BOOK REVIEW
True Evangelical: The Changing Face of Anglican Evangelicalism
By John Went
Winchester, UK; Washington, USA: Christian Alternative Books, 2025

As a reviewer I would like to be kind to this book, but cannot be wholly kind to its title, True Evangelical: The Changing Face of Anglican Evangelicalism.

There is definitely discussion of Anglican Evangelicalism in the book, in particular the Church of England, and frequent reflections on its 'changing face,' but the title doesn't quite fit.

The author Bishop John Went is a now-retired but active bishop in the Church of England, having ministered in parish, theological college, archdeaconry and diocesan contexts.

From his long and wide service, Bishop John Went talks firsthand of how Anglican Evangelicalism has changed in character through recent decades.

Chapters in this book cover the role of the Bible, the holding together (or not) of 'Word and Sacrament', how prayer and liturgy shapes belief, the challenge of hermeneutics for evangelicals, as well as mission, evangelism, sacred spaces and the centrality of the parish in Church of England ecclesiology.

It concludes with reflections on the Covid-19 experience and what is distinctive about Anglicanism.

Chapter nine argues the centrality and importance of Church of England parishes, a defence based on personal ministry experience, including recently as a retired bishop in locum ministry.

Bishop John presses the case that parishes are critical to the church's mission and ministry, not only to local people, but in service to the nation as its established church. No holds are barred in this chapter's robust advancement of the parish cause.

Placed in context of the recent rise in Church of England support for planting non-geographical and pioneer churches and fresh expressions,(pushed during Justin Welby's time) this chapter raises a dissenting voice, seeking to stem the tide which appears to be sweeping parish mission and ministry into the archives.

On this point, it is tempting to rename the book “As the Church Changes, Often for the Good, Let’s Keep Our Parishes at the Centre of our Life.”

Woven through the rest of the book Bishop John chronicles his personal experience of coming to and growing in the Christian faith, including how his ministry experiences and his walk with Jesus have changed his views over time. So much of this autobiography is not particularly evangelical.

However, whether or not Bishop John is a great exemplar of what constitutes a thoroughgoing evangelical, by the end of the book his testimony shines as that of a well-rounded Christian open to what each and every part of God's church has to offer.

Perhaps another revised title for the book might be “Wholly Anglican: How I Have Been Blessed By Anglican Evangelicalism and Other Rich Experiences of Anglican Life.”

In sum, this book is valuable as an interesting mix of:
(a) reflections on the changing face of (mostly English) Anglican Evangelicalism,
(b) a personal memoir of an ordained life spent in mission and ministry in the Church of England, and
(c) a robust, lively challenge to a new orthodoxy which sees the parish as having had its day.

The Rt Rev Peter Carrell is the Bishop of Christchurch.