Bible, Ministry & Theology Course | Morling College

PHONE: (02) 9878 0201 | E-MAIL: ENQUIRIES@MORLING.EDU.AU

BIBLE, MINISTRY & THEOLOGY FACULTY

TO SHAPE MEN AND WOMEN FOR MINISTRY IN A VARIETY OF FORMS AND CONTEXTS

BIBLE, MINISTRY & THEOLOGY

Ross Clifford (AM) - Principal

Principal

Bachelor of Theology (Hons); Master of Arts; Master of Theology; Diploma of Law; Doctor of Theology

Ross Clifford has been Principal of Morling College since 1997. He joined the College faculty after twelve years of pastoral work at South Windsor and Gymea Baptist Churches. Before he entered the ministry he practised law in New South Wales and the Northern Territory. Ross’ focus areas include apologetics, ethics and Theology.

Ross is married to Beverley and they have two (2) children. His passions include legal crime novels, cricket and all brands of football.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

The values of Morling are the values that I have sought to minister and live by. It is essential in everything that Morling does from teaching, discipling and mission, that Christ is central. With a gospel focus my primary aim has always been equipping students in the most biblically and relevant way. Whilst Morling is in an exciting property development stage our ministry focus is students. People matter most and for Morling, discipleship is equipping the whole person.

Recent Publications

The Cross Is Not Enough

Taboo or To Do? Is Christianity complementary with yoga, martial arts, Hallowe’en, mindfulness and other alternative practices?

Leading Lawyers Case for the Resurrection
David Starling - Chief Academic Officer

Chief Academic Officer

MA, Dip Ed, BTh (Hons), BMin, PhD

David Starling joined the Morling faculty in 2005 and has lectured since then in New Testament, Greek and Theology.

He became the Head of Morling’s Bible and Theology Department in 2014, and was appointed as the Chief Academic Officer in 2019. He exercises a senior role in ministry and leadership, overseeing learning, teaching and research across the faculties.

David studied at the University of Sydney and worked as an English teacher in Western Sydney for three years, before completing theological studies. From 2000-2006 he was the pastor of Petersham Baptist Church. He and his wife, Nicole, along with their four children, attend Chatswood Baptist Church, where Nicole serves part-time as a member of the pastoral team.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

David is thankful for the way in which his work at Morling gives him an opportunity to help students put down deep, biblical roots, so that they leave College equipped with a Christ-centred wisdom that will shape their ministry wherever God takes them, and a humble desire to keep learning.

Recent Publications

His publications include Hermeneutics as Apprenticeship (Baker Academic, 2016), UnCorinthian Leadership (Cascade, 2014) and Not my People: Gentiles as Exiles in Pauline Hermeneutics (BZNW 184; DeGruyter, 2011).

View Publications by David Starling here.
Gayle Kent - Chief Community Life Officer

Chief Community Life Officer
Lecturer in Pastoral and Practical Studies

BADipEd, GradDip Counselling, MAChrSt, MIntEd (School Leadership)

Gayle joined the Morling team in 2006 after working as a secondary school teacher in English Literature and History. While Gayle’s various roles involve different tasks and areas of focus; what unites them is a passion for all people to grow together in wisdom, understanding and passion about how God has shaped them and what he has gifted them to do. Gayle attends Macquarie Chapel Presbyterian Church in Marsfield and spent 9 years on staff there in various pastoral roles.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

Gayle is excited to see how her work at Morling contributes to the transformative work of our holy and gracious God in the lives of women and men at College. She finds it a privilege to encourage and support those in the Morling community and to work alongside others to ensure that Morling is a place where people are equipped with a deep sense of God’s presence and purpose.
Andrew Sloane

Senior Lecturer in Old Testament and Christian Thought
Director of Postgraduate Studies

M.B.,B.S. (Hons 2A), B.Th. (Hons 1), Dip.Min., Th.D.

Andrew was appointed Lecturer in Old Testament and Christian Thought in 2002. He teaches in the areas of integration of faith and work, OT exegesis (Genesis, Deuteronomy, 1&2 Samuel, Ezekiel, Psalms), OT interpretation, philosophy of religion and bioethics. Andrew qualified in medicine and practiced briefly as a doctor before going into Baptist ministry. Prior to moving to Morling, he taught at Ridley College in Melbourne (1996–2002). He has published in Old Testament and hermeneutics, ethics, philosophy, and theology.

