Rev Dr David Smith

David is married to Joyce and they have two sons, both Glasgow-based, Andrew (a sociologist) and Philip (a film maker).  David studied at South Wales Bible College before becoming pastor of Eden Chapel in Cambridge and subsequently serving in cross-cultural mission in Nigeria. 

A graduate of the University of Aberdeen, he took an MA in Religious Studies in 1986, and gained his PhD in 1990. His topic was "Secularisation and Evangelicalism: A Study in the Reaction of Conservative churches to the Modern World".

David has taught at the Samuel Bill Theological College in Nigeria, and has been a visiting lecturer at Aberdeen University and at Cubao Baptist Seminary in the Philippines.  He was Principal of Northumbria Bible College and latterly Co-Director of the Whitefield Institute in Oxford.

David’s special concerns are focussed on the future of mission in a religiously plural world, and has published extensively in this area.

He relaxes through gardening, listening to classical music and indulging a lifelong passion for Watford Football Club.

Areas of Research Interest / Supervision
David’s work in recent years has focused on the challenge presented by and urban world and his latest book Seeking a City with Foundations is a theology for an urban world.

Publications & Papers
2011: Seeking a City With Foundations: Theology for an Urban World (Leicester:IVP)

2010: “Jesus and the City: Reflections on the Urban Context of Galilee,” Evangelical Quarterly 82.4 (October) pp. 316 - 32

2010 “Theology as a Voice for the Voiceless: Jean-Marc Ela's 'African Cry'” TCNN Research Bulletin (Nigeria) 52 (March) pp.19-29

2009: "Evangelicals and Society: The story of on-off relationship" in Jamie Grant & Dewi Hughes (eds), Transforming the World? The gospel and Social Responsibility (Leicester:IVP)

2008: Moving Towards Emmaus: Hope in a Time of Uncertainty (London: SPCK)

2005: "A Victorian Prophet Without Honour: Edward Miall and the Critique of Nineteenth-Century British Christianity" in Steven Clark (ed), Tales of Two Cities: Christianity and Politics (Leicester:IVP)

2003: Mission After Christendom (London: Darton, Longman & Todd)

2003: Against The Stream: Essays on Theology and Mission in a Globalised World (Leicester: IVP)

2003: “World Religions and Christianity” in New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics (Leicester: IVP)

2002: “Between Bukuru and New York: Reflections on Islam, Christianity and Western Values” Themelios, 27/3

2000: “The Gospel: Made in London or Lahore?” Third Way, June

2000: “Junction or Terminus? Christianity in the West at the Dawn of the Third Millennium” in Timothy Yates (ed), Mission – An Invitation to God’s Future (Calver: Cliff College)

2000: Crying in the Wilderness (Carlisle: Paternoster Press)

2000: Dictionary of Religions in the Contemporary West (Leicester: IVP), Contributor

2000: Dictionary of Historical Theology (Carlisle: Paternoster Press), Contributor

1999: “Between Jos and Oxford: Personal Reflections on Theology Between Two Continents” Whitefield Briefing, 14/1

1998: “Scottish Culture as a context for Mission: A View from Across the Border” Theology in Scotland, Spring

1998: Transforming the World? The Social Impact of British Evangelicalism (Carlisle: Paternoster Press)

1997: Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions (New York: MacMillan), Contributor

1995: Stairways to Heaven? God in Other Religions (Edinburgh: Rutherford House)

1993: Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology (Edinburgh: T&T Clark), Contributor