Authors

Leisa Aitken is a clinical psychologist with a PhD researching the Psychology of Hope, integrating psychology, theology, and philosophy. For nearly thirty years she has been delivering therapy in private practice as well as talks, seminars and clinical and pastoral supervision in schools, churches, hospitals and corporate workplaces.

In 2023, Leisa gave the annual Richard Johnson Lecture, entitled Rediscovering Hope. How we lost it. How we get it back.

Paul A. Barker is assistant Bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne. He completed a PhD in Old Testament in 1996. From 2009-2016, he was with the Church Missionary Society based in Malaysia, teaching in Seminari Theoloji Malaysia. Paul was consecrated in November 2016 as Bishop for Jumbunna, part of the diocese of Melbourne.

Vanessa Bennett is assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. Prior to becoming Assistant Bishop Vanessa served as Archdeacon of Essendon and Vicar of the Parish of Moonee Ponds in the Diocese of Melbourne. She holds a Bachelor of Ministry from Morling Baptist College and a Master of Arts (Theology) from Moore Theological College.

Michael J. Bird is Vice Principal and Lecturer in New Testament at Ridley College, Melbourne. He is the author of many books, including most recently, Jesus and the Powers (Zondervan) with Tom Wright.

X: @mbird12

Podcast: Ask N.T. Wright Anything

YouTube: Early Christian History

Substack: https://michaelfbird.substack.com/

Anna Boxwell is a minister at Renew Anglican Church, Canberra; teaches ministry training for St. Mark’s National Theological Centre; and is the assistant director of church planting for City to City Australia, training and coaching people who are starting churches across Australia. She holds a BDiv from Moore Theological College.

Aimee Byrd is the author of Saving Face, Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and other books exploring gender and spiritual formation. She is currently a graduate student at Hood College, studying clinical mental health counselling. And—fun fact—Aimee is a part-time mixologist at McClintock Distillery in Frederick, Maryland.

Andrew is Senior Associate Priest at St John’s Anglican Church in Canberra, Australia. His focus there is in preaching and teaching, with special reference to public and cultural engagement. Some of his and others’ talks can be heard at the St John’s Canberra Talks podcast (Spotify, Apple). He is the author of Joined-up life: a Christian account of how ethics works and The Logic of Love: Christian ethics and moral psychology. Andrew is an adjunct associate professor with the Church Sturt School of Theology. After a stint as the Director of St Mark’s National Theological Centre, he continues some teaching and supervision there in theology and ethics. He lives in Canberra’s south with Mary-Anne and their two border collies, one neurotic and smart (Colah), and the other (Wally) compassionate but not intellectually gifted.

Hannah Craven is a lecturer in Christian thought at Ridley College, Melbourne. She was ordained in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne in 2015 before completing a doctorate in feminist hermeneutics at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. She currently leads the team for Ridley’s biennial Evangelical Women in Academia (EWA) conference.

Amy J. Erickson is lecturer in theology and ethics at St. Mark’s National Theological Centre. She studied under Brian Brock and Stanley Hauerwas at the University of Aberdeen (PhD, 2018). Her research interests include biblical hermeneutics and ecclesiology, with a special focus on church discipline. She is co-author with Greg Wagenfuhr of Sabbath Gospel: A New Narrative of Time, Rest, and the Work of the Church (IVP). Amy’s church family is St John’s Anglican Church in Canberra.

Jill Firth is lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament at Ridley College, Melbourne. She has ministered in Western Australia, Victoria, the Northern Territory, and Hong Kong. She is co-editor of Grounded in the Body, in Time and Place, in Scripture: Papers by Australian Women Scholars in the Evangelical Tradition (Wipf & Stock).

Michael Gladwin is a senior lecturer in church history at St. Mark’s National Theological Centre in Canberra. He is the author of Captains of the Soul (Big Sky) and Anglican Clergy in Australia (Royal Historical Society). He is also the editor of St. Mark’s Review.

Scott Goode is an ordained Anglican priest serving an evangelical parish in regional New South Wales, Australia. He is currently completing doctoral research on Pauline marriage theology and maintains active research interests in Pauline studies and the historical Jesus. Scott blogs here.

Grace Lung is the director of the Centre for Asian Christianity at the Brisbane School of Theology. She is also the Next Generation Bicultural Program coordinator at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is on the pastoral team at Rise Alliance Church in Brisbane. Grace studied at Sydney Missionary Bible College and Fuller Theological Seminary. She writes and lectures on Asian Australian issues and multiculturalism.

Erica Mandi Manga (née Hamence) is a minister at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Castle Hill, in Sydney. For many years she worked as senior assistant minister at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Broadway, also in Sydney. She founded Common Grace’s Domestic and Family Violence Justice team and was a creator and author of their SAFER Domestic and Family Violence resource for churches (www.saferresource.org.au) as well as Renew: An Australian Guide for Christian Women Survivors of Domestic Abuse.

Megan Powell du Toit is an ordained Baptist minister in Sydney, Australia. She has worked as a pastor, academic, and editor. Her doctoral research focused on tensions within evangelicalism. She is a senior pastor at a Baptist church and co-director of the WADR Project, co-hosting its podcast, With All Due Respect, as well as editing its online platform, WADR Online.

Laura Rademaker is a historian at the Australian National University, Canberra, with research interests in Christian missions, gender, race, and religion and the author of numerous prize-winning books. Her husband, Phil Rademaker, is rector of Christ Church Anglican in Belconnen, Canberra.

David C. Ray is a university scholar at the University of Divinity, St. Francis College, Brisbane, researching the Writings in the Hebrew Bible. He is married to Rev. Suzie Ray, rector of St. James Anglican Church, Sanderson, and ministers under her leadership.

Jacqueline Service is director of St. Mark’s National Theological Centre, Canberra, and senior lecturer in systematic theology at Charles Sturt University, Australia. She holds postgraduate degrees in law and theology, with a PhD specialising in Trinitarian theology. She is the author of Triune Wellbeing: The Kenotic Enrichment of the Eternal Trinity (Fortress Academic).