Theology Live! event to showcase Baptist research
Theology Live! is a new venture that seeks to provide a space for Baptists engaged in theological research, and those just interested in sharing some of their work. It will follow the format of BMS World Mission's Catalyst Live event, and tickets are free for anyone wishing to attend.
**now updated with speakers' topics**more than 80 people booked, small number of tickets still available**
You will hear from 13 speakers at this first event on 11 December. Here's a little about their interests - and the topics of their talks:
Myra Blyth
I trained for ministry at Regent’s Park College, Oxford and returned in 2004 as Tutor in Liturgy and Ecumenism, having worked for British Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches and the Baptist Union in between. I completed mt PhD in 2012 from the University of Birmingham with a thesis entitled: Towards a Restorative Hermeneutic: Churches Responding to Crime and Wrongdoing. I’m continuing my research into this area.
I co-edited Gathering for Worship (Baptist Union, 2005) and more recently Gathering Disciples (Pickwick, 2017).
Myra's talk is entitled: Rituals of Restoration: a critical dialogue between anthropology, theology and restorative justice.
Andy Goodliff
I am the minister of Belle Vue Baptist Church in Southend-on-Sea. I’ve studied theology at King’s College London and Oxford and trained for ministry at Regent’s Park College. I’ve written a small book on children and Baptists, and recently edited, with Myra Blyth, Gathering Disciples: Essays in Honor of Christopher J. Ellis (Pickwick, 2017).
I’m working on a PhD at the University of St. Andrew’s on the topic of what the Baptist Union was up to in the 1990s. I’ve recently enjoyed reading the memoir of Keith Clements, Look Back in Hope: An Ecumenical Life (Resource, 2017), which sees him reflect on his life as a Baptist, an ecumenist, and a leading interpreter of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s theology.
Andy's talk is entitled: Leonard Champion and the Call For A Clearer, More Coherent and Widely Accepted Theology Amongst Baptists.
Paul Goodliff
I am a minister at Abingdon Baptist Church, having previously served as General Superintendent of the Baptist Union's Central Area, and the Head of the Ministry Team for the Baptist Union. I maintain a research interest in the formation for and practice of Christian ministry, having been involved in the founding of The Order for Baptist Ministry (a dispersed religious order for Baptist ministers), The College of Baptist Ministers (a professional body for ministers) and most recently, the Oxford Research Network for Ministry.
I’m an Associate Research Fellow at Spurgeon's College. I’ve written several books, my most recent being Shaped for Service – Ministerial Formation and Virtue Ethics (Pickwick, 2017).
Paul's talk is entitled: Do Baptists Really Find Natural law Unnatural?
Martin Hobgen
Having trained at Bristol Baptist College I served as a minister to a small church in Coventry from 2001 until 2013. During the early part of my ministry I completed an MA in Applied Theology which examined how models of disability shaped the responses of churches to disabled people.
In 2013 I left pastoral ministry and I’m now pursuing research at Northern Baptist College, investigating the relationship between people with physical disabilities and inclusion in Baptist church life. I’m involved in our Baptist Union's Disability Justice Group. I published an article in the Baptist Ministers' Journal in 2014 on disability and language.
One of the many interesting books I’ve read recently is Sam Wells’ A Nazareth Manifesto: Being with God, which although not directly related to issues of disability, echoes my experience that ‘being with’ friends is one of the most inclusive experiences possible.
Martin's talk is entitled: Are you my Friend? Exploring the Inclusion of Physically Disabled in Baptist Church Communities
Ashley Lovett
I'm a Baptist Minister in Grays, South Essex. I completed an MA in Contemporary Ecclesiology at King's College, London in 2014, and my research interests include Baptists and the Lord's Supper, and political theology. I contributed a chapter to Gathering Disciples (ed. Blyth and Goodliff) on Baptist patterns of the Lord's Supper and their potential for shaping Baptists into greater Christlikeness. I am currently finishing some follow-up research that has looked into how the Lord's Supper is actually being celebrated in Baptist churches.
The most interesting book I've read recently is The Man Who Wouldn't Stop by David Adam (Picador). It's an examination of OCD, the theories about the causes, the various approaches to treatments (some truly horrific), and an exploration of the symptoms, by someone who has had to live with it. Candid and illuminating and without doubt a book I shall refer back to help me in pastoral ministry in the future.
Ashley's talk is entitled: Absent Friends: Do Baptists Need to Reimagine How They Celebrate the Lord’s Supper?
Ruth Moriarty
I am currently the minister of Christ Church New Southgate (Baptist & URC LEP). I trained for Baptist ministry at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, and have ministered previously at Poynton in Cheshire and at Woolwich, London. I’m studying at Chester on the DProf programme in Practical Theology. My current research interest is in the church members meeting and its practice of 'discerning the mind of Christ'. Other research interests include space and place and urban theology.
I recently found Congregational Studies in the UK (ed. Guest, Tusting, Woodhead) most illuminating regarding the silence and non-participation in ethnographic study and church life.
