Lecturers

Once an ardent atheist, Cabal (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) was converted while reading the New Testament Gospels. He has planted and pastored several churches and now serves as Professor of Christian Apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His interest in helping others to know the truth in Christ has motivated his numerous college campus talks and debates with philosophy professors. Cabal is the general editor of The Apologetics Study Bible.

Ian Hugh Clary (PhD, University of the Free State) is an associate pastor at West Toronto Baptist Church in Toronto, Ontario. He also lectures at Redeemer University College, Ancaster, Ontario, and Munster Bible College, Cork, Ireland. He has contributed to and edited a number of books, most recently Pentecostal Outpourings: Revival and the Reformed Traditions (2016), and has contributed to journals such as Evangelical Quarterly, Reformed Theological Review, and Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology. Ian is married to Victoria, and they have four children.

Dr. Andrew Collins works part-time as a consultant psychiatrist in Psychiatric Intensive Care and part-time in Biblical counselling. He also provides teaching and training on pastoral and mental health issues for churches, conferences and Bible colleges. He serves as an elder at Killicomaine Evangelical Church, Portadown and tutors the Biblical Counselling UK Certificate Course in Belfast. He is married to Nicola and they have five children.

Shane earned his Ph.D. in Expository Preaching from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds an MDiv in Pastoral Studies and ThM in Practical Theology. Shane serves as one of the Elders in Passage Baptist Church and works with Irish Baptist Missions. Shane was born in Cork, where he met and married his wife Luana, originally from Brazil. They have three children, two girls and one boy.

Stephen Dempster fell in love with the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures at a young age and has taught in this area for over 3 decades. He has a PhD from the University of Toronto and teaches at Crandall University in New Brunswick, Canada. He is married to Jehudith and they have 6 adult children and 5 grandchildren. He has written on Biblical Theology, the Prophets, and the Old Testament Canon. He is currently writing a commentary on the book of Genesis. He enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, engaging in sports and recreation, cycling with his daughter, and following American football and baseball, and his beloved Detroit Red Wings.

Edwin Ewart (BA, BD, MMin, MTh, MPhil) has over 20 years of pastoral experience in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Edwin served as Principal of the Irish Baptist College from 2010-2024, lecturing in Biblical Theology, Homiletics and Ministry Studies.

Kevin Gabriel (ThM, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) was born in central Canada. After moving to Toronto, he married an Irish woman, Christine. Kevin completed two degrees at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and wrote his final thesis on the topic of regeneration and the heart in the Old Testament. He and his wife now live in Cork, where they are members at Douglas Baptist Church. They are the delighted parents of two young children, Owen and Eliana.

Bradley G. Green teaches theology at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He earned the M.Div. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Th.M. at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Ph.D. at Baylor University. He is the author of several books, essays and reviews. Brad and his wife Dianne have three children—Caleb, Daniel, and Victoria. Brad and Dianne also helped co-found Augustine School, a Christian liberal arts school in Jackson, Tennessee.

Crawford Gribben, Ph.D. (Strathclyde), is a teacher of early modern British history at Queen’s University Belfast. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has held visiting positions at the University of Lausanne and Westminster Theological Seminary, and posts in early modern literature and history in the University of Manchester and Trinity College Dublin (where he was elected a Fellow). He is the author of many books, including “The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland.”

Born in England of Irish and Kurdish parents, Michael Haykin is Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He is also Adjunct professor of Church History at the Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College, Toronto. Dr. Haykin has a B.A. in Philosophy, a M.Rel., and a Th.D. in Church History. He has authored numerous books. He and his wife Alison, and their two children, Victoria and Nigel, live in Dundas, Ontario.

David Luke (BA, BD, PhD) is Director of Postgraduate Studies and Historical Theology Tutor at the Irish Baptist College. He served as pastor of Gilnahirk Baptist in Belfast for 15 years. He joined the full-time teaching staff of IBC in September 2013. He has over 20 years’ experience lecturing in Historical Theology, Church History and Baptist History. He also teaches on the Cornhill Belfast course.

Ryan Rippee is President of The Cornerstone Bible College and Seminary in Vallejo, California. He has been a pastor and teacher for 18 years. He received his B.A. degree from the University of California at Davis in History (1999), his M.Div. from The Cornerstone Seminary (2007), and his Ph.D. from Southern Seminary (2016). Ryan is the author of Preaching that Exalts Christ: The Pulpit Ministry of Steve Fernandez and That God May Be All in All. He and his wife Jennafer have five children.

John Samuel is married to Jo and has the rare privilege of being an Englishman with three Irish children. He pastored Grosvenor Road Baptist Church for 19 years until 2012. Currently he serves as pastor of Duke Street Church in Richmond in South West London. John has a love for the Irish church and was responsible for establishing the annual Irish Preachers Conference.

Robert Strivens is pastor of Bradford on Avon Baptist Church, where he has been since 2017. Before that, he was Principal of London Seminary for nearly ten years. He continues to teach church history at the Seminary and at other institutions. His doctoral studies under David Bebbington at Stirling University focused on the life and thought of Philip Doddridge. Robert’s current research and writing projects include the history and theology of puritan worship and the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. He has published articles on a variety of historical and pastoral topics. Robert is married to Sarah and they have three sons and several grandchildren.

Dr. Michael Thigpen earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.Div. from Columbia Biblical Seminary, and an M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Hebrew Union College. He serves as Provost and Professor of Old Testament at Phoenix Seminary in Arizona. Michael is also the Executive Director of the Evangelical Theological Society. He has extensive pastoral experience, having served churches in South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, and California. Michael is an author and is currently preparing a commentary on Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah.

Born and raised in West Virginia, USA, Brian Vickers currently serves as Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Assistant Editor of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. He has his Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has published two books and numerous articles in journals.

Bruce A. Ware (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is a highly esteemed theologian and author in the evangelical world. He is professor of Christian theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Ware has written numerous journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews and, along with Thomas Schreiner, has co-edited The Grace of God and the Bondage of the Will and Still Sovereign. He also has authored God’s Lesser Glory: The Diminished God of Open Theism, God’s Greater Glory: The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian Faith, and Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance.

Born in Ontario, Canada, Kirk Wellum serves as the Principal and Professor in Systematic Theology & Biblical Studies at the Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College, Toronto, Ontario. He has a B.Th from Tyndale University College and Seminary, Toronto, a B.A. from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, and an M.Div. from Toronto Baptist Seminary. He has pastored three churches in Ontario. He and his wife Debbie have four children, and live in Ancaster, Ontario.

Born in Ontario, Canada, Stephen Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky and the editor of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. He previously taught at the Associated Canadian Theological Schools and Northwest Baptist Theological College and Seminary. He has also served as a pastor, written numerous academic articles and contributed to books on various aspects of theology. His most known works, however, have dealt with the doctrines of covenant theology and Christology. He and his wife, Karen, have five adult children and live in Kentucky.