The Christian Institute’s Chairman, Revd Dr Richard Turnbull, has died aged 65. He had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Husband, father, minister, theologian, historian, accountant and author, he joined The Christian Institute as a Trustee in 2017 and became Chairman in 2021. He spoke often of his love for the staff, and routinely taught them, and prayed with them and for them.
An Anglican by ordination and conviction, he mourned the influence of liberalism in the Church of England, and longed to see all churches fully embrace the Bible as the inerrant, authoritative and transformative word of God.
Richard died early in the morning of Wednesday, 26 November. He is survived by his wife Caroline, their four adult children and his father, Alan.
“absent from the body … present with the Lord”
A transformed life
Born in Doncaster in 1960, Richard Turnbull was raised in a non-Christian home but came to faith in Christ in 1982 while studying economics and accounting at Reading University.
He initially worked as a Chartered Accountant before being ordained in the Church of England in 1994. He spent four years at Christ Church, Portswood, and a further seven as Vicar of Chineham, near Basingstoke, also serving on the Church of England’s General Synod.
His combination of ministry experience, financial understanding and theological rigour made him a perfect choice as Principal of Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. Over his seven years there, he led a renewed emphasis on vibrant, biblical truth in the face of opposition from those promoting liberal theology.
It was a difficult tenure. But, never one to compromise on historic Christian doctrine, he remained until 2012, when he became Director of the new Centre for Enterprise, Markets and Ethics under the chairmanship of Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach.
Minister, historian, theologian and author
Alongside his ministries Richard was also a dedicated historian, authoring several books, including ‘Shaftesbury: The Great Reformer’, ‘Reviving the heart: The story of the 18th century revival’, and ‘Anglican and Evangelical?’
He wrote on theology, ministry, history and economics. His last article, assessing the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, was written just weeks before his death. Though critical of the decision to appoint someone so prominent in the Church’s shift away from orthodoxy on sexual ethics, his final words called on believers to pray for her. It was a sincere gesture, typical of the man.
Institute staff were also regular beneficiaries of his wisdom and knowledge. He provided training for staff, as well as frequently giving talks to the public at the Institute’s annual lecture series.
Blessed assurance
Institute Director Ciarán Kelly said: “Richard was a phenomenal support to me after the sudden death of our founding director, Colin, 18 months ago. I appreciated his deep wisdom, borne out of his business as well as his ministry experience.
“He bore the spiritual scars of a man who had suffered for the sake of Christ in his stand for truth and he drew on these experiences in his counsel to the Institute and to me personally. I will miss his friendship, his wit and his intellect.
“In these last weeks, his testimony – and that of his dear wife Caroline – has been that of full assurance in the great and precious promises of God in Christ. The reality of their relationship with our risen Saviour has shone through. God grant that we would all face death with such faith.
“We grieve with the family and pray that the God of all comfort will reassure them of his continued loving presence in the days to come.”
“‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!’” Revelation 14:13
‘Our loss is heaven’s gain’
Revd James Leggett, a friend for more than 15 years and one of Richard’s fellow Trustees, added: “I had the privilege of serving on two trust boards with Richard, and I always came away from meetings confident the charity was in good hands because of his involvement.
“His great gift was to combine quick thinking with thoughtfulness – as Chairman of The Christian Institute, he had the ability to lead graciously, listen intently, and then summarise succinctly for the good of the charity.
Our loss is heaven’s gain.
“I found Richard to be supremely generous. His clear confidence in his Christian faith enabled him to be generous towards others even if he disagreed with them. I have personally been a huge beneficiary of all these attributes over many years.
“I thank God for Richard, for the gifts that God abundantly gave him and Richard used for His glory. We will miss his wisdom, insight, humour and love. Our loss is heaven’s gain.”