Belfast School Of Theology

Faculty

Meet the Principal

Revd James R. Burnett

BA (QUB), MA (Oxon), MPhil (Cantab)

The Principal & Lecturer

James is an experienced leader, having served congregations in
Ireland and planted churches among unreached peoples in Africa; he has worked as a youth worker, overseas missionary, minister and part-time lecturer. James is passionate about the School’s role in serving the Church.

His background in Economics and Politics contribute to his role as CEO. James’ love for Theology and Philosophy blossomed while studying at Oxford and Cambridge and, combined with his personal experiences of God in revival, it is no surprise to discover his research interests lie in the epistemology and understanding of the Holy Spirit.

Our Academic

Staff

Revd Dr Bob Keay

BA MA PhD ThM PhD

Bob’s career spans academia and pastoral ministry. Since August 2023, he has been the Academic Director at Spurgeon’s College. With a PhD in New Testament from the University of St Andrews and a ThM in Biblical Theology from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Bob has taught at various institutions and served as a pastor in churches in New Hampshire and Connecticut.

He is ordained in the Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches. His academic interests include early Christianity’s social world, apocalyptic thought, Pauline rhetoric, and the science-faith history. Originally from Plymouth, Massachusetts, Bob is married to Jill from Bangor, Northern Ireland.

Dr Peter McDowell

BEng, BD, PhD (QUB)

MA Programme Lead & Lecturer

Peter spent almost six years working with the United Mission to Nepal, first as an engineer then as co-ordinator of the Language and Orientation Programme for new expatriate missionaries. As a Presbyterian minister he has served congregations in Limerick and Belfast. Peter has also experience as a Good Relations Officer working for the Irish Churches Peace Project and in the Presbyterian Church’s Mission Department.

He is interested in the relationship between Gospel and culture and in appropriate forms of spirituality for the post- Christendom context.

Dr William Ford

Ph.D., BA (Durham), MSt (Oxford), PGCHET (QUB), FHEA

William joined BST in 2009, and has taught Old Testament and wider biblical subjects ever since. He is also the Programme Leader for the undergraduate programme.

He is originally from England, and studied theology and Old Testament in Durham and Oxford. He also spent six years in London, firstly serving with the London City Mission and then working as a chartered accountant. Prior to joining BST he taught at All Nations Christian College.

He is particularly interested in how we understand theologically difficult biblical passages, especially those that seem to portray God in negative ways.

Our Associate

Lecturers

Dr AlAN WILSON

BA PGCE PGDipTh DMin
Alan Wilson served as a pastor for over 20 years before pursuing doctoral studies and moving into the world of theological education. He has been a part time associate teacher at BST/BBC for several years and has also taught at the Irish Bible Institute, Spurgeon’s College, The Irish Baptist College, and the Nazarene Theological College. At BST his recent focus has been on leadership at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He is a podcaster (‘The Leadership Journey Podcast’) and the author of ‘The Crucible of Leadership’ (Instant Apostle, 2022). He is married to Pauline and they have two daughters and five grandchildren.

Dr ALISTaiR BATES

Alistair trained at Elim Bible College in England from 1983-1986 and remained in the Pentecostal church until 1988 before becoming a member of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. He began to study social anthropology at Queen’s University in Belfast, graduating with a BA. During that time he applied and was accepted as a student to train for the ordained ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. In 1992, Alistair went to Union Theological College and graduated with a BD. He served as both an assistant and then later an associate minister at First Ballymena Presbyterian Church, Ballymena, from 1994 until 2000 followed by Scrabo Presbyterian Church, Newtownards.

Alister was called in 2013 to be the minister of Wellington Presbyterian Church Ballymena, and is currently their team leader. He graduated from the University of Glasgow with a PhD in 2022. Alister believe that God transforms lives, churches and communities and has a passion that theology extends beyond the classroom and becomes the practically lived experience of every student. He is married to Hazel and they have two children, Hannah and Josh.

Rev Karen Campbell

BA, MA, MDiv, ALCM
Karen has preached, pastored and lectured in 3 continents: Europe, Africa and America. Before training for the Presbyterian ministry in Ireland, she was a music missionary doing ethnodoxology work in Kenya with a specific focus on the Dinka diaspora community. She recently pastored a multi-cultural city church in Grand Rapids which led her to do further doctoral research at Calvin Seminary on the virtue of intellectual humility in multicultural worshipping communities. She is passionate about preaching, global worship and engaging in reconciliation across all kinds of divides. Her research with the Dinka people has been published in the book: All the world is singing.

Dr Neil MORRSION

BA, PGCE, Grad Dip, MTh, PhD (all QUB)
Neil is a former student of Belfast Bible College. He went on to complete his PhD during his time here under the supervision of Dr Charlie Hadjiev. He has been working in the School as an Associate Lecturer since 2018 and also works as an adjunct lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin. A revised version of his PhD thesis Retribution in Chronicles: Ideology and Reality is soon to be published by Mohr Siebeck in their FAT II series.

Neil is an elder in New Row Presbyterian Church in Coleraine.

He is interested in methods of studying the Old Testament, ethics and contemporary applications of Scripture.

He is a member of the Society for Old Testament Study and the Irish Biblical Association.

Outside of academia his passions are reading and cricket.

DR MATT WILLIAMS

Matt Williams is a theologian and farm-based educator. He has studied and taught theology, especially the Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament in Northern Ireland, Malawi and England. His main interest is in establishing a Christ-centred, holistic and practical social vision that incorporates our connection to land and how we deal with economic justice and has written on these themes within a variety of academic disciplines.

When not teaching at BST, he works at Jubilee Farm near Larne, does a range of research projects, and builds a home with his family in Whitehead, Co. Antrim.

DR ANDREW MULLAN

TBC
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