Simon is Executive Director of the Centre for Public Christianity. A former English and History teacher, Simon has a Masters in Christian Studies from Regent College, Vancouver. He is the author of For God's Sake: An Atheist, a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim Debate Religion, editor of A Spectator's Guide to Worldviews, and was co-presenter and co-writer of the historical documentary For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined. His writing has appeared in such places as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC, The Australian, and The Guardian. He lives on Sydney’s northern beaches and is an inept but enthusiastic surfer.
Justine is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity where she speaks and writes about reading contemporary culture. Her book Achievement Addiction exemplifies this approach while also calling out the harms of a society that worships success. Justine enjoys exploring the way that film, TV, and other stories we tell ourselves about ourselves tap into our ultimate longings and hopes. Justine has a PhD in Cultural Studies at Macquarie University in Sydney and tweets, erratically, at @justinetoh.
Natasha is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity. She has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and is the author of For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined and, most recently, The Pleasures of Pessimism. She has worked for CPX since 2014 and written on topics that include books, movies, politics, food, domestic violence, Scripture in schools, war, Thanksgiving, and freedom of speech.
Tim Costello AO a Senior Fellow at CPX. A well known social justice advocate, Tim is a Baptist minister, former CEO of World Vision Australia, and current Executive Director of Micah Australia.
Barney is a part-time Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity, based in Melbourne. He wrote for The Age for 32 years, the last 12 as Religion Editor. He continues to write for the media on faith and politics, as well as on classical music and opera. He also serves as media advisor to the Anglican Primate, Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier.
Anna is Youth Editor at the Centre for Public Christianity. She has a BA in Media & Communications from the University of Sydney and has many years of experience working with youth at her local church. Before starting at CPX, she spent a year working with university students in Arequipa, Peru with the international Christian organisation SIM.
Allan is Business Manager & Media Director for the Centre for Public Christianity. An award-winning documentary maker, Allan has over 30 years' experience in broadcast and digital media. He was Director and Executive Producer for CPX's most recent production For the Love of God, which screened in cinemas across Australia to critical acclaim. Allan is also a graduate of Sydney's Macquarie Graduate School of Management.
John is a Canadian who loves Australia. A historian, theologian, and ethicist, he holds a PhD from the University of Chicago and teaches at Crandall University in eastern Canada. John has lectured at universities around the world, including Harvard, Yale, Edinburgh, and Hong Kong—as well as at Otago in New Zealand and Macquarie here in Australia. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other North American media—and has appeared several times here on ABC’s “Q&A.” His latest publication is Can I Believe? Christianity for the Hesitant, his sixth book with the Oxford University Press.
Until recently, Mark was on staff at the Centre for Public Christianity as a Senior Research Fellow. He is currently a New Testament Lecturuer at SMBC in Sydney. Mark has a PhD in Ancient History from Macquarie University and is the author of The End of Thinking? In his spare time he enjoys coffee, the humour of Monty Python, the music of Patty Griffin, and the sheer absurdity of being a Parramatta Eels supporter.
Gordon joined UTS as a Senior Lecturer in Economics in 2003, after a decade working as an economist at the RBA. From 2007 to 2016 he was the Deputy Director of the UTS Paul Woolley Centre for Capital Market Dysfunctionality. He contributed to the Murray Review of the financial system and has been a visiting scholar at the Political Economy of Financial Markets group at Oxford University. He is currently an Associate Professor and his main publications are in the areas of macroeconomics, trade and exchange rates. He is the author of Western Fundamentalism: Democracy, Sex and the Liberation of Mankind.
Richard is part-time Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at Melbourne School of Theology and teaches regularly on ministry in Muslim contexts in Australian colleges, universities, churches and schools. His publications include Jesus Through Muslim Eyes, Witnessing to Western Muslims and the philosophical apologetic The Wisdom of Islam and the Foolishness of Christianity.
Stephen is a former lawyer and journalist, who pastors a church in the Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney. He has a PhD in New Testament Studies from the University of Sydney and has lectured both locally and overseas. He has written books and articles at an academic and popular level on topics such as the teaching of Jesus, the early church, ethics, popular culture, sport and travel.
Leisa has been a Clinical Psychologist for more than 20 years and currently works in private practice. She is completing a PhD in the Psychology of hope at the University of Sydney. Leisa is developing an interdisciplinary view of our experience of hope, especially exploring the links between philosophy, theology and psychology. She is researching Australians’ hopes not only for their own lives but also their hopes for humanity.
Brian Rosner has a PhD from Cambridge University and is the principal of Ridley College in Melbourne. Previously he taught at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and Moore Theological College in Sydney. He’s also been a school teacher and railway trainee manager. Brian has written and edited more than a dozen books, including Beyond Greed and Known by God: A Biblical Theology of Personal Identity. He is married to Natalie and has four children and two grandchildren.
