Nigel has kindly agreed to answer a few questions.
What theologian has had the most influence on your theology?
Probably Karl Barth, but Tom Smail has been a good friend and influence.
What was the last book you read?
The Paul Quest by Ben Witherington III
How does being a baptist shape how you do theology?
It makes me aware that Christian convictions are the convictions of a community. It also keeps before me the blend of the ecclesial and the social which are represented in baptist commitment both to the believing community and religious liberty.
What do you think will be major discussion points in baptist theology over the next 10 years?
Probably same sex relations and the implications different opinions on this topic might have for the identity of baptist churches and the meaning of communion. Does commitment to communion mean I am implicated in views and
practices with which I may not agree?
Can you tell us anything more about your current writing project?
I am writing a paper on Anabaptist spirituality, but my next major project will probably be on Mission in a Radical Mode.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Friendly. Mainstream. Rooted.
PhD (King's College London, 1994)
Tutor in Christian Doctrine, Spurgeon's College (1987-1995)
Principal, Spurgeon's College (2000-2013)
Chair, BWA Study Commission on Christian Ethics 2000-2005
Selected Publications
___ The Church (SPCK, 1984)
___ The Radical Kingdom: Restoration in Theory and Practice (Kingsway, 1986)
___ The Fair Face of Evil: Putting the Power of Darkness in its Place (Marshall Pickering, 1989)
___ 'Restoration and the "House-Church" movement', Themelios 16.2 (1990), 4-8
___ Challenge to Change: A Radical Agenda for Baptists (Kingsway, 1991)
___ 'Mission, the Shape of the Church and Ecumenism' in Pauk Beasley-Murray (ed.), Mission to the World: Essays to Celebrate the 50th Year of the Ordination of George Raymond Beasley-Murray to the Christian Ministry (Baptist Historical Society, 1991), 52-56.
"The Kansas City Prophets: an Assessment," Themelios 17.1 (October/November 1991), 20-21.
___ 'Catching the Bell Rope', Anabaptism Today 1 (1992), 17-20.
___ “The Influence of the Charismatic Movement on European Baptist Life and Mission: Theological Reflections', European Pentecostal Theological Association Bulletin XIII (1994), 5-18.
___ '"Koinonia" and Baptist Ecclesiology: Self-Critical Reflections from Historical and Systematic Perspectives', Baptist Quarterly 35.8 (1994), 363-75.
___ with Andrew Walker and Tom Smail, Charismatic Renewal: The Search for a Theology (SPCK, 1995 [1st ed. 1993])
___ 'Disestablishment: A Contemporary View from the Free Churches', Anvil 12:2 (1995), 121-35
___ The Radical Evangelical: Seeking a Place to Stand (SPCK, 1996)
___ 'The Charismatic Theology of Tom Smail', Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association 16.1 (1996), 5-18.
___ 'Charismatic Interpretations of the Demonic' in The Unseen World: Christian Reflections on Angels, Demons and the Heavenly Realm edited by A. N. S. Lane (Paternoster, 1996)
___ Power and Discipleship: Towards a Baptist Theology of the State (Whitley, 1996)
___‘“The Sword”: An Example of Anabaptist Diversity’, Baptist Quarterly 36.6 (1996), 264-79.
___ 'Baptist and Anabaptist Attitudes to the State: A Contrast', Baptist Quarterly 36.7 (1996), 349-57.
___ 'Re-imagining evangelicalism' in The Post-Evangelical Debate (Triangle, 1997), 96-112.
___ 'Suffering' in Christian Healing: What Can We Believe? edited by Ernest Lucas (Lynx, 1997)
___ 'The Nature and Variety of Restorationism and the "House-Church" Movement' in Charismatic Christianity: Sociological Perspectives edited by Stephen hunt, M. Hamilton and T. Walter (Macmillan, 1997), 60-76
___ 'Preaching on "Holy War"', Preaching Today (Summer 2000)
___ Disavowing Constantine: Mission, Church and the Social Order in the Theologies of John Howard Yoder and Jürgen Moltmann (Paternoster, 2000)
___ 'Theology in Service of the Church', Journal of European Baptist Studies 2.1 (September 2001)
___ 'Inclusive Representation: Towards a Doctrine of Christian Ministry', Baptist Quarterly 39.4 (2001), 159-74
___ New Baptists, New Agenda (Paternoster, 2002)
___ 'Covenant and Covenanting', Baptist Quarterly 39.6 (2002), 287-90.
___ 'Religious Abuse: The Precarious Potential of Religious Believing', Journal of European Baptist Studies, 3.2 (January 2003), 5-14.
