News
Faculty
Dr Brian Harris
Principal; Head of Department of Ministry and Practice
BSocSc, BTh (Hons), MTh, PhD (Uni of Auckland)
Brian has lived in both South Africa and New Zealand and has successfully been the senior pastor of three churches, each of which grew dramatically. His PhD interacts with the thought of Stanley Grenz and explores the nature and future of evangelical theology. In 2009, he commenced as senior pastor of Carey Baptist Church in conjunction with his role at Vose, giving him valuable practical pastoral insight. Brian is married to Rosemary, and has three children - Nick, Amy and Jett.
Online publications
"Straddling the Tasman: the relevance of Grenz's revisioned Evangelical theology in the Australasian context" Princeton Theological Review, Spring 2006
"Colliding truths: embracing paradox in ministry" Ministry Today Issue 38, November 2006
Dr Michael O'Neil
Director of Vose Research; Head of Department of Christian Thought, Systematic Theology, Church History
BTh, MTh (Hons), PhD (Murdoch), Cert IV AWT.
Michael was appointed as Head of Christian Thought and Director of Vose Research at the end of 2009. He comes to the role with many years of pastoral experience, most recently as Team Leader at Lesmurdie Baptist Church (5 years). His doctoral work was in the early theology of Karl Barth ("Forming Moral Community: Christian and Ecclesial Existence in the theology of Karl Barth, 1915-1922"). His present research activity includes examining the theology of justification, Baptist theology and heritage, and aspects of theological method. Michael is deeply committed to the work of the local church in its mission to proclaim Jesus Christ and to shape the lives of God's people as his disciples. Michael is married to Monica and together they have three fabulous adult children.
PhD thesis online
Dr David Cohen 
Head of Biblical Studies, Old Testament, Worship
DipT, BEd, BDiv(Hons), GradDipTheol MA(Theol), Cert IV in AWT, PhD (Murdoch)
Formerly a professional musician and music teacher, David has had significant experience in church ministry and is a popular and creative educator. He formerly oversaw the lay training and professional development program for the Churches of Christ in Western Australia. David is married with two children and in August 2008 he completed a PhD exploring the Psalms of Lament and their use in a pastoral setting.
PhD thesis online
Dr Peter Christofides
New Testament
DipTheol, BTh(Hons), MA (Bib. Studies), D. Litt et Phil (Uni of Johannesburg) PhD (Uni of Pretoria)
Peter has two doctorates and was previously prinicpal of Rosebank Bible College and head of biblical languages at the Baptist Theological College of Southern Africa. Most recently, he has served as Senior Pastor at Casuarina Baptist Church during a time of significant growth. An effective communicator, Peter also previously served as an executive producer with the Department of Religious Broadcasting for the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Peter is of Greek ancestry (and speaks Greek fluently) and is married to Maria. Peter and Maria have a young son, Michael.
Dr Evelyn Ashley
New Testament Greek
BTheol(Hons), GradDipMin, PhD (Murdoch)
Evelyn is a country Western Australian, growing up in the Kimberly, Goldfields and Wheatbelt. She has also spent a significant portion of her adult life in the Pilbara. A graduate of Vose Seminary, Evelyn has spent a number of years in pastoral ministry. She is married to Chris and they have four adult children. Her PhD topic explores Paul's theology of weakness in the Corinthian correspondence.
PhD thesis online
Neil Anderson 
Director, Vose Mission; Evangelism and Mission
BEd, BTh(Hons), DipMiss, AdvDipMin, MTh (Hons)
As well as heading Vose Mission, Neil lectures in mission at Vose. He trained in missiology and pastoral ministry and has served in pastoral ministry for 12 years. Prior to working at Vose, Neil was pastor of Wagin Baptist Church in WA's Great Southern Region. His passions include sports of all kinds and cross-cultural missions to unreached people groups. He is married to Jacalyne and they have 3 children.
Adjunct Lecturers
Dr Marc Chan 
Director of Centre for Cross Cultural Leadership Development
Certificate IV Lecturer for Cross Cultural Ministries
BSc(Hons), GradDipBus, BD(Hons), GradDipMin, PhD (Murdoch)
Marc is currently coordinating the Cross Cultural Ministries at the Baptist Union of WA. His doctoral research work was in the areas of Textual Criticism and Synoptic Question based on the Passion Narrative. He is now passionate about training leaders in the Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) Churches and also making the mainstream churches aware of the various cultures forming part of the West Australian population. He is married to Brigitte and has two children: Christopher and Jeremy.
John Clapton 
Chaplaincy
DipTeach, DipMin(Hons), BTh, CertIVManPracs MSocSc
John is Senior Area Chaplain and Manager of Education and Training with YouthCARE. In this role he has sought ways to enhance training opportunities for those who work as chaplains in schools. John's background is as a Churches of Christ minister and a primary school teacher. He has also completed a Masters dissertation on issues related to the pastoral care of people in ministry.
Dr Peter Elliott
Church History
BA, BD, MTh(Hons), PhD
Peter has been lecturing at a number of colleges since 1997, primarily in Church History. In 2010, he was awarded a PhD for his examining the influence of Romanticism on the theology of Edward Irving, the early nineteenth-century minister. He is married to Deborah, has two sons - Joel and Jason - and attends Lakeside Baptist Church.
PhD Thesis Online
"Edward Irving: Romantic Theology in Crisis" (2010) Murdoch Library
Dr Carolyn Tan
New Testament
MDiv (Vose), MBA (UniSA), MBBS (Malaya), D Med (Singapore), FAMS (Singapore)
Previously working as a paediatric surgeon in Singapore, Carolyn felt the Lord's call to serve him in other ways in April 2004. She began this journey by undergoing the Master of Divinity programme in Vose Seminary, which she completed in 2008. Carolyn is currently enrolled as a Master of Theology research student at Vose, and her research area is the pneumatology of the cross. She serves as Team Leader for Worship in Perth Baptist Church in Northbridge. When time permits, she loves working on her veggie garden, and trying new recipes on her family.
Research Fellows
Dr Richard Moore
New Testament
BA (UWA), MA (UWA), DipEd (UWA), BD (MCD), PhD (UQueensland)
Richard Moore was the head of New Testament at the seminary from 1979 to 2002. Richard's publications include Noel Vose: Pastor, Principal, President: a Biography and 'All Western Australia is my parish' : A centenary history of the Baptist Denomination in Western Australia 1895-1995. He is archivist for the Baptist Churches of WA and founder of the Baptist Historical Society of Western Australia.
Dr John Olley 
Old Testament
BSc, PhD (USydney), BD, TheolM (Melbourne Coll Div)
After research in Physics, pastoral ministry in NSW and missionary teaching in Hong Kong, John and his family came to Vose Seminary in 1978, retiring at the end of 2003. His teaching and research has focussed on Old Testament and Missiology, with several published articles and books. In 2009, he published a commentary on the Septuagint (Greek version) of Ezekiel. He is concerned that people see the Bible as being about the mission of God and his purposes for the world he has made, and the key role of his people. John had a second stint at Vose as academic dean, finishing in this role in 2009.
Book online
Commentary on Ezekiel LXX (2010) Septuagint Commentary series, Brill. (Google Books preview)
Articles online
"The church: together for the sake of others" (2006) Evangelical Alliance
"God and the gods-a look at biblical attitudes to other religions" (1999) Evangelical Alliance
