About Me
Hello! I am Michael Brain, a teacher and theologian living in Toronto, Canada. I am a graduate of Wycliffe College (University of Toronto), having completing my Ph.D. in Theological Studies in 2022. I have studied previously at McMaster Divinity College (M.A., Christian Studies) and Tyndale University (B.A., Biblical Studies & Theology).
I was born and raised in Welland, Ontario, a city located in the Niagara region in Southern Ontario. I felt a calling to study theology as a teenager, and so I began my studies at Tyndale University, where I studied Biblical Studies & Theology with a pastoral ministry focus. Local church ministry has always been an integral part of my life and calling, because theology must be in service of the church. I spent 5 years in pastoral ministry with the Free Methodist Church in Canada, serving congregations in Welland and Barrie, Ontario. I am currently on staff at St. Mary & St. Martha Anglican Church in Toronto.
Welland, Ontario, my hometown
I began to discern a calling to academia during my graduate studies at McMaster Divinity College. My calling to be a teacher of the Christian faith led me to complete my Master of Arts (Christian Studies), focusing on systematic theology. Theology had gripped my mind and my imagination more than any other discipline. I completed my M.A. thesis on the trinitarian theology of Karl Barth, examining contemporary discussions of the immanent and economic Trinity in Barth studies. My interests focused on how Barth ought to be situated between ‘orthodoxy’ - the church’s traditional creedal affirmations - and ‘modernity,’ or revisionary theology.
MA research: Karl Barth
I went on to complete my Ph.D. (Theological Studies) at Wycliffe College in 2022. My doctoral studies took me into the theology of Robert W. Jenson, examining the ‘evangelical catholicism’ of Jenson’s revisionary, trinitarian metaphysics. My core argument is that Jenson’s revisionary metaphysics, understood as an evangelical and catholic theology, was intrinsically ecumenical in scope, aimed at restating and revising the language of faith in order to direct the church (Protestant Christianity especially) in the post-Christian society of North America. Though Jenson presented a different perspective on the question from Barth, the thesis continued the line of questioning from my MA work - namely, how one mediates the need for revisionary theology and the desire for faithfulness to the ecumenical traditions of the church.
PhD research: Robert Jenson
I am a sessional instructor and adjunct faculty at Tyndale Seminary and Wycliffe College, and I reside in Toronto, Ontario with my wife, Bridget. I am on the ministry staff at St. Mary & St. Martha Anglican Church, a lovely parish in the west end of Toronto. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking experiments in the kitchen, following Toronto sports, and spending time outdoors (or anywhere on the ice).
