A Conversation with Paul Spilsbury

Originally published on December 3, 2024

Paul Spilsbury shared these reflections following his appointment as Regent College's sixth president.

Tell us a little about your background.

I was born and raised in South Africa and came to Canada as an international student in 1984. After completing my undergraduate and master’s degrees in Alberta and British Columbia, respectively, I completed my doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge. After that, I lived and worked in Saskatchewan and Alberta for a combined 21 years before returning to Vancouver. Thanks to sabbaticals, I have also had the opportunity to live in Wales and Israel for extended periods.

Denominationally, I came to faith in a Baptist church in South Africa, and for the last thirty years have been a member of churches in the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

What draws you to the opportunity to lead Regent College?

I love Regent College: its mission, its history, its people, and its potential. Regent has profoundly impacted my life and that of my family—and I have seen the enormous influence for good it has had on so many others as well. It was here in the late ’80s that Bronwyn and I received an expanded view of the relevance of the gospel for all of life and for all spheres of knowledge and human endeavour. And this vision is more important now than ever.

What are your hopes for the future of Regent College?

We live in times of upheaval and disintegration on many fronts. The church is beleaguered on all sides, and God’s people in all vocations are crying out for integrated and holistic training in Scripture and formation in the deep truths of the gospel and the Christian tradition. My deep desire for Regent is that we will flourish and grow in a new season of effective ministry and worldwide impact. The story of Regent College is one of faithfulness to a call to nurture all God’s people in all occupations and from all parts of the world. This vision resonates strongly within me, and I’m excited to be a part of the College at such a pivotal time in its history.

What’s something you’ve learned from Regent students that has impacted your intellectual or spiritual life?

When I was a student at Regent, I was amazed to find myself learning alongside people of enormously different educational and professional backgrounds, and from many different churches and parts of the world. The richness of that experience is at the heart of God’s call for the College, and I regard it as a profound privilege to lead the College into an even deeper and more far-reaching realization of this call. The thing that has always struck me about Regent students is their deep seriousness about their faith and their joyful determination to bring all of their lives into the sphere of the Lordship of Jesus.

For you, what makes Regent different from other theological graduate schools?

Regent’s integrative curriculum, with the arts, marketplace theology, and interdisciplinary studies being taught and studied alongside the foundational subjects of Bible, theology, and history. It’s a vision that sees all of life as being within the purview of the gospel.

Regent is also set apart by its exceptional faculty comprised of stellar scholars, teachers, and leaders who delight in their vocation to impart rigorous, inspiring learning and rooted spiritual formation.

The dedicated staff team and Regent’s loyal worldwide community of donors and prayer supporters who love and care for the College all combine to keep it vibrant, relevant, and viable. I’m grateful to be a part of such a beautiful fellowship with such an inspiring mission.

What’s something you’ve learned through working in your academic specialty that has shaped your everyday thinking or experience?

My study of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, and the experience of Jews within the Roman empire in antiquity, constantly reminds me of the importance of history. As those who believe in the incarnation and whose faith is tethered to very specific events like the death and resurrection of Jesus, we realize over and over again that historical events matter and that lives lived within ordinary history are deeply important and meaningful.

How do you hope to see Regent grow as a community? 

Regent’s mission is to cultivate commitment to Christ in all spheres of life and in people from all around the world. We are committed to a pedagogy of the formation of persons in Christ—and that takes time. There is no shortcut to a deeply formed life lived in relationship with Jesus and his called people. Theological education is a necessarily slow process that requires deep intentionality and focus. This means that we must continue to offer courses and programs that invite students to come away from their ordinary lives for a while to immerse themselves in life-changing learning.

What’s something you’ve learned from scholars working from a very different perspective from your own?

Each discipline is like a world of its own with its own language and culture. Listening to people who have been formed in different disciplines helps you to see your work in a very different light.

What’s your favourite thing about Vancouver?

I love the beauty of nature on the west coast, which I love to paint in watercolours. You can find examples on my Instagram account!

How do you view the role of theology in engaging contemporary social and cultural issues? 

Theology is the name we give to the way that we think and speak about God’s dealings with the world. Theology is thus fundamentally important for us all if we desire to be thoughtful and maturing followers of Christ. It is the lens through which we view all of life’s challenges and opportunities. Regent is committed to the deep formative impact of person-to-person theological work that goes deeper at every turn. Our approach to theological education is rooted in a rich biblical theology of creation, the incarnation, and the ongoing redemptive presence of God in the world. Such an understanding calls us to a lifetime of exploration of all the ways that God calls us into relationship with himself, whether through the proclamation of the gospel or through the faithful witness of his people in all spheres of life, inquiry, and service.

How do you envision balancing Regent’s history, traditions, and legacy with the need to serve the church and world of today?

Rooted and growing. This simple phrase has taken form in my mind and heart over the last few months. As a community of faith and learning, we must remain rooted: in Scripture, in right theology, in the wonderful legacy and tradition of Regent. Doing so enables us to grow and be fruitful in the new ways that are required of us today. I believe firmly that the people of God need theological education of the kind Regent offers—now more than ever before. We live in a time of change in which many of society’s norms and standards are in flux. Christians are looking for a solid foundation of biblical truth, as well as the tools to integrate a robust theological vision of all of life in an increasingly bewildering world. Regent is well placed to offer this powerful integrative vision of the relevance of the gospel for all of life.

Part of our task is to call learners into ways of thinking and living that they do not yet know about when they come to school, and it is my firm conviction that students who come to Regent will find themselves caught up in an adventure that will change their lives forever.

Dr. Paul Spilsbury stepped into the role of Regent College President on July 1, 2025.