I have been lecturing in Biblical Studies at NTC, responsible for Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, since 1997. My academic specialism is in the Dead Sea Scrolls, with particular interest in the development of the biblical texts, and the interpretation of the Bible in the Second Temple Period. My doctoral research at the University of Manchester with George J Brooke, ‘The Temple Scroll and the Bible: The Methodology of 11QT’ (published by Brill, 1995) explored the ways in which the scroll interpreted and ‘rewrote’ Scripture. Prior to NTC I was on faculty in theological schools in Switzerland and the Philippines

Alongside this, for thirty years I have been involved in ministry in my local church in Longsight, Manchester. From this diverse community derives my involvement as Chair of Trustees for Urban Presence, whose focus is on providing support and training for mission in the City, and engagement with my Muslim neighbours. In 2013 this led to joining with Revd Canon Phil Rawlings to establish the Manchester Centre for the Study of Christianity and Islam. With this my research has turned to focus on the Bible and Islam.

I currently have PhD students working in ‘Moses and Magic’, ‘Gardens in Ezekiel (on sacred space)’, and ‘The Pleasure of God in the Psalms’. I welcome students interested in the interface of Bible and Qur’an.

Publications include:

• ‘Purity in Leviticus’, in Purity: Essays in Bible and Theology, eds Andrew Brower Latz and Arseny Ermakov, Pickwick Publications, 2014, 30-48.
• ‘The Text of Isaiah at Qumran’, in Interpreting Isaiah: Issues and Approaches, eds. David G Firth and H G M Williamson (2009), 191-212
• ‘Holiness in the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Priorities of Faith’, in Holiness and Ecclesiology in the New Testament, eds Kent E Brower and Andy Johnson (2007), 19-39
•  ‘Qumran and the Psalms’, in Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approaches, eds Philip S Johnston and David G Firth (2005), 247-262
• ‘How Scriptural is Re-Written Bible?’, Revue de Qumran 83 (March 2004), 407-428.