• Mark Roques: “Celebrity, theology & Mission”

    How can conversations about Paris Hilton and Russell Brand help us to do mission and discipleship? Can we connect the world of celebrity culture to theology and the gospel story? Does Jesus have anything to say to Simon Cowell and Rihanna? Mark has spent many years pioneering fresh ways of communicating the Christian faith to…

  • Revd Canon Mark Tanner: “Charismatic Christianity: building on rock or sand?”

    St Mark's Church Leeds Road, Harrogate, United Kingdom

    Canon Mark Tanner, Warden of Cranmer Hall, University of Durham. Before moving to Durham, Mark was Vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Ripon. The title of his lecture is “Charismatic spirituality: building on rock or sand?” He will explore this vibrant part of our life together, considering where the charismatic movement has come from and what…

  • Dr David Instone-Brewer: “Divorce and remarriage in bible times and today”

    St Mark's Church Leeds Road, Harrogate, United Kingdom

    We welcome Dr David Instone-Brewer who is Senior Research Fellow in Rabbinics and the New Testament at Tyndale House in Cambridge. His title is ‘Divorce and Remarriage in Bible times and today’. He will examine what the Bible says about divorce, as it would have been understood by the original readers of the New Testament.…

  • Dr Paula Gooder: “The body beautiful? The importance of the body in Paul’s theolology”

    St Mark's Church Leeds Road, Harrogate, United Kingdom

    Dr Paula Gooder, Theologian in Residence for The Bible Society. The title of her lecture is “The Body beautiful? The Importance of the Body in Paul's Theology “ Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds has said that "Paula is one of the most lucid, engaging and stimulating teachers I have encountered. Her probing, encouraging style blends…

  • Revd Dr Derek Tidball: “The crown and the cross: the relationship between the kingdom of God and the cross of Christ”

    St Mark's Church Leeds Road, Harrogate, United Kingdom

    Revd Dr Derek Tidball, a former principal of London Bible College. The title of his lecture is ‘The Cross and The Crown’: the relationship between the kingdom of God and the cross of Christ. The major theme of Jesus' teaching and ministry in the synoptic gospels is the kingdom of God while in the New…

  • Revd Dr Alan Garrow: “Eating and evangelism in the very early Church”

    St Mark's Church Leeds Road, Harrogate, United Kingdom

    The Revd Dr Alan Garrow is Vicar of St Peter’s Harrogate and an Honorary Academic in the Institute for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield. He will be speaking on Eating and evangelism in the very early Church. Why did people in the first century decide to follow Jesus? On the face of…

  • Ann Morisy: “Mission and venturesome love: what does venturesome discipleship look like?”

    St Mark's Church Leeds Road, Harrogate, United Kingdom

    Venturesome love often begins with pondering 'Could I? Should I? Could We? Should We?' Such pondering and commitment is at the heart of discipleship. Venturesome Christians risk powerlessness and being overwhelmed – like Jesus, who also opted to be without power and faced up to being overwhelmed. What does venturesome discipleship look like? Where do…

  • Julie Clague: “The Pope Francis Effect: Christian witness in Church and world.”

    St Mark's Church Leeds Road, Harrogate, United Kingdom

    Julie Clague is Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at Glasgow University and an academic associate of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing. She carries out research in Catholic moral theology and ecclesiology, Catholic social thought, and Christian approaches to public issues. Julie’s lecture will explore the impact and significance of the Papacy of Francis…

  • Dr Casey Strine: Migration and Exile then and now

    St Mark's Church Leeds Road, Harrogate, United Kingdom

    Dr Strine will explore what both the Old Testament and New Testament say about migration, developing the insight that a massive number of biblical texts are written by migrants to other migrants about migration. By recognising this feature, analysing what these texts say about migration, and thinking carefully about how this compares to contemporary experiences,…