Andrew is married to Alison, and they have three adult daughters. They attend Harbourside Church, a recent Baptist church plant in Mosman.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

I see my role as doing what I can to encourage and inspire students to line up all they are and think and do with God’s kingdom purposes. It gives me great delight to see people coming to grips with the challenging and delightful riches of God’s word, bringing the Scriptures to bear on all of life and ministry, and living and serving God and God’s people and God’s world in response to Christ’s kingdom call.

Recent Publications:

Andrew’s publications include: Vulnerability and Care: Christian Reflections on the Philosophy of Medicine (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2016); At Home in a Strange Land: Using the Old Testament in Christian Ethics (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2008); and he edited Tamar's Tears: Evangelical Engagements with Feminist Old Testament Hermeneutics (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2012).

Andrew’s current research focuses on matters relating to theology of medicine, the integration of faith and work, and philosophical theology.

View further information about Andrew Sloane’s research.
Anthony Petterson

Lecturer in Old Testament

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.

Anthony is married to Megan and has four young adult children (all studying at universities in Sydney).

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

College is first and foremost about encountering God in his word, the Bible, and being profoundly shaped by God's word to love and serve Jesus and the world. While many disparage the Bible today, my role is to honour it, to explain it, to live in the light of it, and to teach others to do the same.

Recent Publications:

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), and study notes on Haggai and Zechariah for the NIV (Zondervan) Study Bible edited by Don Carson. His ongoing research interest is in the Book of the Twelve Prophets
Edwina Murphy

Senior Lecturer in Christian Thought and History

BEc, BMin, MTh, PhD

Edwina joined the faculty in 2008, but has been associated with Morling since commencing as a student in 1993. She teaches Christianity in History and Baptist Distinctives. Her research interests revolve around Cyprian, a third-century bishop, and how the early church interpreted scripture.

Edwina was an evangelistic intern (1998) and also served as associate pastor of Macquarie Baptist Church (1999-2000). She is married to Peter and they have two children, Joel and Lara. They attend Blakehurst Baptist Church.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

I love seeing students challenged and transformed as they learn from those who have followed Jesus throughout history, discovering the diversity and richness of the Christian tradition.

Recent Publications:

Edwina’s publications include The Bishop and the Apostle: Cyprian’s Pastoral Exegesis of Paul, Deacons and Diakonia in Early Christianity (edited with Bart Koet and Esko Ryökäs) and The Gender Conversation (edited with David Starling). She has also published a devotional, Ancient Wisdom Living Hope, and an e-book, The Procrastinator’s Guide to a PhD.

https://morlingcollege.academia.edu/EdwinaMurphy
Graeme Dunkley

Lecturer in Missions

Cert IV TAA, B.Eng. B.Th. MA Min

Graeme joins us in 2020 to lecture in Mission. He was Associate Pastor at Nowra Baptist before serving in ministry for a number of years in the Middle East. Graeme has also pastored other churches and worked in other roles in Mission agencies. He and his wife Allison are part of Narwee Baptist Church; he has three children of whom two are at University and one is in High School.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

The gospel is the story of God’s work in the world - that’s really just another way of saying ‘mission’. Understanding the gospel in all it’s beauty and complexity transforms us. As we are being transformed, we long for other people to experience that transformation too.
Ian Packer - Academic Registrar

Academic Registrar

BA(HONS), MDIV

Ian Packer, our Academic Registrar, is an accredited Baptist minister. He did his BA (Hons) in politics, philosophy and sociology at Murdoch University, studied theology at the Baptist College of WA (now Vose Seminary), and his M.Div at Ridley College and Morling College. He is currently pursuing doctoral research in theological ethics on a baptistic public theology of vocation.

He has lectured at several colleges in theology, philosophy, and ethics, and their interface with other disciplines. This flows from his conviction that there is no sphere of life excluded from the call to follow Jesus Christ.

He worked for 8 years for Australian Evangelical Alliance, first as Director of Public Theology and then as Assistant Director of Ethos—EA Centre for Christianity and Society (www.ethos.org.au). He is on the editorial board of Zadok Perspectives and also of Crucible, an Australian online journal of theology and ministry (www.crucible.org.au) sponsored by a number of Evangelical colleges. He has served on the Social Issues Committee for the Baptist Union of NSW & ACT.

He is married to Libby and they have three daughters and a son. Their eldest two daughters are former Plunge students.

Recent Publications

Academic

“How Shall We Live? Probing Contemporary Ethics, Metaphysics and Religion,” Viewpoint 2 (February 2010).

