The new Principal of Moore College is to be Dr Mark Thompson.

The President of the governing board of the College, Dr Peter Jensen, has announced Dr Thompson will succeed Dr John Woodhouse as Principal next year.

In a statement, Dr Jensen said “I greet the appointment of Dr Mark Thompson as the next Principal with great enthusiasm. Mark is thoroughly committed to Christ as Lord, and is a fine teacher and a caring pastor”.

The Archbishop said “His gifts as a speaker, theological educator, author and theologian have been recognised internationally as well as locally. His clear and strong affirmation of the gospel and his capacity as a leader are going to be significant gifts he brings to the College”.

The College, the Archbishop said, was “well positioned to meet the challenges of change.”
 
“The campus requires development and a new building is planned. The educational opportunities are new and they offer the possibilities of extending the teaching of the College and attracting even more students. With the help of the faculty and staff of the College, Mark is well equipped both to maintain the theological stance of the College and to oversee the developments we need to best serve Christ and his people” he said.

Dr Jensen asked for prayer for Dr Thompson, his wife Kathryn and family as he takes up the role.

Dr Thompson has lectured at the college since 1991. He currently lectures in Christian Doctrine and is head of Moore’s Department of Theology, Philosophy and Ethics and has served variously as Academic Dean and as acting Principal.

Internationally, he has been a member of the GAFCON Theological Resource Group and has helped strengthen Moore’s international links and build its profile overseas.

Himself a graduate of Moore, Dr Thompson was ordained in 1987, serving in parish ministry in St Swithun’s Pymble, St Luke’s Dapto and Quakers Hill Anglican. He is married to Kathryn and they have four daughters. He and his family attend St Matthew’s Ashbury.

Dr Thompson is a member of the Diocese of Sydney Standing Committee and chairs its Doctrine Commission. As an author, he has researched, lectured and published on the doctrine of scripture including his recent book A Clear and Present Word: The Clarity of Scripture (in the New Studies in Biblical Theology series). A further interest is the importance of theological education to the future of the diocese. He is also a prolific blogger.

Dr Thompson, in the press release announcing the appointment, described it as "a great privilege to be invited to serve the College in this way. I’m enormously excited because I believe that Moore College is on the cusp of a range of opportunities for providing strong, clear, biblical, theological education in a rapidly changing world."

“The resources we have at our disposal — a brilliant and diverse faculty, a remarkable library, dedicated staff, a rapidly expanding online presence, but most of all a growing family of gifted graduates who appreciate what they gained from their time at Moore — these all are God’s gifts to us and we have a responsibility to use them in the most effective and strategic way possible for the mission of knowing Christ and making him known.” Dr Thompson said.