The Team

Editorial Team

Christopher R. Brewer (Editor-in-Chief): Before coming to St Andrews, Christopher was Marketing Manager, Merchandising for Universal Forest Products, Inc., a Fortune 1000 company. During this time, he curated a growing art collection at Calvary Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, MI, and collaborated with Brooklyn-based artist Alfonse Borysewicz on a number of exhibitions. He is an adjunct instructor for Cornerstone University as well as the founder and director of Gospel through Shared Experience. His first book, Art that Tells the Story, was recognized as one of Hearts & Minds Best Books of 2011. His thesis is an exploration of the possibility of an imaginative natural theology with a particular interest in contemporary American visual art and the metaxological metaphysics of William Desmond. 

Denny Kinlaw (Assistant Editor + Book Reviews) is currently studying for his PhD in the Institute of Theology, Imagination and the Arts, St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews.  Before coming to St Andrews, Denny conducted research for Kirk Documentary Group in Boston, MA, producing documentary films for PBS FRONTLINE. He received his BA in English from Harvard University. His interests currently include American Literature and the intersection of literary theory and theology in the work of David Foster Wallace. 

Cole Matson (Guest Contributors Editor): Cole is a final-year PhD student in the Institute for Theology, Imagination & the Arts, exploring the Eucharistic theologies of Jerzy Grotowski and the Rhapsodic Theatre. Before coming to St Andrews, Cole earned his BFA in Drama at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and worked as an actor and arts administrator in Baltimore, before heading to Oxford to read for a second BA in Theology and live in C.S. Lewis’ house for a year. He can be seen as Nate Bingley in the recently-released gamer flick Rise of the Fellowship. Cole enjoys geeking out about theatre, monasticism, and the Inklings at his blog, The Unicorn Triumphant. 

Dr Gavin Hopps (ITIA Director, ex officio Editor): Gavin is Lecturer in Literature & Theology and Director of the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts at the University of St Andrews. He has been involved in ITIA since he came to St Andrews as an RCUK Academic Fellow in 2006. Prior to this, he was a Lecturer in English at the universities of Aachen, Oxford and Canterbury Christ Church and a CRASSH Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge. His research is broadly concerned with theology and the arts, with a particular focus on Romantic literature and contemporary British popular music, though he is also interested in the relationship between theology and modalities of lightness (such as comedy, camp, leisure and play). He has published numerous articles on Romantic writing, a collection of essays on the spectral, the spiritual and the supernatural in Byron, a co-edited collection on Romanticism and Religion, and a monograph on the singer-songwriter Morrissey. He is currently working with Dr Jane Stabler in the School of English on a new edition of the complete poetic works of Byron, a volume in the New Directions in Religion and Literature series, a monograph on the levity of Byron’s Don Juan, and another on popular music and radical wonder, entitled The Kitsch Epiphany.

Regular Contributors

Timothy Allen: Timothy and his family reside in St. Andrews, Scotland where he is writing his PhD dissertation under the supervision of David Brown in the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts. Timothy’s research focuses on the dialogue between theology and popular culture; more precisely, on the role of the imagination in theological constructions of the doctrine of heaven.

Amber Noel: Amber received her M.Div. from Duke University in 2012 after additional graduate coursework in theology and literature at Lee University. She lives in Durham, NC (USA) where she is exploring vocations in pastoral, artistic, and academic fields, and currently works as Assistant to the Director of Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts. In her spare time, Amber is either pursuing ordination as a deacon, eating breakfast, or watching Doctor Who. She has high-quality humans and/or cats around her most of the time.

Jim Watkins: Jim teaches humanities and bible at Veritas School in Richmond, VA.  He holds a PhD in theology from the University of St Andrews (supervised by David Brown), an MCS in Christianity and the Arts from Regent College, and a BA in Studio Art from Wheaton College.  He is currently working on a book titled Creativity as Sacrifice: Toward a Theological Model for Human Creativity in the Arts (Fortress Press).  Jim lives in Richmond, VA with his beautiful wife, Emily, and their three wonderful boys Jonah, Rowan and Isaac.

Preston Yancey: Preston Yancey earned his undergraduate degree in Great Texts of the Western Tradition with a focus in medieval monasticism, literature, and theology from Baylor University. He went on to complete his Master of Letters in Theology, Imagination, and the Arts at the University of St. Andrews. His first book, Tables in the Wilderness:A Memoir of God Found, Lost, and Found Again, is due out with Zondervan September 2014.