Graduate School of Research

Rev Dr Michael Bird

Michael Bird is Academic Dean and Lecturer in New Testament at Ridley College. Michael grew up in Brisbane before joining the Army and serving as a paratrooper, intelligence operator, and then chaplain’s assistant. It was during his time in the military that he came to faith from a non-Christian background, and soon after felt a call to ministry. He graduated with a BMin from Malyon College (2001) and Honours and PhD from the University of Queensland (2002, 2005). Michael taught New Testament at the Highland Theological College in Scotland (2005-9) before joining Brisbane School of Theology as Lecturer in Theology (2010-12). He joined the faculty at Ridley as Lecturer in New Testament in 2013 where he has remained ever since. He is the author of 30 books, including the award-winning volumes The Gospel of Lord: How the Early Church Wrote the Story of Jesus, Evangelical Theology, and with N.T. Wright, The New Testament in its World.

Michael has supervised nine successful PhD students by people from all over the world, with topics as diverse as Arabic manuscripts of John’s Gospel, to Trinitarian theology in Revelation, to a study of the Colossian “heresy.” He is keen to supervise anyone with a good thesis topic in New Testament, Systematic Theology, and second-century Christianity.

Rev Dr Daniel Cole

Dan Cole has served as Lecturer in New Testament and Greek since coming to Trinity in 2017. Prior to this he completed his PhD under D. A. Carson on the intersection between Paul’s use of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant, his mission, and his ethics, which has been published as Isaiah’s Servant in Paul: The Hermeneutics and Ethics of Paul’s Use of Isaiah 49–54, in the WUNT2 series. He is currently researching the meaning and functions of the participle in NT Greek, as well as undertaking smaller projects on particular exegetical questions in 1 Corinthians and Hebrews. He has previously served on the editorial board of Trinity Journal.

At Trinity, Dan trains students in exegesis, teaching first-year Greek and upper-year exegesis units in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Hebrews and 1 Peter, and John. He is an ordained Anglican minister and regularly preaches at churches and conferences around Perth.

Rev Dr Jill Firth

Jill graduated with BA from UWA, then studied theology at Ridley, and concurrently trained as a spiritual director in the Ignatian tradition through the University of Divinity. She was ordained in the Diocese of Melbourne in 2006. She has lectured at Ridley since 2005, was appointed to Ridley faculty in 2016, and is currently lecturing in Hebrew and Old Testament. Jill has presented conference papers at SBL, ETS, Tyndale Fellowship, ANZATS, and FBS, and has been interviewed on podcasts including The Two Cities, The Alabaster Jar, The Biblical Mind, and God Forbid. She has published chapters on Psalms and Jeremiah, and is co-editor of Grounded in the Body, in Time and Place, in Scripture: Papers by Australian Women Scholars in the Evangelical Tradition (with Denise Cooper-Clarke), and of Honoring the Wise: Wisdom in Scripture, Ministry, and Life: Celebrating Lindsay Wilson’s Thirty Years at Ridley (with Paul Barker). Jill is currently working on a monograph on Psalms, a commentary on Jeremiah, and journal articles. She has been a convener of the Evangelical Women in Academia conference and of the Ridley Women’s Writing Groups Network, and is a member of Tyndale Fellowship, ETS, IBR, SBL, FBS, and the Logia Advisory Board.

Rev Dr Gregory Goswell

Gregory Goswell is a senior academic and researcher, a member of the faculty of Christ College Sydney and an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical and Theological Research, and the Fellowship of Biblical Studies, Melbourne. He is the author of several books and numerous journal articles, especially on the topics of the biblical canon and paratext. Among his publications are Ezra-Nehemiah (EP Commentary Series), Unceasing Kindness: A Biblical Theology of Ruth (with Peter H. W. Lau), and God’s Messiah: Expectations of a King Across the Old Testament (with Andrew Abernethy).

Dr G. Geoffrey Harper

G. Geoffrey Harper is Director of Research and Lecturer in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at SMBC. His primary research interests lie in the texts and function of the Pentateuch with a particular focus on the book of Leviticus. Geoff has completed theological studies in his native Ireland as well as in the UK and Australia. He has been lecturing at SMBC since 2012 where he teaches a variety of biblical and Hebrew language units as well as supervising HDR students. Geoff is a member of the ACT’s Research Committee and is coordinator of the ACT’s Old Testament Research & Scholarship Network. His publications include “I Will Walk Among You”: The Rhetorical Function of Allusion to Genesis 1–3 in the Book of Leviticus (2018), Teaching Leviticus: From Text to Message (2022), and a range of articles and essays. Geoff is currently writing a biblical theology of defilement and cleansing (IVP) as well as commentaries on Leviticus (Cascade) and Numbers (Eerdmans). Geoff is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Evangelical Theological Society, the Tyndale Fellowship, and the Institute of Biblical Research, and regularly presents papers at their annual meetings

