Bob Derrenbacker

Robert has been President of Thorneloe University, an Anglican college federated with Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, since 2009. He holds degrees in Theology from the University of St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto (PhD), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (MATS) and Wheaton College (BA). Prior to joining Thorneloe University, Robert was Associate Professor of New Testament at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. From 2000 to 2003, he was Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of New Testament at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto and in 2005 he was a Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Theology at the Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium. He has also taught at St. Peter’s Theological Seminary, London, Ontario, and St. Michael’s College and Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto.

Current Research Areas

• The Synoptic Problem
• The Synoptic Gospels
• The "Sayings Gospel" Q
• The Quest(s) of the Historical Jesus
• Rhetorical and Epistolary Analyses of Paul
• Socio-Historical Approaches to the Gospels and Paul
• Pauline Soteriology and the "New Perspective on Paul"
• Jesus in Modern Film
• Writing Practices, Literary Cultures and Media of Antiquity

Publications

• Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 186; Leuven: Peeters, 2005)
• “Orality and Scribality in Q: A Response to the Papers of John S. Kloppenborg, Daniel A. Smith, and Giovanni B. Bazzana,” in Built on Rock or Sand? Q Studies – Retrospects, Introspects and Prospects, edited by Christoph Heil, Gertraud Harb, and Daniel A. Smith (Leuven: Peeters, 2018), pp. 121-127
• “Matthew as Scribal Tradent: An Assessment of Alan Kirk’s Q in Matthew”, in Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus 15 (2017): 1–12
• "Ancient Literacy, Ancient Literary Dependence, Ancient Media and the Triple Tradition,” in William Arnal, Richard S. Ascough, Robert Derrenbacker, and Phillip A. Harland, eds. Scribal Practices and Social Structures among Jesus Adherents: Essays in Honour of John S. Kloppenborg, (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 285; Leuven: Peeters, 2016), pp. 81-96
• "'The Medium is the Message': What Q's Content Tells Us about its Medium," edited by Dieter Roth, Ruben Zimmerman, and Michael Labahn, Metaphorik und Narrativität in der Logienquelle Q / Metaphor and Narrative in Q (WUNT; Tübingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 2014), pp. 207-219.
• A Response to Thomas Brodie, 'Luke's Use of the Elijah-Elisha Narrative,' with Particular Emphasis on Luke 9:15-62," The Elijah-Elisha Narrative in the Composition of Luke, edited by John S. Kloppenborg and Joseph Verheyden (Library of New Testament Studies 493; London: Bloomsbury, 2014), pp. 30-36
• “Texts, Tables and Tablets: A Response to John C. Poirier,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 35 (2013): 1–8
• "'Let every person be subject to the governing authorities': Contextualizing and Recontextualizing Romans 13:1-7 in Our Imperial Age (With Particular Reference to and Appreciation for the Work of Robert Jewett),” in From Rome to Beijing: Symposia on Robert Jewett’s Commentary on Romans, edited by K. K. Yeo (Lincoln, NE: Kairos Studies, 2013)
• “The ‘External and Psychological Conditions under which the Synoptic Gospels Were Written’: Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem”, in New Studies in the Synoptic Problem, Festshcrift Christopher M. Tuckett, edited by Paul Foster, Andrew Gregory, John S. Kloppenborg, and Joseph Verheyden (BETL 239; Leuven: Peeters, 2011): pp. 435–458

Community Engagement

• Clerical Canon and Member of Chapter, St Paul’s Cathedral (Melbourne), 2020 to present (Chapter Secretary since 2022)
• Member, Board of Trustees, Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion, since 2011 (President 2014-2021)
• Chair, Endowment Committee, Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, 2017 to present