Vaughan Edward Roberts (born 17 March 1965) is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

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. In 2009, he became Director of the Proclamation Trust.

Early life

Roberts was born on 17 March 1965 in Winchester, Hampshire, UK. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

which is an all-boys public school in Winchester. He studied law at

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

, and graduated from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1988; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA (Cantab)) degree in 1991. In 1987, he was President of the

Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union The Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, usually known as CICCU, is the University of Cambridge's most prominent student Christian organisation, and was the first university Christian Union to have been founded. It was formed in 1877, but ...

. After graduation, he spent a short time in student ministry in South Africa. Roberts then moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and in 1989 entered

Wycliffe Hall Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England Seminary, theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was Master (college), mast ...

, an Anglican

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. There, he studied theology and undertook training for ordained ministry.

Ordained ministry

Roberts was

ordained 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 ...

in the

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1991 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1992. In 1991, he joined St Ebbe's Church, Oxford, a

conservative evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

church, as a curate 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 Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

association dedicated to training preachers in

expository preaching Expository preaching, also known as expositional preaching, is a form of preaching that details the meaning of a particular text or passage of Scripture. It explains what the Bible means by what it says. Exegesis is technical and grammatical expo ...

. 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).

Views

In 2017, he was among the initial signatories of the Nashville Statement.

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 Same sex may refer to: * A phrase used in the discussion of sex or gender * Gonochorism, the state of having just one of at least two distinct sexes in any one individual organism * Homosexuality, the romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sex ...

. 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