Dr Michael J. Kok

Michael J. Kok received a BA in Religion and Theology with a Specialization in Biblical Studies at Taylor University College, an MA in Religious Studies at the University of Alberta, and a PhD in Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield. He served as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Sheffield, The King’s University, and Taylor Seminary before taking up his current faculty position as the Lecturer in New Testament at Vose Seminary (now the Vose Campus of Morling College) in 2018. His main area of research is on the origins of Gospel literature and their reception during the Patristic period, but has also published on ancient Christian identity formation, Christology, and the so-called “Parting of the Ways” between Christianity and Judaism. His major monographs include The Gospel on the Margins: The Reception of Mark in the Second Century, The Beloved Apostle: The Transformation of the Apostle John into the Fourth Evangelist, and From Tax Collector to Gospel Writer: Patristic Traditions on the Evangelist Matthew (forthcoming).

Rev Dr Anthony R. Petterson

Anthony Petterson joined the faculty at Morling College in 2006 as a Lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. Anthony was pastor of Hornsby Heights Baptist Church from 1999-2002, and associate pastor of Grosvenor Road Baptist Church in Dublin, Ireland, from 2002-2006. During his time in Ireland, he also completed a PhD through Queen’s University Belfast.

His publications include Behold Your King: The Hope for the House of David in the Book of Zechariah (LHBOTS), a commentary on Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi (Apollos), study notes on Haggai and Zechariah for the NIV (Zondervan) Study Bible edited by Don Carson, and study notes on the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Grace and Truth Study Bible edited by Albert Mohler.
His ongoing research interest is in the Book of the Twelve Prophets, and he is currently writing a commentary on Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah for Lexham Press.
He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), the Institute for Biblical Research (IBR), and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL).

Rev Dr Brian S. Rosner

Brian Rosner is the principal of Ridley College, having previously lectured at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and Moore Theological College. He is a New Testament scholar of international standing, having contributed to many of the major peer-reviewed journals and supervised over a dozen PhDs. He is a member of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (the international society of New Testament scholars), a member the Holman Christian Standard Bible Translation Oversight Committee, a Humboldt fellow in Germany, and is the author or editor of a dozen books, including: the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology; Paul and the Law: Keeping the Commandments of God; Greed as Idolatry: The Origin and Meaning of a Pauline Metaphor; the Pillar commentary on 1 Corinthians (with Roy E. Ciampa); and Known by God: A Biblical Theology of Personal Identity. Brian is an ordained Anglican minister and canon of St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne.

Rev A/Prof Andrew Sloane

Andrew Sloane is Associate Professor of Old Testament and Christian Thought at Morling College, Sydney, where he has taught since 2002. Andrew qualified in medicine and practiced briefly as a doctor before training and serving as a Baptist pastor in NSW. He was Lecturer in Old Testament and Christian Thought at Ridley College 1996–2002 prior to his appointment to Morling College.

Andrew’s research focuses on interdisciplinary work in theology, including the intersections between Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible and philosophical theology and ethics, theology of medicine and bioethics, and theology of work and everyday life. He has published in philosophy of religion, philosophical theology, Old Testament ethics, bioethics, philosophy and theology of medicine, intersections between science and Christian faith, and theology of disability (esp., cognitive disability).

Andrew has successfully supervised HDR candidates in Old Testament, hermeneutics, and philosophical theology. He seeks to ensure that students integrate their understanding of the Scriptures with the riches of the Christian tradition and wise analysis of the complexities of contemporary cultures and the associated theological and ethical issues.

He is a fellow of ISCAST, a member of Tyndale Fellowship, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the Society for the Study of Christian Ethics.

Rev Prof David Starling

David Starling is the Chief Academic Officer at Morling College, where he lectures in New Testament, Hermeneutics and Greek. He is a member of scholarly societies including the Society of Biblical Literature, the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society for New Testament Studies, and also serves on the Baptist World Alliance’s Commission on Baptist Doctrine and Christian Unity. His published writings include works on hermeneutics, theological method and the theology of Christian ministry, as well as commentaries on Ephesians, Colossians and 1 Corinthians.

