Fellow

Andy Wier

Dr Andy Wier is a researcher, consultant and practical theologian. After degrees in Social and Political Studies (BA, University of Sheffield) and Urban Regeneration (MSc, Sheffield Hallam University), Andy spent the early part of his career supporting community regeneration in Sheffield through roles in local government and voluntary, community and faith sector organisations. An interest in church-based community development and urban mission then led him to completing a Professional Doctorate in Practical Theology at the University of Chester. His doctoral thesis explored the way that UK churches of a charismatic-evangelical tradition engage with socially and economically disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods and was written up as a practitioner-facing Grove book (Creative Tension in Urban Mission, 2014).

Between 2014 and 2025, Andy worked for the Anglican mission agency Church Army – initially as Research, Review and Training Officer (2014-2019) and subsequently as Research Team Leader (2019-2025). During this period, he led numerous research projects about contemporary mission, evangelism, church planting and pioneering and authored various national reports (see www.churcharmy/research). Drawing on his experiences as an evaluator of projects and initiatives funded by the Church of England, he has also reflected within his academic writing on churches’ participation within “the funding game” and the place of “methodological winging it” in commissioned research (see final page of CV for more details). Following the recent closure of Church Army’s Research Unit, Andy is now an independent consultant, trading as Winging It Consulting – Resourcing faithful improvisation in mission.

Our Fellows

Ben Witherington

Fellow

Bible scholar Ben Witherington is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University. A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. fr

David van der Linden

Barker Fellow - May 2026

David is Assistant Professor in Early Modern History at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. His research broadly focuses on religious conflict and peacebuilding in early modern France, and has been awarded the Nancy Lyman Roelker Prize and the Harold J. Grimm Prize by the Sixteenth Centur

Sherylin Bouyer

Barker Fellow - April 2026

Sherilyn Bouyer is working with Tom Hamilton on the Forging Social Solidarities during Religious Wars Inventing Futures (IF) project to develop her contribution to The Oxford Handbook of the French Wars of Religion on ‘Postwar Justice’. She has recently submitted her PhD at the University

Peter Ward

Fellow

Professor Peter Ward’s academic research has its origins in the practice of mission and ministry in the Christian Church. For more than 15 years, he worked as a Christian youth worker and then 5 years working as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Adviser for Youth Ministry. His doctoral research

David Thomson

Fellow

Bishop David Thomson was born in Sunderland and grew up in Sheffield before going up to Oxford to read English and take a DPhil in mediaeval studies. After a short teaching career he was ordained, and after twenty years of parish ministry served as Archdeacon of Carlisle and then Bishop of Huntingdo

Muthuraj Swamy

Fellow

Muthuraj researches in the fields of Religious Studies, Theology and World Christianity with the focus on religious pluralism, interfaith dialogue, ecumenism, contextual theologies, Christian public engagement, and science-faith relations. Muthuraj is currently the Director of the Cambridge Centre f

Sarah Snyder

Fellow

A trained mediator and theologian, specialising in inter-religious peace-building, Sarah brings wide-ranging international experience in situations of violent conflict. She has worked for many years to promote faith-based reconciliation, and is Founding Director of the Rose Castle Foundation – equ

Christian Selvaratnam

Fellow

Christian is Dean of Church Planting at St Hild College, where his work focuses on church planting, mission, leadership formation and intercultural practice. He studied mathematics at Warwick University, trained for ordained ministry in the Church of England at Cranmer Hall, and completed his doctor

Jonathan Ruffer

Fellow

Jonathan Ruffer left Cambridge in 1972 to become a stockbroker. He trained as a barrister, and worked in the Corporate Finance Department of Schroders. In 1980 he returned to investment, first with Dunbar; on its takeover by Allied Hambro, together with Micky Ingall, they set up a new business which

Richard Roberts

Fellow

Richard Roberts BA, TEP, CTAPS has been a private client solicitor for over 40 years, all of which was with Gedye and Sons of London and Grange over Sands. He was a student at St Johns from 1976 to 1979. His practice areas covered a wide range of work with the emphasis on trusts, contentious probate