“An Immodest Proposal for the Practice of the Lord’s Table” in Beyond 400: Exploring Baptist Futures, ed. David Cohen and Michael Parsons (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2011).

Bonhoeffer Down Under, ed. Gordon Preece and Ian Packer (Adelaide: ATF Press, 2012).

“Christian Leadership ‘Between the Times’: An Apocalyptic, Communitarian, and Missional View of Christian Influence,” Crucible 5:2 (November 2013).

“Transcendence or Transgression? Technological Enhancement and the Human Vocation,” Zadok Perspectives 123 (Winter 2014).

[with Preece, Gordon R.] “Christian Political Models—Ancient and Modern: An Outline and Reading Guide, Part 1,” Zadok Paper No. 200 (Summer 2013): 1-16.

Articles on ‘Public Theology’ and ‘Everyday Theology’ include

“Human Scale and Human Pace: Thinking about Everyday Technology,” Zadok Perspectives No. 94 (Autumn 2007): 7-9. [link]

“Are We Having Fun Yet? Rest, Joy and Play in a World of Trouble” [link]

“Can We Be Good without God?” [link]

“Resurrecting Real Hope” [link]

“Remembering Our Primary Social Calling” [link]

“Conversion of the Imagination” [link]

“‘In the World’ but ‘Not Of the World’: Holiness, Citizenship and the Theme of ‘Exile’” [link]

“’iFamily Values’: Social Media, Technology, and Parenting” [link]

“Passing on ‘Values’ – ‘Values’ Language Doesn’t Represent Christian Ethics”

“Whose Freedom? What Kind of Liberty?”
Karen Pack

Lecturer in Chaplaincy & Spiritual Care; Academic Tutor

B.A., M.Teach (Hons), M.Div. PhD (Candidate)

Karen started at Morling in November 2017. Her main focus is the biblical and theological framework for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care, and leadership development, particularly as it pertains to chaplaincy and care.

Karen is an ordained minister who previously was on the pastoral staff of a church in Western Sydney. She is an experienced educator and communicator, having ministered in Australia and internationally for over twenty years, including training pastors, teachers and lay leaders throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East with World Outreach International. Prior to this she was a School Chaplain and High School English & History teacher.

Karen is a doctoral candidate at Alphacrucis College, researching the lives of unmarried, evangelical Christian women in Australia in the period 1890-1970. She specialises in the intersection of singleness and sexuality for unmarried Christians, but has also written numerous articles on pastoral ethics and cross-cultural missions. She loves preaching and speaking.

Karen also loves coffee, scuba diving and snorkelling, reading classic novels, and hanging out with friends (especially when coffee is involved).
Karina Kreminski

Lecturer in Missional Studies

BA, BMin, DipTheol, DMin

Before she joined faculty at Morling College, Karina was the Senior Pastor of Community Life Church Cherrybrook where she ministered for 13 years. Karina was ordained in 2002 and completed her doctorate in missional studies focusing on the formation of a missional church and missional spirituality. She has also been involved in denominational leadership, serving on various councils and the vision committee.

Karina is passionately involved in community work in the Inner city of Sydney.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

Seeking to be a role model for Christlikeness, Knowing that God loves all people no matter who they are because they reflect his image, integrating theory and practice for missional impact.

Publications and Research:

Chapters in The Gender Conversation

Urban Spirituality: Embodying God’s mission in the neighbourhood (book coming out in 2018)

missioalliance.org

karinakreminski.com.au
Keith Mitchell

Lecturer in Pastoral and Practical Studies
Baptist Accreditation Adviser
Director of Field Education

PhD Candidate, M.Ed, B.Min, Dip.Th, B.Bus

Keith commenced at Morling in 2010 with the main area of teaching being on pastoral and practical formation of people in ministry and their service of God. His emphasis includes research in the area of developing leadership sustainability and resilience in pastors; ensuring strong spiritual development in ministry formation processes; and growing together in faith through Christian worship. Besides enabling people to become reflective practioners, Keith has a focus on ensuring awareness and insight are developed in students for effectiveness in ministry.

Prior to teaching full time at Morling, Keith had been involved in pastoral ministry for over 17 years, and taught pastoral units part time at Morling and other theological colleges.

Keith has been married to Ruth for over 25 years, has 2 married adult children, and 2 teenagers living with them at home. He worships and is involved in a Baptist church community on the Central Coast and likes Thai food and coffee (but not necessarily together).

