Talks & Lectures
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Previous Lectures
Who Needs Digital Theology
Overview Digital technologies are deeply intertwined with our everyday lives, influencing how we act, think, and even pray: Often considered neutral tools, their subtle impact on human behaviour suggests we need to go beyond digital ethics: This lecture will explore the theological implications of technology's pervasive role in shaping our culture, addressing key questions and core topics that emerge from our digital context:
Speaker Jonas Kurlberg
About the speaker Dr. Jonas Kurlberg is the Director of Taught Postgraduate Studies and Tutor in Theology at Spurgeon’s College, London. He is the chair of the Global Network of Digital Theology and an Honorary Fellow at Durham University. His main research interest lies in the intersection between theology, technology and digital culture.
Understanding contextualisation of religious conversion through the study of the deconversion process of converts
Overview Sara Afshari explores the deconversion process of converts from a Muslim background: Deconversion, or leaving one’s religion, provides insights into the challenges and obstacles faced by converts before, during, and after their conversion to Christianity:
Speaker Dr. Sara Afshari
About the speaker Originally from Iran, Dr. Sara Afshari is Research Tutor at Oxford Centre for Mission Studies. She received her PhD from Edinburgh University in Media Religion and Culture. She is co-founder and former Executive Director of SAT-7 PARS, a Christian television channel in Farsi/Persian language. She has MTh in World Christianity from Edinburgh University and an MA in Media Communication from Wales University. Her recent book is titled: Religion, Media and Conversion in Iran: mediated Christianity in an Islamic Context.
Shoki Coe’s model of contextualization and religious conversion
Overview Duane Alexander Miller uses anthropological dimensions and Shoki Coe’s contextualization model to provide examples of contextualization among converts from Islam: He argues that contextualization remains a relevant and fruitful approach in the context of late modernity and identity crises:
Speaker Dr. Duane Alexander Miller
About the speaker Duane serves as an Anglican priest in Madrid, associate professor at the Protestant Faculty of Theology at Madrid, and founding co-pastor at Kanisa, an Arabic-language Christian fellowship. Duane holds a PhD in Divinity from the University of Edinburgh.
Overview In this lecture, Dr Kamil will explore the conversion of, arguably, the greatest Muslim convert to Christianity in the 19th century South Asia: He will highlight the contextual factors involved in his conversion and those factors which may or may not be important for the present context of South Asia:
Speaker Dr. Maqsood Kamil
About the speaker Dr. Maqsood Kamil (D. Min, Ph.D), Theologian, Teacher, Preacher, Writer, Ordained Minister of the Word and the Sacraments, Professor of Theology & Vice Principal of Gujranwala Theological Seminary, Gujranwala, Pakistan. Dr. Maqsood is a PhD Alumnus of OCMS.
Overview Is it possible for academia to use generative AI responsibly? What are AI’s biases that help or hinder its use in mission studies for scholars from around the world? What practical ways can AI tools be used in research and scholarship? These and other relevant questions will be explored in this presentation:
Speaker Dr. Kirk Franklin
About the speaker Dr. Kirk Franklin has authored the Regnum-published books Towards Global Missional Leadership (2017) and co-authored A Missional Leadership History (2022) and The Mission Matrix (2024). Kirk was born in Papua New Guinea and served as a missionary there. He has had executive leadership and governance roles in Australian and global mission agencies. He is a lecturer in missional leadership and doctoral supervisor based in Melbourne, Australia and an associate faculty member in Global Missional Leadership at OCMS.
