Ben joined Cliff College in September 2012 from Mattersey Hall where he was head of Postgraduate Studies.
After an initial career as a full-time artist, Ben worked as an administrator for the Ministry of Defence for a number of years, as well as completing his theological education and being an adjunct lecturer in a number of colleges in UK and India. Ben’s PhD was entitled ‘Power in the Blood: The Significance of the Blood of Jesus to the Spirituality of Early British Pentecostalism and its Precursors’.
He lives in Nottingham with his wife Pearl and three children: Abigail, Gracie and Reuben, where they attend the Eagle’s Nest Church. Ben serves there in preaching, teaching and worship.
Here at Cliff, Ben has developed a passion for the inter-disciplinary study of theology and his teaching includes New Testament, Pentecostalism, theology and the arts, philosophy and discipleship, though his core discipline is systematic theology, the study of Christian doctrine. His current research interests are in the study of the atonement in relation to contemporary culture, and how both of these can inform the task of preaching.
He is also the co-founder and director of the Samuel Chadwick Centre, which is a research centre focusing on the work of the Spirit in the mission of the Church. So far, Ben’s published work in theology applied to a variety of contexts and audiences amounts to over 50 pieces of work altogether. His most recent academic book is his Pictures of Atonement: A New Testament Study (2020).
Ben's research interests are in the theology of atonement, in Pneumatology and Pentecostalism and in philosophy and culture. He invites enquiries from postgraduate research students who are keen to pursue PhD studies in the area of connecting gospel and culture.
Education
1988-1991 | University for the Creative Arts, Farnham; BA (Hons) Fine Art |
2001-2004 | Regents Theological College (University of Manchester); MA (Distinction) The Study of Pentecostal and Charismatic Issues |
2005-2009 | Regents Theological College (Bangor University); PhD (Pentecostal Theology) |
| 2019 | Sheffield Hallam University; PG Certificate Teaching in Higher Education |
Publications
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ACADEMIC BOOKS
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Pictures of Atonement: A New Testament Study (Eugene: Cascade, 2020)
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SCM Study Guide to Philosophy and Christian Faith (London: SCM, 2018)
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SCM Study Guide to Theology in the Contemporary World (London: SCM, 2017)
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Bold Faith: A Closer Look at the Five Key Ideas of Charismatic Christianity (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2017)
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The Old Rugged Cross: A History of the Atonement in Popular Christian Devotion (Eugene, OR.: Cascade, 2016)
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Atonement Theories: A Way Through the Maze (Eugene, OR.: Cascade, 2014)
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POPULAR BOOKS
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One With Christ: 40 Biblical Meditations on Paul's 'in Christ' Theme (Eugene: Cascade, 2023)
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The Beauty of God: Beauty, the Divine Attributes and the Life of Faith (Eugene: Cascade, 2023)
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(with Jason Glover and Daniel Thompson), Beyond This Darkness: A Faith-Based Pathway to Recovery from Addictive Behaviors (Eugene: Resource, 2017)
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The Hero’s Journey Guidebook: Mapping the Story of Your Life (Eugene: Resource, 2016)
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Whose Baby? Therapy for the Christmas Season in Twelve Parts (Eugene, OR.: Resource, 2014)
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The King of the Jews: 28 Moments with the Son of God (Eugene, OR.: Resource, 2014)
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ACADEMIC ARTICLES
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'Succession Plans: Is There a Biblical Template?’, Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association 35:1 (2016), 1-14
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‘"Under the Blood” at Azusa Street: Exodus Typology at the Heart of Pentecostal Origins’, Journal of Religious History 39:1 (March 2015), 86-103
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'”Kicking the Daylights out of the Devil:” The Victory Motif in Some Recent Atonement Theology’, European Journal of Theology XXIII:1 (2014), 32-42. Evangelical Review of Theology 38:1 (Jan 2014), 4-21
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‘The Wesleyan Way: Entire Sanctification and its spin-offs – a recurring theme in Evangelical Devotion’, Evangelical Review of Theology 38:1 (Jan 2014), 4-21
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‘Subverted Hierarchies: Towards a Biblical Theology of Leadership’, Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association 32:2 (2013), 125-142
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‘The Spirit and the Cross: Insights from Barth and Möltmann into the Holy Spirit’s Relationship to the Cross of Christ’, Evangelical Review of Theology 36:4 (Oct 2012), 292-301
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‘The Mind of the Spirit: Explorations in the reciprocal relationship between the work of the Spirit and the work of the Son,’ Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association 32:1 (2012), 41-60
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‘A Brief History of the Blood: the Story of the Blood of Christ in Transatlantic Evangelical Devotion,’ Evangelical Review of Theology 31:3 (2007), 239-255
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'”There is Power in the Blood” – The Role of the Blood of Jesus in the Spirituality of Early British Pentecostalism’, Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association 25 (2006), 54-66
Teaching and Supervision
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Areas of supervision
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Ben is currently supervising doctoral students in the following areas:
Pneumatology in relation to Anglican Resource Churches;
the recapitulation model of atonement as found in Luke’s Gospel;
the atonement and providence in the work of John Milbank;
the theology of the writer to the Hebrews;
the applicability of Lesslie Newbigin’s ideas to an Anglican congregation today.