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

Keith recognises that in the area of pastoral formation that the bible is the main emphasis for understanding pastoral engagement and expression. He recognises that reflection on both the narrative and direct teaching aspects of scripture inform understanding and approach in ministry situations, and the whole of life. He welcomes a variety of theological positions in the classroom and will seek to ensure that a student’s theological understanding on various doctrinal issues are consistent with their life practices, within a missional framework and godly expression. Since Keith is a pastoral and practical theologian his classroom teaching is interactive, open and engaging so that students think deeply about their pastoral and ministry formation in an intentional manner. He believes we should all be life-long learners.

Recent Publications

Mitchell, Keith. "Truth, Traditional Teaching, and Constructivism." In Foundations of Education : A Christian Vision, edited by Matthew Bruce Etherington. Eugene, Or.: Wipf & Stock, 2014.

Keith also has an interest in ensuring that pastors have a clear theological understanding of faith and work and so is part of a cohort of Australian pastors connected with the Oikonomia network, USA and Reventure, Australia. Since spiritual formation is important to Keith he, also, has connections with Renovaré surrounding aspects of spiritual formation and Christian worship.
Kristen Cairns - Director of Morling Online

Director of Morling Online
Marc Rader

Lecturer

Bachelor of Religious Studies (Tyndale), Grad. Dip Arts (History) (Sydney), D.Min (Morling)

Marc was appointed as a part-time faculty member in 2005 and has taught a wide variety of subjects over the last decade. His area of expertise is preaching which was the focus of his doctoral work which he completed in 2013.

Marc is also the senior pastor of Gymea Baptist Church, a large, multi-staff church in Sydney's south where he has been since his arrival from Canada in 1997. Marc is married to Nicole and they have three daughters.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

Given my role as the senior pastor of a church whose vision is to invite everyone to follow Jesus and be changed by that encounter, the value of missional focus is most significant in my role at the college. As a practitioner I have a very keen interest in training the next generation to be effective ministers of the gospel.
Matt Andrew

Online Lecturer (Bible & Theology)

B.Th., Grad. Dip. Theol., Ph.D

Matt began work as an adjunct lecturer in the distance department in 2013 after spending seven years in pastoral ministry. His primary areas of interest are in systematic and philosophical theology.

Matt lives on the Central Coast with his wife and children.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

Theology explores what the Gospel means as the people of God encounter different realities, challenges and questions. It should ultimately lead us to worship and right-living. As such, Morling’s values are captured in the very material that I have the privilege of teaching.
Mike Frost

Director, Tinsley Institute

DMin, MA, BTh, Dip Ed.

Michael Frost is the Director of the Tinsley Institute, the mission study centre he founded at Morling 20 years ago. He is an internationally recognised missiologist and one of the leading voices in the missional church movement. He is the author or editor of 16 theological books, some of which are required reading in colleges and seminaries around the world, and he is much sought after as an international conference speaker. He is also an adjunct or visiting professor with several seminaries in the USA.

Michael was one of the founders of the Forge Mission Training Network and the founder of the missional Christian community, Smallboatbigsea, based in Manly in Sydney’s north.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

Christ is Central

The centrality of Jesus sits at the heart of the missional task, which is to alert others to the universal reign of God through Christ

Recent Publications:

The Shaping of Things to Come (2003)
Exiles (2006)
The Road to Missional (2011)
Surprise the World! (2016)

Blog at www.mikefrost.net
Miyon Chung

Lecturer

MA (Theology); MA (Church Social Work); PhD (Theology)

Miyon Chung was born in Seoul, Korea, where she finished her elementary school education. In the late 1970s, her family immigrated to USA which became her second home. She received her PhD in Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. During her doctoral studies, Miyon taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dallas Korean Seminary, and Guatemala Baptist Seminary.

Her main teaching responsibilities have been with Torch Trinity Graduate University in Korea (2002 to 2013) and Morling College in Australia (2013 to present). During summer and winter breaks, she travels to teach in seminaries and churches in other countries.

Her Baptist ministries include working with Baptist World Alliance, and Asia Pacific Baptist Federation. She also works with Overseas Council Australia and Diaspora Track of Lausanne Consultation on World Evangelism/Global Diaspora Network..

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

Miyon fully affirms Morling's core values. Being reserved and private, it takes her a while to open up to people. But she does her utmost to convey our values through personal interaction, which is a powerful medium of godly transformation.

Recent Publications:

“Theology of Diaspora: Biblical Trajectory and Its Implications for Mission in the New Testament” in Torch Trinity Journal, December, 2016.

