Simon Stocks, Senior Tutor and Tutor for Biblical Studies at St Augestine's

Simon Stocks

Senior Tutor and Tutor for Biblical Studies

“Entering into the biblical narrative allows us to encounter God through every aspect of our personality and to write the story of our own lives with courage and imagination.”

Simon joined the staff team in January 2011 to teach Biblical Studies and until 2018 to oversee the Reader Training pathway. As Senior Tutor, he now oversees the ordination training pathway.

After a career in civil engineering, he trained for ministry in the Church of England at Trinity College Bristol. He worked in parish ministry as a curate in the diocese of Southwark, where he also taught on the Reader Training course. His doctoral thesis was undertaken through Cliff College and analysed aspects of Hebrew poetic structure in the Psalms.

Simon is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Chair of the Theological Educators’ Network, which supports all those involved training candidates for licensed lay ministry in the Church of England. He is a member of the Society for Old Testament Study and the Society of Biblical Literature.

Simon’s research interests include the interactions between poetic form and interpretation in Hebrew poetry, and the theology of lament.

Simon lives in Purley, South London where he continues his involvement in parish ministry. He regularly addresses church groups on a variety of biblically-based topics. He blogs (very occasionally) at cryhard.org

Publications

Academic Publications

Conference Papers

Publications for General Church Readership

Simon is the OT Series Editor for the Bible Reading Fellowship’s Really Useful Guides to the Bible.

Publications for General Church Readership

  • ‘Who’s Afraid of the Biblical Scholar?’, New Wine Network meeting, Nov. 2018.
  • ‘“The Lord is One” – Knowing the One True God’, Sanderstead Bible Week, Aug. 2018.
  • ‘Unlocking the Psalms’, St Benedict’s Centre workshop series, Nov. 2017.
  • ‘God’s Word in the Psalms’, Sanderstead Bible Week, Aug. 2017.
  • ‘The Psalms of lament: Authentic Prayer in Times of trouble’. South Chatham Lecture Series, Jan. 2017.
  • ‘A Story of Transformation’, Ockley & Okewood Men’s Breakfast, 2016.
  • ‘What I talk about when I talk about Easter’, training day for Methodist lay preachers, North Kent, 2015.
  • ‘Daughters of Zelophehad: Emancipators or Oppressors?’, Compline address, Farleigh, Surrey, 2014.
  • ‘Popular Idols: Preaching from the Idol polemics’, Diocese of Southwark CMD day, 2014.
  • ‘Goat’s Milk and Goring: Finding a place for OT Law in Christian Discipleship’, Diocese of Southwark CMD day, 2012.
  • ‘Isn’t the God of the Old Testament just a vengeful bully?’, Emmanuel Church, Croydon, 2012.
  • ‘The Old Testament: What happened way back then and who wrote it down?’, KJV 450th Lecture series, Churches Together, Coulsdon, Surrey, 2011.
  • ‘Called by Christ: Calling, Vocation & Service’, St Mark’s Café Church, 2011.
  • ‘Out of the Depths : Recovering the Psalms of Lament in contemporary church life’, talk for St Mary’s Bryanston Square ‘Deep Church’ group, 2008
  • ‘Meaninglessness and Marmite: connecting with life today through the book of Ecclesiastes’, Diocese of Southwark Summer School, July 2009.
  • ‘Seeing is believing: using film and video clips as an aid to preaching’, Diocese of Southwark Summer School, July 2009.
  • ‘Speaking for God? The voice of the prophet’ Diocese of Southwark Summer School, July 2008.
  • ‘God of Vengeance, God of Love: reading the Old and New Testaments together’ Diocese of Southwark Summer School, July 2007.
  • ‘The Use of the Psalms in Contemporary Ministry’ Diocese of Southwark CMD day, 2007.