College Chaplains Appointed

"An exciting addition to the college community” was how Principal Richard Tiplady described the recent appointment of John and Olive Drane as Chaplains and as Adjunct Lecturers in Practical Theology at the College.

John and Olive are well known figures in both the national and international Christian community teaching in universities, Bible Colleges (including ICC) and seminaries all over the world as well as speaking at various conferences either alone or as a couple.

After gaining his doctorate from the University of Manchester, John’s academic career saw him first of all work as part of a team establishing the successful religious studies programme at the University of Stirling; and from there he went on to lecture in Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen. He is currently working with a number of academic institutions including Fuller Seminary, California, Spurgeons College, London and Cranmer Hall, Durham.

John has written extensively, particularly in the areas of Biblical studies, the church in contemporary society, and expressions of spirituality in the Western world.

His interests have never been purely academic, however, and over the years John has brought his academic thinking to bear on the practical realities of Christian living and spiritual growth, working successfully not only with large established Christian denominations but also with smaller groups of spiritual seekers who may or may not identify themselves with orthodox Christian thinking and practice.

Olive is well known for her use of clowning in ministry. She has studied theology in California and at the University of Aberdeen and is currently an affiliate professor of evangelism at Fuller Seminary, California, and a Fellow of St John’s College, University of Durham.

The appointment of chaplains to a Christian college may seem like a surprising one, but a chaplain can provide an essential aspect of spiritual and pastoral care which cannot be provided by other staff. The role involves not only the important task of providing a safe place for students and staff to talk about any issues they may have, it also offers an opportunity to help students and staff explore their own spiritual development. And John and Olive bring a wide range of experience working in this way with individuals, groups of students and local churches.

In commenting on their new role, they note, “We keep hearing the same thing from Christians of all ages, and all over the world – and it’s a heartfelt cry for somebody just to be there, to understand the challenges of everyday life in a fast-changing culture and to be companions on the journey as we all work out what it means to be followers of Jesus in today’s world. So we’ll be spending a lot of time just hanging out, with no agenda except faithful discipleship – though given our passion for mission, we’ll certainly be hoping to encourage creative engagement with fresh expressions of church and new forms of worship.”