Laidlaw College seeks to equip students and scholars, and “discovery” provides a crucial underpinning in this mission. All truth is embedded in the creative love of a communicating God. The end of research is thus discovery of the nature of God as revealed in his creative and redemptive acts. Laidlaw faculty and students are participants in this discovery, and we believe that all enquiry is pursued in community. In order to facilitate a community approach to research and learning, Laidlaw’s Blaiklock Centre provides a physical space for this to happen, as well as a forum for discussion and critique.

We are participants too in conversations beyond the College and beyond our natural communities. Publication of the emerging fruits of discovery is crucial for the testing, refining and sharing of ideas.

Our staff have published widely, both nationally and internationally (and continue to do so) in a range of different areas. Please click on the button below to view faculty publications, within their respective staff profiles:

Laidlaw College also sponsors The New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought and Practice, Stimulus, which can be viewed here.

For those who would like to pursue further study, or to join our community of discovery, please visit our Postgraduate Studies page. Below you will also find a list of staff who are available to supervise Masters or Doctoral theses.

Postgraduate Supervisors

Philip Church

I am available for supervision in New Testament. I am particularly interested in the way the Old Testament is used in the New, and in particular in John and in Hebrews, but not restricted to these books. Other research interests include Zionism, the tabernacle and the temple and the symbolism surrounding these institutions of Israel, and the literature of the Second Temple period, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the way the writers of these texts use the Old Testament.

David Crawley

My areas of interest are spirituality, power and positioning, and the use of critical theory (poststructuralist/social constructionist). I have some experience in qualitative research, including narrative enquiry and (non-linguistic) discourse analysis.

Stephen Garner

My current research projects involve: Religion, technology and transhumanism; Theology, the Internet and new media; Public theology & Theology and popular culture.

Areas of interest: Science and religion; Theology, technology and new media; Theology, media and popular culture; Theological Ethics; Christian Spirituality; Public and contextual theology; Theological anthropology & Practical theology.

John Hitchen

I am available to supervise research in the following inter-related areas: Theology and Practice of Mission, particularly to and from New Zealand and the South West Pacific; Contextualization of the Gospel, both in Primal societies and in the West, particularly in New Zealand and the South West Pacific; Formation of Missionary worldview; Theological and Missionary Education, particularly in and for the Third World, and in Australasia and the Pacific.

Mark Keown

I can supervise New Testament themes such as the New Testament in relation to mission, evangelism, gender, worship, pastoral ministry, culture, etc. My strongest areas would be Mark, Luke-Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Pauline mission and evangelism, but I am able to supervise other areas too.

Bob Robinson (Christchurch)

I can offer supervision in the areas of: religion and the religions; philosophy of religion/apologetics; Sermon on the Mount; Christology.

Stuart Lange

My areas of interest: the history of the church’s thought and practice (including early church, medieval, Reformation, modern periods): mission history; the history of evangelical Christianity (especially in New Zealand); the New Zealand church (both the missionary period and more generally); biography; issues in the contemporary church including their historical dimension; the study of recent movements.

Yael Klangwisan

Yael supervises in Hebrew Poetry, Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Bible as Literature, Jewish literature, Bible and Critical Theory, and, Educational Philosophy. She also supervises interdisciplinary Creative Works projects in Biblical Studies or Theology, and for example: Poetry, Theatre, Art, Photography, Film, and other Creative Writings.

Tim Meadowcroft

I am available for supervision in the reading of Old Testament texts and in Biblical Interpretation more generally. As far as the texts go, I am particularly interested in wisdom literature and in apocalyptic, as well as prophetic material. With respect to biblical interpretation, apart from hermeneutics as broadly understood, I am also interested in literary readings of texts, and in the interaction between Scripture and science and/or ecology, albeit very much from the Scripture end of the conversation.

Richard Neville (Christchurch)

I have on-going research interests in Genesis, Psalms and Old Testament ethics. I am currently most active in ethics and recently completed a study of creation as a basis for ethics in Israelite law. I am in the preliminary stages of a project looking into interpersonal forgiveness in the Old Testament.