Honouring Geoff Grogan
On the 31st August 2011 Rev Dr Geoffrey Grogan passed away to be with the Lord. Geoff was the principal at the Bible Training Institute (BTI), one of the colleges which merged to become ICC, for 21 years, and in total taught full-time at the college for 35 years.
Born in 1925 in Bristol, Geoff became an evangelical Christian in 1945 after reading a book by C.S. Lewis. He studied at BTI from 1947-49 and then at London Bible College from 1949-51. In 1951 he returned to BTI as Warden and then Lecturer, and married Eva Hayes in 1952. During this time he developed a love of teaching theology which former students remember with great appreciation. Peter Brierley (BTI, 1962-1964), who now serves as Director of Christian Research, particularly remembers Geoff’s extensive lectures on Christology, noting that ‘the lectures that Geoffrey gave were dynamic, diverse, detailed, and gave a ground[ing] in theology second to none.’
Geoff served as lecturer in Biblical, Historical, and Dogmatic theology at London Bible College from 1965-9. In 1969 he received an invitation to return to BTI to serve as Principal, a position he held until retirement in 1990. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Open University in 1998/9.
Geoffrey Grogan published dozens of articles and books. His publications include a commentary on Isaiah, two books on Psalms and one on Mark. Since retirement, he continued to write and lecture widely, including in the US and Eastern Europe and has recently published The Faith Once Entrusted to the Saints? Engaging with Issues and Trends in Evangelical Theology. He also served as chairman of the Scottish Evangelical Theology Society for 27 years.
Geoff spent his lifetime working for Jesus Christ in the field of evangelical theological education and for this all at ICC are profoundly grateful to God. ICC Principal Richard Tiplady who, with his wife Irene, studied under Geoff Grogan at the BTI, sums up Geoff’s contribution: ‘It is only with later reflection one realises that Geoff did what any great leader does, that is, live out the values he wanted to inculcate in us. A gentle, gracious giant of a man who wanted us to imbibe his love of the Bible for ourselves, all the while unafraid to confront behaviour that contradicted these values.’
Born in 1925 in Bristol, Geoff became an evangelical Christian in 1945 after reading a book by C.S. Lewis. He studied at BTI from 1947-49 and then at London Bible College from 1949-51. In 1951 he returned to BTI as Warden and then Lecturer, and married Eva Hayes in 1952. During this time he developed a love of teaching theology which former students remember with great appreciation. Peter Brierley (BTI, 1962-1964), who now serves as Director of Christian Research, particularly remembers Geoff’s extensive lectures on Christology, noting that ‘the lectures that Geoffrey gave were dynamic, diverse, detailed, and gave a ground[ing] in theology second to none.’
Geoff served as lecturer in Biblical, Historical, and Dogmatic theology at London Bible College from 1965-9. In 1969 he received an invitation to return to BTI to serve as Principal, a position he held until retirement in 1990. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Open University in 1998/9.
Geoffrey Grogan published dozens of articles and books. His publications include a commentary on Isaiah, two books on Psalms and one on Mark. Since retirement, he continued to write and lecture widely, including in the US and Eastern Europe and has recently published The Faith Once Entrusted to the Saints? Engaging with Issues and Trends in Evangelical Theology. He also served as chairman of the Scottish Evangelical Theology Society for 27 years.
Geoff spent his lifetime working for Jesus Christ in the field of evangelical theological education and for this all at ICC are profoundly grateful to God. ICC Principal Richard Tiplady who, with his wife Irene, studied under Geoff Grogan at the BTI, sums up Geoff’s contribution: ‘It is only with later reflection one realises that Geoff did what any great leader does, that is, live out the values he wanted to inculcate in us. A gentle, gracious giant of a man who wanted us to imbibe his love of the Bible for ourselves, all the while unafraid to confront behaviour that contradicted these values.’
Memorial site
A memorial website with a recording of the memorial service is accessible at: http://geoffreygroganmemorial.wordpress.com