fletcher.
From 1995 to 1998, he was the Student Pastor with special responsibilities for students and student ministry.
In 1998, when Fletcher retired, Roberts was appointed
Rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of St Ebbe's.
Since 2009, Roberts has also been Director of the
Proclamation Trust, an
evangelical Christian association dedicated to training preachers in
expository preaching. He has written a number of Christian books, including ''Turning Points'', ''Distinctives'', ''Battles Christians Face'', ''True Worship'', ''Life's Big Questions'' and ''God's Big Picture'' (an introduction to
Biblical theology
Because scholars have tended to use the term in different ways, Biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define.
Description
Although most speak of biblical theology as a particular method or emphasis within biblical studies, some scho ...
).
Views
In 2017, he was among the initial signatories of the
Nashville Statement
The Nashville Statement is an evangelical Christian statement of faith relating to human sexuality and gender roles authored by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) in Nashville, Tennessee. The Statement expresses support for an o ...
.
Personal life
In the fifth anniversary edition of ''Battles Christians Face'' a new preface was added in which Roberts acknowledged struggles with unwanted
same-sex attraction. He later publicly confirmed this in an interview, adding that he does not define himself as homosexual. He has chosen to remain celibate.
Works
*''Turning Points'' (1999: Authentic)
*''True Worship'' (2002: Authentic)
*''God's Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible'' (2002: Inter-Varsity Press)
*''Life's Big Questions: Six Major Themes Traced Through the Bible'' (2004: Inter-Varsity Press)
*''God's Big Design: Life as He Intends It To Be'' (2005: Inter-Varsity Press)
*''Distinctives'' (2006: Authentic)
*''Battles Christians Face'' (2007: Authentic)
*''Christmas in Three Words'' (2007: Inter-Varsity Press)
*''Missing the Point? Finding Our Place in the Turning Points of History'' (2007: Authentic)
*''True Spirituality: The Challenge of 1 Corinthians for the Twenty-First-Century Church'' (2011: IVP)
*''Transgender'' (2016: The Good Book Company)
Co-authored
*''Workers for the Harvest Field'', with Tim Thornborough (2006: The Good Book Company)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Vaughan Edward
Living people
British religious writers
British evangelicals
21st-century English Anglican priests
Evangelical Anglican clergy
1965 births
Clergy from Winchester
People educated at Winchester College
Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge
Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford
20th-century English Anglican priests
LGBT Anglican clergy