This unit provides an introduction to some of the most significant tools for reading, interpreting and responding to select highlights of the New Testament, with particular exploration of the gospel of Mark, John’s Gospel, Acts, Romans, Corinthians, Hebrews and Revelation.

What conscious and unconscious rules do we use when reading the Bible? How does the overall story hold together? How can we guard against choosing a page at random and making it say what we want it to say? This unit draws our attention to the different ‘lenses’ through which we approach Scripture. We learn and practise skills using a ‘microscope’: paying attention to the finer details of a passage. We rehearse the importance of the ‘telescope’: seeing where our passage fits into the big picture of God’s mission. We explore other lenses that different interpreters try – and, of course, we are concerned with how we can responsibly apply Scripture to our contemporary lives and churches.

From Adam and Eve to Abraham, Moses, King David and everyone in between, this unit encourages us with the faithfulness of God throughout history. We see how, in the midst of a fallen world, God created a people for himself and restored the ideals of creation through a tiny, insignificant nation and, eventually, through the royal line of David. We see the depths of Israel’s sin, their horrific acts of idolatry and apostasy; but we see also the heights of God’s love, the strength of his saving arm and his faithfulness to his promises. This unit provides a helpful overview of the first part of the Old Testament up until 2 Kings, with a focus on the Old Testament covenants and key themes that develop from Genesis to Kings. Along the way, we have the chance to think further about some of the difficult parts of the Old Testament, such as the topics of creation and Canaanite genocide, that arise in everyday conversation.

Before you start ministering within a denomination you want to have confidence it is the structure from which you want to work. This unit is designed to help students see why Anglicanism is not just a ‘good boat to fish from’, but an enriching environment from which to minister, grow and learn. As well as learning from the history and tradition of Anglicanism, this half-unit assesses current expressions of Anglicanism and global issues facing the Anglican Church. It seeks to encourage students to appreciate the legacy of the Church as well as see the possibilities and how they can help shape its future.

This unit looks at the basis of Anglicanism, how it works in practice and what is distinctive about ministry and mission in the Anglican church. Learning from someone who has been involved with the Anglican church at a number of levels for more than two decades, students will come to appreciate the structure of the denomination, its theological basis, and the flexibility it offers.

Leaders are made, not born. This unit will serve as a basis for your personal leadership development and effective organisational management. Whether you will be leading a Christian not-for-profit, a corporate organisation, or a church, you will learn theory, skills and tools to transform organisations, empower people, and manage yourself effectively. In the style of a mini-MBA, Principles of Leadership and Management will give you skills across a range of key leadership and management competencies. There is a particular focus on developing a transformational leadership style that embodies integrity, strategic focus and empowerment to promote growth and change.

This unit provides an introduction to some of the most significant tools for reading, interpreting and responding to select highlights of the New Testament, with particular exploration of the gospel of Mark, John’s Gospel, Acts, Romans, Corinthians, Hebrews and Revelation.

Journey through Israel’s history as God’s people face his inevitable judgment, are forced into exile from the promised land, cry out for his deliverance, and long for a time of peace and restoration. Imagine what it was like to be uprooted from the land God had given his people, or how it felt to be a prophet called to preach judgment to people who shunned God’s messengers. Marvel at the unparalleled beauty of the psalms, the deep insights of wisdom literature and the strange inventiveness of apocalyptic writing. While Israel despairs at its situation, see God set forth his promises, marry justice and mercy, and continue fulfilling his plan for the time when all people will call on his name. This foundational subject helps us to appreciate the richness and relevance of the Old Testament.

What are the core doctrines of the Christian faith? What does it mean to say God is Trinity or that Jesus is the Christ? How should we understand the role and nature of the Holy Spirit? The Church? Jesus himself? Through the lens of a number of historical Creeds, this unit gives students undertaking a one year course the opportunity to lay down some theological foundation stones for the rest of their lives and ministry.

In post-Christian Australia, Christians must become missionaries in their own nation, but how might our culture shape the way the gospel is told?

This unit pushes students to see, perhaps for the first time, the thick cultural lenses through which we view the world. It also challenges us to see the way our understanding of the gospel is framed by our history, background and socio-cultural environment. But far from posing a threat to the gospel we know and love, this new insight allows us to appreciate the richness of the gospel like never before and the capacity to bring it with new power to the Australian sub-cultures which we engage.

In this unit, students will seek to understand how the gospel speaks into and subverts different Australian sub-cultures, including suburban, battler, urban and first-generation immigrant cultures. Students will be given the opportunity to conduct ‘cultural exegesis’ in the field, to develop their skills in contextualisation.

This unit is about rethinking assumptions, developing greater cultural sensitivity and humility when approaching another culture, and forcing oneself to stop, look and listen: skills that will stay with you for life.

This unit provides an introduction to the sources, methods and conclusions of historical Jesus research, with a view to equipping us to better engage with contemporary society around those questions.

When studying the Bible, you can’t get more foundational than Genesis. Atheist naturalism, young-earth creationism, old-earth creationism… there are so many perspectives on the origins of the universe, some shaped by the Bible, others not. It’s a matter of contemporary debate between atheists and Christians, and even among Bible scholars, opinion differs greatly on how to understand the first few chapters of Genesis. This unit takes a look at the variety of views on offer, getting to the heart of what we can and can’t say about creation from the biblical text. It also looks at the Abraham and Joseph stories, giving students the opportunity to learn how to read Hebrew narrative, explore which theological ideas can be drawn from Genesis and how to preach and apply these ancient stories.