Born on the Wirral, Cheshire, Ian Birch has been in Baptist Pastoral Ministry for twenty five years. Before he joined SBC as a full-time member of staff in 2008 he had pastorates in Gillingham, Southsea, St Helens and Kirkintilloch.
In addition to leading the College, Ian’s specialist area is primarily in the area of biblical studies, but he also teaches in the areas of ethics, church history, Christian leadership and Baptist History and Identity. He has postgraduate degrees in theology (University of Wales/Spurgeon’s College), biblical studies (Open University/ICC), and a PhD in historical theology (University of St Andrews). Recently he has been awarded the Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Authority (PFHEA).
He is married to Elizabeth and they have two children.
Current modules: Living Justly in God’s World; Baptist Perspectives on Being Church; Turning Points in Church History; Christian Worship.
Contact Ian for queries about: College / Programme oversight; Governance and HR; Partnerships and Fundraising.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Graham joined the College in September 2015. Prior to joining the College, Graham was located in Manchester, firstly working with the youth mission charity, ‘The Message Trust’, before studying a MA in Theology (Nazarene Theological College – Manchester). He was Associate Pastor for a church plant (Didsbury Community Church) for 2 years and was a licensed District Pastor in the Church of the Nazarene for 4 years. Most recently Graham worked as PR & Recruitment Strategist at Nazarene Theological College.
Graham completed his PhD studies in the area of Ecclesiology and Trinitarian Theology (University of Manchester). Graham also holds a LLB (Hons) with Philosophy (University of Glasgow) and a MSc in Marketing (University of Strathclyde). Most recently he has completed his Fellowship of the Higher Education Authority and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice through the University of the West of Scotland.
In his spare time Graham enjoys playing and watching a variety of sports. He is married to Charlie, who is a fellow theologian and works for Christian Aid. They have a Border Collie called Brock…as in Brock Collie…broccoli 🥦
Current modules: Preaching; Creative Mission in a Changing Culture; Work-based Learning Placement modules; Theological Approaches to Contemporary Issues; Reconciliation; Story of God.
Contact Graham for queries about: Student Applications; Study pathways; Course or Module development; Communications and Media.
Alistair (Al) Cuthbert joined the College in September 2025 having previously been the minister of Falkirk Baptist Church (FBC) in central Scotland since July 2017. Before going to FBC, Al was part of the pastoral staff teams at Stirling BC and then St Andrews BC. Before that he had two decade-long careers in physical education and cross-cultural missions with Youth With A Mission (YWAM).
Al recently completed a PhD in systematic theology at the University of St Andrews on Divine Conflict, Evil and Spiritual Warfare.
He is married to Lynsey and they have four young adult & teenage children. In the little free time he has, he enjoys reading, training for and doing triathlons, listening to Christian heavy metal music (no, that’s not an oxymoron), playing his bass guitar, and riding his motorbike!
Current modules: Encountering the New Testament; Encountering the Old Testament; Paul and the Gospel of Jesus; Old Testament Theological Exegesis.
Ellie Bell is our Academic Administrator.
She studied at St Andrews University before qualifying as a secondary school teacher, teaching Biology & Chemistry. Having worked in education for 30 years Ellie joins the SBC team to keep us all in order!
She is married to Alasdair and they have 4 children.
In her spare time she loves baking and pottering in the garden as well as dabbling in furniture upcycling.
Contact Ellie for queries on: finances; academic transcripts; timetables and student admin; preaching requests; general enquiries.
Fiona Parratt
Administrative Support
Fiona studied at St Andrews University, before training as a primary school teacher. As well as teaching, she has worked with children in a variety of settings. She has been a childminder and a children’s worker for young people with additional support needs and has also helped run toddler groups and school Scripture Union groups.
She and her husband, Steve, lived in Hungary for 7 years, where 2 of their 4 children were born. They now have 2 sons-in-law, one from Orkney and one from Iran, and 4 grandchildren, two in Edinburgh and two in Vienna.
In 2019 she became a full-time student here at the college and graduated in July 2024 with First Class Honours. As well as assisting Ellie one day a week, she is a community and family worker in a Church of Scotland.
In her spare time, she enjoys walking, being in the garden, knitting and reading (usually having several books on the go at once).
Rev. Dr. Steve Younger teaches on the Time for Reflection and Pastoral Care modules amongst others as well as being the College’s Pastoral Support Tutor.
Though born in Ashford (Middlesex), Steve was brought up in Fife. His first degree was gained at the University of St. Andrews where he majored in Social Anthropology. He became a Christian while at St. Andrews and studied there for for five years. This was followed by four years at the Scottish Baptist College. Since 1986 he has been Pastor of High Blantyre Baptist Church, a role that he continues to serve in on a part-time basis. As well as his commitment to lecturing he is the School Chaplaincy Project Worker for ‘Christian Values in Education (Scotland)’ and a member of the International Association of Children’s Spirituality. His doctorate is on spiritual development within Scotland’s ‘Curriculum for Excellence.’
Current modules: Creative Homiletics; Pastoral Care; Time for Reflection; Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care.
Contact Steve for queries on: working with young people in schools; pastoral care for current students.
Paul Beautyman has been a Christian youth worker and trainer for over 25 years. He has developed young people into leaders, trained interns, taught students, equipped volunteers and mentored Christian youth workers. Working across Scotland he has served churches, set up successful youth projects and worked in partnership with a range of Christian youth work agencies. He completed and passed his PhD on supporting Christian youth workers in Autumn 2023.
Current modules: Practices of Youth and Community Ministry; Values of Youth and Community Ministry.
Contact Paul for queries about: Youth and Community Ministry modules
Born in Glasgow, Alasdair Black has been the senior pastor of Stirling Baptist Church for almost twenty years. Before taking up his pastorate in Stirling he served as the pastor of Cuffley Free Church in Hertfordshire and worked in Los Angeles and Amsterdam in urban mission.
Alasdair’s interests include biblical archaeology, New Testament background and Scottish Church history. He also has a keen interest in the socio-political affairs of the Near East. His doctorate is in Christian Ethics and Practical Theology with particular reference to Soren Kirkegaard’s ‘Attack Upon Christendom’ (University of Edinburgh) and has done postgraduate studies in Applied Theology (University of Oxford).
He is married to Susan and they have two children (Joy and Craig).
He has just written a book on the birth of Jesus, ‘History, Myth and the Birth of Jesus’, that is due for publication.
Current modules: Scottish Christianity, Christian Leadership.
Current modules: Spiritual Formation
Paul Wilson grew up in California and later lived in Chicago. During his first year at university, he took part in a study abroad programme in Northern Ireland in 2001—and decided to stay. Since then, he has lived and worked in Greece and Scotland, spending the past two decades leading church-based outreach programmes with asylum seekers and refugees. His work has focused on adult education, sport, advocacy, and pastoral care.
Paul is a PhD candidate in New Testament and Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh. His research is an interdisciplinary analysis of the Book of Acts through the lens of migration studies. He also holds a Master’s degree in Biblical Studies from the University of Edinburgh, a Postgraduate Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy from the University of Strathclyde, and a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Queen’s University Belfast. He serves as Secretary of the Tyndale Fellowship’s New Testament Study Group and is the Reviews Editor for the Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology.
In his spare time, Paul enjoys running with the Springburn Harriers and is a keen photographer. He maintains his childhood devotion to the San Francisco Giants (which has taught him a great deal about endurance and the stubborn virtue of hope). He has been married to Emma for over twenty years, and together they have two wonderful teenage children.
Current modules: Sermon on the Mount.