Faculty — Union School of Theology

Teaching & Pastoral Staff

Michael Reeves

President and Professor of Theology

Michael Reeves oversees the work of Union, and teaches in the areas of systematic and historical theology and also on preaching and spiritual formation. He is a local church minister, Director of the European Theologians Network, and speaks and teaches regularly worldwide. Previously he has been Head of Theology for UCCF and an associate minister at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London. He is married to Bethan, and together they have two daughters, Lucy and Mia.
Education
PhD, King’s College, London
MA, Cambridge University
BA, (Hons), Oak Hill Theological College/Middlesex University
Contact
Email: mreeves@ust.ac.uk
See Michael Reeves' publications here.

Clive Bowsher

Provost and Director of Mission

Clive Bowsher is Provost and Director of Mission at Union. He leads the team at the School of Theology, teaching in both New Testament and Biblical Theology. Previously a lead pastor in Oxfordshire, UK, he currently serves on the eldership of his local church. Clive also brings extensive academic experience to UST, having held positions at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Bristol. He is the author of Life in the Son: Exploring Participation and Union with Christ in John's Gospel and Letters (IVP Academic, NSBT series) and ONE: Being United to Jesus Changes Everything. He is married to Kerstin, and together they have a son, Alasdair.
Education
DPhil, MPhil, Oxford University
PhD, MA Cambridge University
ThM, Toronto Baptist Seminary
Contact
Email: cbowsher@ust.ac.uk
See Clive Bowsher's publications here.

Donald Fairbairn

Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology

Donald Fairbairn is Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Union School of Theology and the Robert E. Cooley Professor of Early Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, as well as Dean of Newton House. He has ministered and taught throughout Europe and North America. His books include Grace and Christology in the Early Church, Life in the Trinity, The Story of Creeds and Confessions, and The Global Church—The First Eight Centuries. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two adult children, Trey and Ella.
Education
PhD, University of Cambridge
MDiv, Denver Seminary
BA, Princeton University
Contact
Email: dfairbairn@ust.ac.uk

Iain McGee

Dean of Studies and Quality Enhancement

Iain McGee has held senior management positions at a number of universities, and has worked in both quality assurance consultancy and auditing. Iain spent nearly 25 years living and working in the Middle East, and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is the author of Revelation in Christian Theologies of Religions: Voices from across the Ages (Pickwick, 2024 forthcoming). Iain serves on the eldership of a local church in Cardiff. He is married to Salomi, and has three daughters.
Education
PhD University of Bristol
PhD Cardiff University
MA University of Leicester
LLB Bristol Polytechnic
DipHE University of Glamorgan
Contact
Email: imcgee@ust.ac.uk

Paul Spear

Pastoral Dean

Paul Spear has over 30 years of experience as a pastor in three different churches. Before joining Union, Paul was co-pastor of Highbury Baptist Church and General Secretary of an Association of over 60 churches in the South-East of England (AGBCSE), leading a team supporting their pastoral care, church planting, governance and finance. We’re pleased he has now returned to the campus where he first trained for ministry. Paul has particular interests in the overlap between pastoral theology and theological education. He is married to Fiona and they have three grown-up children.
Education
MA, University of Wales, Lampeter
PGCE, University of Warwick
BA, University of Warwick
Contact
Email: pspear@ust.ac.uk

John Evans

Lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew

John spent seven years as a pastor in the USA and twenty years on seminary faculties in Africa. While a missionary, he served as Academic Dean at the Theological College of Central Africa in Zambia, and as Head of the Biblical Studies Department at Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology. Additionally, he has taught on the faculty of two American seminaries.
Education
DTh, Universiteit van Stellenbosch
MDiv, ThM, Covenant Theological Seminary
BA, Calvin College
Contact
Email: jevans@ust.ac.uk
See John Evans' publications here

Daniel Hames

Lecturer in Systematic and Historical Theology

Daniel Hames is Union's Vice President and lectures in Systematic and Historical Theology. He is a a local church minister and co-author of God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church.
Education
PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
MSt, University of Oxford
MA (Hons), University of Oxford
BSc (Hons), University of Leicester
Contact
Email: dhames@ust.ac.uk
See Daniel Hames' publications here

Rob Trenckmann

Lecturer in Systematic Theology

Rob Trenckmann lectures in Systematic and Historical Theology and pastoral ministry, and is Director of Newton House in Oxford. Prior to joining Union, Rob was involved in church planting, national training and discipleship, while serving as Country Lead in Hungary for Josiah Venture. He also served on Josiah Venture's international leadership council and trained leaders across Europe. Prior to his work in Hungary, he served as a pastor in a church in the US. His current PhD research, at the University of Cambridge, focuses on the implications of biblical anthropology for the Christian life and for ministry. He and his wife, Liz, have three children.
Education
MTh, Union School of Theology
BS, Multnomah Bible College
Contact
Email: rtrenckmann@newton-house.com

Steffen Jenkins

Lecturer in Biblical Studies and Greek

Before joining Union, Steffen was Tutor in Biblical Languages at Tyndale House, Cambridge, and a missionary to seminaries in Cuba. He has also served as associate Minister of a local church in Chelmsford. Steffen's twin passions are reading the Old Testament as Christian Scripture and equipping pastors in the biblical languages so they can use them daily. Current book projects include a Greek language textbook (forthcoming with CUP) and an introduction to reading the Psalms as a book. Steffen is married to Sally-Ann, and together they have two sons, Ben and Daniel.
Education
PhD, University of Bristol and Trinity College
MTH, Middlesex University and Oak Hill College
MA, University of Cambridge
Contact
Email: sjenkins@ust.ac.uk
See Steffen Jenkins' publications here
Listen to Steffen's preaching series on Psalms

Gary McKee

Programme Officer and Lecturer in New Testament

Before joining Union, Gary served as Director of Studies at Westminster Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He has also taught Theology and Biblical Studies at Leeds Trinity University and pastored a church in Sunderland from 2006-2013. Gary completed his undergraduate theological studies here on Campus in 2006. He is married to Priya and they have one daughter, Elyana.
Education
PhD, University of Leeds
PhD (Geography), Queen's University Belfast
PGCHE, Leeds Trinity University (Fellow of the Higher Education Academy)
BA (Hons), Theological Studies, University of South Wales
Contact
Email: gmckee@ust.ac.uk

Emily Lucas

Tutor for Women & Student Welfare

Emily is Tutor for Women and Student Welfare. She is committed to helping students allow theological learning to form and feed into godly living, whether in their personal devotion to God, ministry contexts and their fellowship among one another. She has a passion for helping others discern and develop their theological voice. Emily has been married to Ben, a vicar in the Church of England, for 14 years and they have three children. She oversees the Women's Ministry at her church, teaches and tutors for the Priscilla Programme (a partnership programme between Church Society and Union), and has an itinerant evangelistic and speaking ministry to students and women's groups. She is currently studying with Biblical Counselling UK and is working on her PhD with Union focusing on the theological anthropology of Richard Sibbes.
Education
MTh in Theology & Biblical Studies, UST
Biblical Counselling Certificate, BCUK
Graduate Teacher Programme, East Sussex County Council
NCTJ Postgraduate Certificate in Magazine Journalism, Brighton University
BA 1st Class Hons Degree English, Royal Holloway University of London
Contact
Email: emilylucas@ust.ac.uk