His memorial plaque at the top of the main staircase of the Church Army's headquarters in Sheffield, the Wilson Carlile Centre, shows the evangelical measure of the man: 'He loved all men, especially the most lost, a true knight-errant of the gospel. He brought its light into a world darkened by sin, ignorance and want.'

But now in the early 21st Century the Church Army seems to be becoming less than clear that the gospel it is called by God to proclaim involves repentance from sin as the Bible defines it. It seems to be moving from the evangelical understanding of the gospel so wonderfully expressed in the BCP's Absolution at Morning and Evening Prayer. This affirms that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 'pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel' and exhorts worshippers to beseech Almighty God 'to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do at this present, and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy'.

At a recent development day for an English diocese about fresh expressions of church, one of Church Army's national leaders was on the question time panel. Asked why there were relatively few liberal fresh expressions of church, he rightly pointed out that the few that there are tend to be aimed at the LGBT communities, adding: 'And that's fine.'

Because of the context of his remark, it is surely far-fetched to interpret it as meaning that 'seeker services' aimed at LGBT people are a good way of showing God's love in evangelism and leading them by God's grace to repent of their active sexual life-styles. Wilson Carlile would no doubt boom out a gladsome 'Amen' to that. We all need the transforming grace of God in the gospel, whatever our sexual inclinations.

But the question was about fresh expressions from the liberal wing of the Church. It is no secret that liberal churches in, for example, the Inclusive Church network are actively campaigning for a change in the Church of England's official teaching on human sexuality, as expressed in Canon B30, Of Holy Matrimony:

'The Church of England affirms, according to our Lord's teaching, that marriage is in its nature a union permanent and lifelong, for better for worse, till death them do part, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side, for the procreation and nurture of children, for the hallowing and right direction of the natural instincts and affections, and for the mutual society, help and comfort which the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.'

These liberal churches want to see the Church of England publicly teaching that sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage is acceptable among Christians. That is why the 'that's fine' from this Church Army leader would appear to be an affirmation of what these new liberal churches are teaching about sexual morals.

The most charitable thing that could be said about his remark is that it was unclear. But what is becoming clear is that Wilson Carlile, influenced as he was by the robustly evangelical American evangelist, Dwight Moody, would be something of a spiritual exile in the Church Army of today.

Julian Mann is vicar of the Parish Church of the Ascension, Oughtibridge, South Yorkshire.