___ A Theology of the Dark Side: Putting the Power of Evil in its Place (Paternoster, 2003)
___ 'Does Revival Quicken or Deaden the Church? A Comparison of the 1904 Welsh Revival and John Wimber in the 1980s and 1990s' in On Revival: A Critical Examination edited by Andrew Walker and Kirsten Aune (Paternoster, 2003), 121-36.
___ 'Disestablishment — Loss for the Church or the Country? A Dissenting Perspective', Journal of European Baptist Studies 4.3 (May 2004), 22-32.
___ 'Baptists and Academic Freedom', Baptist History and Heritage 39.1 (Winter, 2004)
___ 'The Petrine Ministry: Baptist Reflections', Pro Ecclesia 13 (2004), 451-65
___ 'The Case for Translocal Ministry' in Translocal Ministry: Equipping the Churches for Mission edited by Stuart Murray (Baptist Union, 2004), 4-13.
___ Free Church, Free State: The Positive Baptist Vision (Paternoster, 2005)
___ 'Tolerance, the Church and the Challenge of Secular Ethics' in Baptist Faith and Witness Book 3: Papers of the Study and Research Division of the Baptist World Alliance 2000-2005 edited by Tony Cupit (Baptist World Alliance, 2005)
___ God on the Inside: The Holy Spirit in Holy Scripture (Bible Reading Fellowship, 2007)
___ 'Spirituality as Discipleship: the Anabaptist Heritage' in Under the Rule of Christ: Dimensions of Baptist Spirituality edited by Paul S. Fiddes (Smyth & Helwys, 2008)
___ The Real Godsend: Preaching the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke (Bible Reading Fellowship, 2009)
___ 'Government as Ambiguous Power' in God and Government edited by Nick Spencer and Jonathan Chaplain (SPCK, 2009)
___ Jesus Christ - the Alpha & the Omega (Bible Reading Fellowship, 2010)
___ '‘Bearer of our Sins’: Atonement Theology after Steve Chalke' in Questions of Identity: Essays in honour of Brian Haymes edited by A. R. Cross and R. Gouldbourne (Centre for Baptist History and Hertiage, 2011)
___ 'Baptist Christians: repentant and unrepentant' and 'Humane religion: evangelical faith, Baptist identity, and liberal secularism' in Beyond 400: Exploring Baptist Futures edited by David J. Cohen and Michael Parsons (Pickwick, 2011)
___ 'Deliverance and Exorcism in Theological Perspective 1: Is there any substance to evil?' in Exorcism and Deliverance: Multi-Disciplinary Studies edited by Robin Parry and William Kay (Paternoster, 2011)
___ 'Predestination and perserverance in the early theology of Jürgen Moltmann', Evangelical Quarterly 83.4 (2011)
___ 'Universalism in the theology of Jürgen Moltmann', Evangelical Quarterly 84.1 (January 2012)
___ 'Election and Predestination in Baptist Confessions of the Seventeenth Century' in Grounded in Grace: Essays to Honour Ian M. Randall edited by Pieter J. Lalleman, Peter J. Modern and Anthony R. Cross (Spurgeon's College and Baptist Historical Society, 2013)
___ 'Sustaining Evangelical Identity: Faithfulness and Freedom in Denominational Life' in Truth That Never Dies: The Dr. G. R. Beasley-Murray Memorial Lectures 2002-2012 edited by Nigel Wright (Pickwick, 2014).
___ 'The "Three-Fold Order" in a Radical Protestant Perspective' in For the Sake of the Church: Essays in Honour of Paul S. Fiddes Anthony Clarke (Centre for Baptist History and Heritage Studies, 2014)
___ 'The Charismata and the Second Naivete' in The Wisdom of the Spirit: Gospel, Church and Culture edited by Martyn Percy and Pete Ward (Ashgate, 2014)
___ Vital Truth: The Convictions of the Christian Community (Wipf & Stock, 2015)
___ 'The Ground on which We Dare to Build: Putting Calvinism to Work in Gathering Disciples: Essays in Honor of Christopher J. Ellis edited by Myra Blyth and Andy Goodliff (Pickwick, 2017)
___ How To Be a Church Minister (BRF, 2018)
___ 'Easter: Constructing Easter Narratives' in Rhythms of Faithfulness: Essays in Honor of John E. Colwell edited by Andy Goodliff and Paul Goodliff (Pickwick, 2018)
___ 'Are Baptist Churches Autonomous?', American Baptist Quarterly 38.1 (2019)
___ 'Christianity and Secularism', Journal of European Baptist Studies 20.1 (2020)
___ 'Theology and Ministerial Formation in the Bristol and Baptist Traditions', Journal of Baptist Theology in Context 5 (2022)
___ 'A Baptist reflection on monarchy', Baptist Times 28 April 2023
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