Ruth's talk is entitled: Discernment and the Church Meeting: A Practical Theology Approach
Trevor Neill
I worked for ten years for financial information provider Reuters before training for ministry at Bristol Baptist College, and I’ve been minister of Yardley Wood Baptist Church, in South Birmingham, since 2010.
Earlier this year, I completed an MPhil, exploring the failure of Baptists in South Birmingham to engage with the white working classes. I continue to explore the relationship between mission and social outreach on our estates, with a particular interest in how the thinking of many congregations needs to catch up with the activity of projects such as foodbanks and debt counselling services.
My most interesting book read this year has been Crucifixion of the Warrior God by Greg Boyd.
Trevor's talk is entitled: How a Concern for Conversion Stopped us from Being Missional
Liubov Payne
I was born and grew up in the former Soviet Union. The idea of studying theology was first suggested to me by one of my teachers, who was an atheist. Although the teacher’s comment was intended as an insult, the idea was planted. Since that moment, I knew that I wanted to study theology more than anything else.
While that was a highly unlikely possibility under the Communist regime, the situation changed with Perestroika and the borders becoming open. I studied in various theological colleges across Europe doing graduate and post-graduate studies before completing my doctorate at Spurgeon’s College which was on The Rise of Ecological God: the God-World Relation in the Theology of Sallie McFague and John Chryssavgis.
Liubov's talk is entitled: The Ecological God and the Worth of Creation
Helen Paynter
After a first career in hospital medicine, I was called to Baptist ministry nearly 10 years ago, training at Bristol Baptist College. While at College, I discovered a passion for biblical studies, especially for Old Testament narratives. As a result, I undertook a PhD, beginning in my final year at college, and concluding after I began work in the pastorate (as Associate Minister at Victoria Park Baptist Church, Bristol). My PhD was on aspects of humour in the book of Kings (mainly black humour and satire, it turns out).
More recently I’ve turned my attention to the altogether darker narratives of violence, particularly in Joshua and Judges. My other main research interest at present is in formulating a biblically literature response to the migration issue facing us today. I have published two books (Reduced Laughter: Seriocomic features and their function in the book of Kings; and Immigration and the Church) and a number of other papers. I currently split my time between teaching for several theological institutions and universities, and keeping a toehold in pastoral ministry at Victoria Park.
I am based at Bristol Baptist College where I am honorary Research Fellow.
Helen's talk is entitled: Hospitality in the Bible and Today: Not as straightforward as it seems
Michael Peat
I am currently serving as Free Church Chaplain at the University of Bristol (a role sponsored by the URC, Methodist and Baptist denominations). I have an enduring interest in theological perspectives on healthcare, and I’ve published several articles on medical ethics (including the 2013 Whitley Lecture), and completed a doctorate at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, offering a theological perspective on prospective innovations in genetic medicine.
I have a keen interest in hospital chaplaincy, and with this in mind recently enjoyed reading Critical Care: Delivering Spiritual Care in Healthcare Contexts, edited by Jonathan Pye, Peter Sedgwick and Andrew Todd.
Michael's talk is entitled: 'Which Body?' before 'Which Changes?' Unearthing differences amongst Christians considering Inherited Genetic Modification
Edward Pillar
I’ve served as Minister with the members of Evesham Baptist Church since 1995. During this time I’ve completed a PhD on resurrection in 1 Thessalonians.
My research interests continue to circle around the resurrection and its reception in first century Roman imperial Judea, but I get excited by many other research-rabbit-burrows along the way. I’ve published a couple of times with Fortress Press - my PhD thesis Resurrection as Anti-Imperial Gospel and also I contributed commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians for the Fortress Commentary on the Bible.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity of regularly giving academic papers at Biblical Studies conferences across Europe and the United States over the last eight years. My most recent most interesting books would be E.P. Sanders Paul, Bruce Springsteen Born to Run, and David Gushee Still Christian.
Edward's talk is entitled: Power, Politics, Justice, and Temptation: A Political Critique of the Temptations of Jesus
Pat Took
From 1998-2010 I was General Superintendent then Regional Minister Team Leader for the London Baptist Association, which was then followed by a year as Baptist Union President. Recently I’ve done some research into the death of Baptist ministers while in post, which has led to some re-thinking around death, purgatory and God’s future for us all.
I’ve recently be re-reading Martin Luther’s three Reformation Tracts!
Pat's talk is entitled: Still a Fond Thing? Universalism and the Revisiting of Purgatory
Simon Woodman
I am the co-minister of Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, in London, having previously been tutor in biblical studies at South Wales Baptist College, Cardiff, where I also taught in the university.
I have an on-going interest in the book of Revelation and Baptist hermeneutics, having published on both subjects – The Book of Revelation (SCM, 2007) and The ‘Plainly Revealed’ Word of God? Baptist Hermeneutics in Theory and Practice, edited with Helen Dare (Mercer, 2011).
Most recently I’ve contributed to a chapter to Reclaiming the Common Good (DLT, 2017).
Simon's talk is entitled: ‘The Seal of the Spirit’: The Holy Spirit in the book of Revelation
Baptist Times, 16/11/2017