Roy Clements

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For the American film director, see Roy Clements (director).

Roy Clements (born 1946 in London) is a British author and former Christian minister. He was a leading figure within Britain's Evangelical Christian movement for more than two decades until he resigned from his pastoral ministry in 1999, having revealed that he is gay.[1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Roy Clements grew up in the East End of London and earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics, before working for UCCF (University Colleges Christian Fellowship) in Nairobi and serving as pastor of Nairobi Baptist Church in Kenya.[5] He returned to the UK in 1979 when he became pastor of Eden Baptist Church, Cambridge, where he developed a highly successful ministry to students.[6] Over a period of some twenty years, he gained a reputation within the international Christian movement as an accomplished preacher and teacher.[5] Until 1999 he served on the boards of a number of leading evangelical organisations, including the management council of the Evangelical Alliance, which represents more than a million British Christians across 30 denominations.[1] His ministry within British evangelicalism ended in 1999 after he left his wife and began a relationship with another man. Since then, Clements suggests he has become a significant new voice within the British gay Christian movement.

[edit] List of works

Theology books and biblical commentaries

Since publicly acknowledging his sexuality in 1999, his books have become difficult to obtain.[7] [8] [9]

  • A Sting in the Tale (IVP), expositions from the parables of Luke
  • Practising Faith in a Pagan World (IVP), expositions from Daniel/Ezekiel
  • Masterplan (IVP)
  • No Longer Slaves (IVP), expositions from Galatians
  • Turning the World Upside Down (IVP), expositions from Acts 1-15
  • People Who Made History (IVP), expositions from Judges/Ruth
  • Songs of Experience (Focus/Baker), expositions from selected Psalms
  • The Strength of Weakness (Focus/Baker), expositions from II Corinthians
  • Introducing Jesus (Kingsway), expositions from the Gospel of John
  • From Head to Heart (Kingsway), expositions from the First Letter of John
  • Word and Spirit (UCCF), an examination of the Bible and the charismatic gift of prophecy
  • Turning Points (UCCF), an overview of cultural trends
  • Why I Believe (Regent College Publishing)
  • Rescue: God's Promise to Save (Focus), with Peter Lewis and Greg Haslam, a short exploration of the five points of Calvinism

Jubilee Centre papers

Clements published a number of papers with Cambridge Papers, a non-profit quarterly publication of the Jubilee Centre, a Cambridge-based centre for contemporary theological reflection which he helped to found. These papers include: "Can Tolerance become the Enemy of Christian Freedom?" (an examination of pluralism in two papers); "Officiously to Keep Alive" (a two-part examination of euthanasia); "Demons and the Mind" (a two-part study of mental illness in the Bible); and "Expository Preaching in a Postmodern World".[10]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Benton, John. "Roy Clements Walks Out", Evangelicals Now, 1999-11. Retrieved on 2008-08-28. 
  2. ^ Benton, John. "The Commentary - Roy Clements", Evangelicals Now, 1999-11. Retrieved on 2008-08-28. 
  3. ^ Benfold, Gary. "When a good man falls", Evangelicals Now, 1999-11. Retrieved on 2008-08-28. 
  4. ^ Combe, Victoria. "Preacher quits over his relationship with male worshipper", Daily Telegraph, 1999-09-30. Retrieved on 2008-08-28. 
  5. ^ a b The Roy Clements Story. Christian Herald, quoted by John Mark Ministries. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.
  6. ^ Beynon, Graham. History Of Eden Baptist Church. Eden Baptist Church Website. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. “This approach, along with his exceptional preaching gifts, continued to grow the church, and particularly the involvement with the university, so that today, over 200 students regularly attend Eden”
  7. ^ Bates, Stephen. "No room in the church: archbishop finds himself cast out by evangelicals", The Guardian, 2003-09-20. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. "It took nearly 20 years for Mr Clements to come out as gay. When he did so four years ago, he was immediately cast out. His books and tapes were unceremoniously removed from church bookshops." 
  8. ^ Excellent writing on homosexuality in the Christian blogsphere. Paul Whiting (2005-09-01). Retrieved on 2007-08-28. “After this news came out, Intervarsity Press and Crossway Books in England immediately stopped publishing his books and withdrew their back catalog of his titles. Most Christian retail outlets in the UK followed suit by refusing to sell his books.”
  9. ^ Publications. Roy Clements' web site. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. “In 1999, he publicly acknowledged for the first time his homosexual orientation. As a result, some publishers and bookshops have refused to carry his books any longer, even though they carry the endorsement of leading Christian theologians and preachers”
  10. ^ Publication List. Roy Clements' web site. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.

[edit] Other References

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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