“Biblical and Theological Foundation for Diaspora Missiology,” in Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology, Sadiri Joy Tira and Tetsuano Yamamori, Eds. Oxford, UK: Regnum, 2016. (Section Editor with Tom Harvey)

“The Late Nineteenth-Century Protestant Mission and Emergence of “the Bible Woman” in Korea” in The Gender Conversations: Evangelical Perspectives on Gender, Scripture, and the Christian Life, Edwina Murphy and David Starling, Eds. Morling Press and Wipf and Stock Publications, 2016.

“Theology and the Future of Asia” in Theology and the Future. T & T Clark, 2014.
Peter Friend

Adjunct Lecturer

B.A.Hons (Sydney Uni.), Dip.Ed. (Sydney Uni.), Grad.Dip.Christ.Stud. (Morling College), M.Div (Morling College)

Peter studied his M.Div at Morling, finishing in 2016, with a particular interest in both Old and New Testament studies (including Hebrew and Greek). His background before College was in writing and editing, having worked on a range of book and commercial projects, and as a children's poet and writer. As a writer, Peter is especially inspired by nature, by history, by literature, by the world of the imagination and by biblical theology. He enjoy the outdoors and reading. Peter is also a regular preacher in church.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

In my role at Morling, I seek to inspire students about learning the ancient biblical languages as a window into the thought of the Bible's message.

Recent Publications

I am the author of the children's picture book What's the Matter, Aunty May? which was shortlisted for the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary awards, as well as the children's novel The Cliff Runner (Blake Publishing, 2013), and many short stories and poems for the NSW Department of Education School Magazine.

facebook.com/peterfriendwriting
Stephen Bray

Educational Designer

B.Ed.(AdultEd), B.Th., GradCertHigherEd, CertIVTAE, MACE

Stephen works alongside faculty, designing, developing and delivering online and on campus courses, providing educational and technical expertise, and administering the Morling Online learning management system. Prior to Morling College, he spent many years in education and training positions with the Australian Catholic University, The Salvation Army, Mission Australia and a wide variety of paid and unpaid church ministry roles. Stephen has studied at the University of Technology (Sydney), at Morling College and the Australian Catholic University. Currently undertaking a postgrad research project on the German Pietists who established Halle University, he has academic interests in the areas of educational history, technologically integrated learning, and online formation.

Stephen is married to Lynda, has three children and attends Blakehurst Baptist Church.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

Stephen is blessed to play a small role at Morling College, enabling students to access educational opportunities, so that they might be transformed, equipped and shaped to live out the Gospel in the world, proclaiming Christ’s kingdom.
Steve Dixon

Coordinator of Youth Ministry Studies

Master of Arts (Ministry); Master of Divinity; Bachelor of IT

Steve commenced on staff at Morling in 2013 and oversees our youth ministry offerings. Steve has a passion to see 5e local church be effective in its ministry for and with the next generation. Steve is also works with the Baptist Association of Churches in NSW and ACT to support and equip churches in their youth adult ministries.

Steve is married to Renee and they have two children. They attend H3O Church in Dee Why and Steve loves sunshine, the ocean and good coffee.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

The Morling values influence my interactions with students, preparations and delivery of course content as well as the formation of assessments.
Tim MacBride - Head of Bible and Theology

Head of Bible and Theology
Lecturer in New Testament, Coordinator of Preaching Studies

B.Th.(Hons), M.Th., Th.D., B.Mus., A.Mus.A.

Tim began lecturing at Morling College in 2008, and has a current focus area on the New Testament and Preaching. Prior to teaching at Morling, Tim was the Associate Pastor at Narwee Baptist Church for 8 years.

Tim is married to Samantha, with two teenage sons and a cavoodle, and attends Narwee Baptist Church.

How do you see the Morling values reflected in your role at Morling?

Tim sees his role on the Bible & Theology Faculty as being a discipler of people first, and a teacher of content second. This doesn't mean the latter is in any way less important - it's still what he spends the majority of time doing - but it mustn't be simply for its own sake. Tim doesn’t ever want to lose sight of the fact that his teaching at Morling has a practical goal: to equip people to know God more deeply, to be transformed more into the likeness of his Son, and to serve his kingdom in the world.

Recent Publications:

Catching the Wave: Preaching the NT as Rhetoric (IVP, 2016)

Preaching the NT as Rhetoric: The Promise of Rhetorical Criticism for Expository Preaching (Wipf & Stock, 2014)

coffeewiththeking.org

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