Rev Dr Mark Durie

Mark Durie is a Senior Research Fellow with the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam, at Melbourne School of Theology. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from the Australian National University, and a ThD in Qur’anic Theology from the Australian College of Theology.  Mark has held visiting appointments at the University of Leiden, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UCLA, UC Santa Cruz and Stanford. At the University of Melbourne he served as head of the Department of Linguistics and Language Studies, and was awarded a 5 year ARC Senior Research Fellowship. He was elected a member of the Academy of Humanities in 1992. From 1999 to 2019 he served as an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Melbourne. These days he conducts research and teaches in a wide range of areas, including Islamic studies, missiology, interfaith relations, translation, and the theology of discipleship, deliverance and spiritual warfare. Mark has written several books on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations.

Rev Dr Ian Hussey

Between 1993 and 2010 Ian Hussey was solo/Senior Pastor of a Baptist church in Brisbane during which time the church grew from 35 to 500 people, including people of 15 different nationalities. Ian commenced at Malyon College in 2011 and is the Director of Postgraduate Studies. He has taught preaching, pastoral leadership, research methods, and New Testament survey. Ian is also the Regional Minister for the Metro-Central region of Queensland Baptists. He has degrees in science, education, theology, and management. Ian’s MTh was on “The soteriological use of kaleo by Luke and Paul” and his PhD was on the topic: “The engagement of newcomers in church attendance.” He has published in the Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society, Ecclesial Practices and the International Journal of Practical Theology. Ian was also the editor of Preaching with an Accent: Biblical Genres for Australian Congregations. He is a member of the Academy of Religious Leadership and the Australasian Academy of Homiletics. Ian supervises doctoral students researching topics related to preaching, church vitality, and discipleship.

Dr Ruth Lukabyo

Ruth Lukabyo is passionate about research and writing in two key areas: the history of children’s and youth ministry and the broader picture of Australian evangelical history. She has been involved in the theological education of children’s and youth ministers for almost 20 years and is interested in the practical implications of research for ministry practice. She also has an interest in the disciplines of practical theology, educational studies, and sociology. She believes that research should help the church practice evidence-based, theologically robust, effective ministry to young people.

Ruth is on the executive committee of the regional ANZAC International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry. She is on the executive committee of the Evangelical History Association and assistant editor of its journal, Lucas. She is the manager of the Youthworks Institute that has been established to produce research for effective children’s and youth ministry. She is author of the book From a Ministry for Youth to a Ministry of Youth; Aspects of Protestant Youth Ministry in Sydney 1930-1959.

Prof Peter G. Riddell

Peter G. Riddell is Senior Research Fellow of the Australian College of Theology and Professorial Research Associate in History at SOAS University of London. He is a Fellow of both the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

He has previously taught at the Australian National University, IPB University (Indonesia), the London School of Oriental and African Studies, and London School of Theology, where he served from 1996-2007 as the founding Director of the Centre for Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Relations and Professor of Islamic Studies. From 2008-2019 he served at Melbourne School of Theology, first as Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam and other Faiths and from 2012 as Vice Principal Academic. He was invited as visiting fellow at L’Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes/Sorbonne (Paris) in May/June, 2015.

Professor Riddell has published widely on Southeast Asia, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.  His books include Transferring a Tradition  (Berkeley, Centers for South and Southeast Asian Studies, Univ. California, 1990); Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World: Transmission and Responses  (London, Hurst, 2001); and Malay Court Religion, Culture and Language: Interpreting the Qur’an in 17^th Century Aceh (Leiden, Brill, 2017).

Dr Richard Shumack

My research interests developed out of my ministry experience in Muslim contexts. Seeking to understand how Muslims thought, and why Christian/Muslim engagement is so often fraught with disconnection, I explore questions of belief formation and sustenance, worldview and the place of reason in faith and apologetics. My specific research interests include:  Philosophical Theology (Knowledge of God, Trinitarian theology, Christology, contemporary and classical natural theology, classical and contemporary Islamic philosophical theology, Philosophical Apologetics); Missiology ( contextualization, worldview formation and reflection, ethnicity and place, trinitarian missiology, Christianity in the public square) and Ethics: meta-ethics, belief ethics, environmental ethics, sport ethics.

I have taught and researched in a variety of institutions and projects including:

• Director, Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam, Melbourne School of Theology, 2015-present.
• Academic Director, Understanding and Answering Islam project, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, 2013-2020.
• Research Fellow, the Centre for Public Christianity, Sydney, 2013-2020. publicchristianity.org
• Part-time Lecturer, Queensland Theological College, 2013-present
• Adjunct Lecturer:
  • Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, 2012-present
  • Sydney Missionary and Bible College, 2015-present
  • Ethiopian Theological College, 2021-present
  • Moore Theological College, 2015-20
• Adjunct HDR Supervisor: Alphacrucis College, 2019-present

I am a published member of the Evangelical Philosophical Society.