What did you study with St Mellitus?
I started three years ago in 2022, and I’ve just finished this summer. I was doing the BA in Theology, Ministry and Mission as an independent student. So, I was surrounded by ordinands, but I like being the odd one out. I was in the East Midlands Centre.
What do you do now, vocationally?
Well, it’s all part of God’s plan. I’m currently on garden leave after being made redundant. I’ve spent the last 20+ years in the IT industry in leadership positions. When I decided to do the degree with St Mellitus, I stepped down and went part-time, though the company kept me on the leadership team. The company was later acquired, and I was made redundant (not because I stepped down) but that’s where things ended up. Meanwhile, my wife and I are part of the Vineyard movement, and we’ve been on secondment for the last two years to a church in Leicester. It was announced a couple of weeks ago that we’ll be the new senior pastors of Leicester Vineyard starting in January. So, God definitely has a plan. I will remain bi-vocational. At the moment I’m operating a consulting business supporting charities, small businesses, and churches in understanding and using AI.
Reflecting on your time at St Mellitus, what resonates most with you?
I loved it, and I was really upset to leave. I was tempted to do a Master’s, but I needed a break, and God was calling us into other things. I love learning, but I’d never done a degree before; I didn't do A-levels, didn’t do well academically, then went straight into work. I did an MBA in my early 30s, but that was part-time through my company. So, sitting and writing academically again felt like starting over. It was challenging at first, but after a few wobbles in the first term, I learned the system and really enjoyed it. What struck me most was the community. I was raised Anglican but left faith in my late teens (long story) and later returned to God. Coming back into an Anglican environment through St Mellitus after years in the Vineyard felt like putting on an itchy jumper: familiar, but different. Yet walking alongside ordinands and other independent learners, and attending the teaching weeks in London, really opened my eyes to the broad expressions within the body of Christ. There’s no one way. Being exposed to different traditions and theologies – liberation theology, Black theology, how to read Scripture academically – was so enriching. And the teaching is second to none. People like Johnny Rowlands and David Emerton at the East Midlands Centre are amazing.
How has studying theology shaped how you lead, teach, pastor, or work, especially in your bi-vocational context?
Even when I was still in my leadership role in IT, I noticed a change in myself through the academic rigor of the program. I started thinking differently in business contexts. I’m not technical – I worked in strategy and ESG: carbon, social value, policy, governance, commercial decisions. I used to respond quickly because I’d “been there, done that,” but theology made me pause and think more deeply. I’d say, “Let me take that away and think about it,” and that made a difference. I found myself becoming the go-to person. For example, when Hamas fired rockets into Israel, our CEO called me that morning and asked, “Bob, how do we respond to this?” We had both Muslim and Jewish employees, and people were asking about our position. I didn’t have a neat answer, but I could say: all killing is wrong, and fundamentally we must seek tolerance, love, and peace. What struck me most was that I was the first person he called–perhaps because I’d begun responding thoughtfully rather than off the cuff. Studying theology also changed how I saw work. Some issues started to feel like first-world problems compared with the realities we explored in modules like Evil and Suffering. It shifted my priorities and made me look at decisions through a bigger lens–even if I couldn’t say that outright in the boardroom.
Why would you encourage someone to study theology?
If someone has a passion for learning, absolutely they should consider it. There are so many great resources for discipleship–books, podcasts, teaching–but formal theological training teaches you to question things. If our discipleship only comes from what we hear in the pulpit, where do we go to validate what we’re being taught? Most churches teach well, but we shouldn’t just accept everything without inquiry. Not everyone has that instinct, but if they do, formal study is invaluable. I’ve been in lectures where two lecturers disagree on a topic, and that’s okay. It shows the richness and complexity of theology. It also opens up new ways of understanding Scripture and the gospel. Some modules completely rocked me. I’m a bit of a Johnny Rowlands fanboy–don’t tell him. His module on Hebrews fundamentally challenged how I think about preaching on the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. I’m still not brave enough to preach it yet, but maybe after a year in my new role.
Could you share a story of how you’ve seen God move in your life or your context recently?
The situation we’re in right now is exactly a God story. I knew at the end of my degree that I’d move into some kind of church leadership. In the Vineyard, you’re usually bi-vocational unless you're leading a large church, and I think it’s healthy. We knew 2025 would be the year. Our daughter is also at St Mellitus, she was in Year 1 while I was in Year 3. She wasn’t able to leave home because she didn’t have a job and wasn’t sure what was next, but she felt pulled toward studying theology. We were in this tension: What happens with my job? The company was struggling. There was an opportunity opening in Leicester, but we weren’t free to move because our daughter still lived at home. Then everything aligned perfectly. Our daughter got a part-time job at Trent Vineyard, enough to move into a house-share with two Christian friends. She moved out. The company was acquired, and I was made redundant. My garden leave ends on December 31st, and we start as senior pastors on January 11th. Someone in our small group shared a picture with me of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, walls of water on either side, fish swimming beside them, but all they could focus on was Pharaoh chasing them. They didn’t realise they were walking in the miracle. That really hit me. So yes, we’ve put our house on the market, we’re moving, we’re transitioning into leadership, and I’m setting up a new business at the same time. But I know it’s where God has us.
