For a full list of publications, see my profiles on Academia, ResearchGate, Google Scholar and ORCID – but here is an overview of some of the questions I find interesting and end up writing about.
Historical Research
History is the stories which have shaped and continue shaping our lives today. Who tells those stories matters, so I have a particular interest in voices which have largely been ignored, such as the life and witness of the beguines – communities of medieval women who were single and religious, but not monastic. Forming their own communities, moving freely between their beguinage and the town, as a movement they had no centre or leadership. Unsurprisingly, such a life on the border of the secular and the sacred both fascinated and perturbed the cultural imagination of medieval Europe. I touch on them in my books on Transforming the Struggles of Tamars and Singleness and Marriage after Christendom, and also write about them in:
“‘She Did What She Could’: Some Historical Observations on Following Jesus as a Single Woman.” In Anthony R. Cross and Brian Haymes, Re-Membering the Body: The Witness of History, Theology, and the Arts in Honour of Ruth M.B. Gouldbourne (Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2021), 159-178.
Another area of historical research I’m finding myself delving into time and again is the story of my own family of faith – particularly the Baptist communities in Lithuania, but also beyond. See, for instance,
‘Baptists in Continental Europe,’ In Oxford Handbook of Baptist Studies, ed. Paul S. Fiddes, David W. Bebbington, Elizabeth H. Flowers, and Steven R. Harmon (Oxford University Press, 2026), 126-139.
“Challenges and Opportunities in the Healing of Church Memories: Reflections on Baptist-Catholic Relations in Lithuania.” Journal of European Baptist Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2 (2020):46-58.
“Revival Among the Aliens: The Case of Lithuanian Baptists”. In William L. Pitts, Jr. (ed.), Baptists and Revivals: Papers from the Seventh International Conference on Baptist Studies (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2018), 304-323.
“Strangers in the Land and True Lovers of the Nation: The Formation of Lithuanian-speaking Baptist Identity, 1918-1940.” Perichoresis, Vol. 16, No. 1 (2018): 99-117.
“Jonas Inkenas and Forgiveness Lived Out: An Experiment in Biography as Narrative Theology,” American Baptist Quarterly XXII, no. 2 (2003), 247-261.
Practical Theology
‘Practical theology’ (as opposed to, you know, impractical theology…) is an exploration of the relationship between what is and what we say should be; between lived theology and doctrine; between our actual and declared convictions. It is also about engaging with any and every aspect of life, and about offering a theological reading of our world(s).
What follows is a sample of some of my writings – both academic and those written ‘for normal people’.
Theological Education:
“Rethinking Theological Education in Time of Flux,” EthicsDaily.com portal, August 27, 2019.
‘“Pedagogy for Personal Transformation: Faith Development in the Context of a Scottish Baptist College,” with Ian Birch and Graham Meiklejohn. Theology in Scotland, Vol. 26, No. 2 (2019), 29-44.
“Theological Education in Baptist Churches—major trends, networks and documents,” in Dietrich Werner et al, eds., Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity: Theological Perspectives – Regional Surveys – Ecumenical Trends. Regnum Studies in Global Christianity Series (Oxford: Regnum, 2010), 686-696, with Keith G. Jones and Parush R. Parushev.
Theology and Practice of Singleness:
I have written two books on the subject, but here are some shorter pieces.
“Happily Ever After? Singleness, Romance, and Following Jesus.” Mission Catalyst, No. 1 (2021):6-7.
“How Your Church May Exclude Single Members.” EthicsDaily.com portal, September 16, 2015.
“Tamar, Judah, and today’s single women.” Baptist Times, Autumn 2015.
“Single women in the Church: some portraits.” Baptist Times, Autumn 2015.
“In pursuit of happiness.” Baptist Times, Autumn 2015.
“Struggling with Female Happiness: God’s Will and God’s Blessing in Primary Evangelical Theology,” in Pieter J. Lalleman, Peter J. Morden and Anthony Cross (eds.), Grounded in Grace: Essays to Honour Ian M. Randall. Centre for Baptist History and Heritage Series (Oxford: Regent’s Park College: 2013), 277-291.
Narrative Theology and Church Practices:
“Befriending Churches.” In Seeds of the Church: Towards an Ecumenical Baptist Ecclesiology, ed. Teun van der Leer, Henk Bakker, Steven R. Harmon, and Elizabeth Newman (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2022), 67-77.
“From the Love of Friends to the Love of Strangers: Reflections on Friendship and Discipleship”, in Baptistic Theologies 7, No. 2 (2015), 73-87.
“The Practice of Humour and our Spirituality: Some Reflections” in Journal of European Baptist Studies 14, No. 3 (2014), 22-33.
“Leadership as a Virtuous Practice” in Baptistic Theologies 5, No. 1 (2013), 119-132.
“From the Edge: On Approaching the Task of Breaking Open the Word,” in Fausto A. Vasconcelos (ed.), Baptist Faith & Witness, Book 4: Papers of the Study and Research Division of the Baptist World Alliance 2005-2010 (Falls Church: Baptist World Alliance, 2011), 97-105.
“As Songs Turn into Life and Life into Songs: On the First-Order Theology of Baptist Hymnody,” in Keith G Jones and Parush R Parushev, eds., Currents in Baptistic Theology of Worship (Prague: International Baptist Theological Seminary, 2007), 129-141.
“Church, State, and Culture: On the Complexities of Post-Soviet Evangelical Social Involvement,” Theological Reflections. Euro-Asian Theological Journal 3 (2004), 161-213 (in Russian, English, and Lithuanian), with Parush R Parushev.
“Jonas Inkenas and Forgiveness Lived Out: An Experiment in Biography as Narrative Theology,” American Baptist Quarterly XXII, no. 2 (2003), 247-261.