Ian M. Randall (born 9 January 1948) is a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

who is best known for his works on the history of European

evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

and Protestant nonconformity. He is a research associate at the

Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide The Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide (CCCW) is a study, teaching and research centre in Cambridge, England and a member of the Cambridge Theological Federation which is affiliated with the University of Cambridge. History The cent ...

at Westminster College in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, England, and a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

. Randall also serves as a senior research fellow at Spurgeon's College in London and the International Baptist Theological Study Centre in Amsterdam.

Biography

Randall was born in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the royal burgh of

Wick, Caithness Wick ( ; ) is a town and royal burgh in Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay. "Wick Locality" had a population of 6,954 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011 ...

, on 9 January 1948. He studied history and economics at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

and undertook theological studies at Regent's Park College at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in preparation for Baptist ministry. His subsequent masters work at

London School of Theology The London School of Theology (LST), formerly London Bible College, is a British interdenominational evangelicalism, evangelical theological college based in Northwood, London, Northwood within the London Borough of Hillingdon. History Durin ...

followed by his doctoral studies at the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

focused on the history of evangelical thought and spirituality. Randall's research on religion in

Victorian England In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

and

interwar Britain In the United Kingdom, the interwar period (1918–1939) entered a period of relative stability after the Partition of Ireland, although it was also characterised by economic stagnation. In politics, the Liberal Party collapsed and the Labo ...

challenged popular assumptions that portrayed evangelical Christianity as parochial and puritanical. He argued that evangelicals were broadminded advocates of denominational cooperation who were deeply concerned about issues of poverty, spirituality and social reform. In 1992 Randall was appointed lecturer in Church history and spirituality at Spurgeon's College in London and became deputy principal of the school in 2003. During his tenure at Spurgeon's he also served as the director of

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

and

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

studies at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and divided his scholarly activities between London and Prague. He is recognized for his many contributions to Baptist studies in Britain and his varied works on evangelical history. He is married to Janice and has two daughters, Ailsa and Moragh, and three grandchildren, Theo Randall, Iona and Ella.

Select works

* ''A Christian Peace Experiment: The Bruderhof Community in Britain, 1933–1942''. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018. * ''Rhythms of Revival''. Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster Press, 2010. * ''Communities of Conviction: Baptist Beginnings in Europe''. Prague: European Baptist Federation, 2009. * ''Spiritual Revolution: The Story of OM''. Milton Keynes, UK: Authentic, 2008. * ''What a Friend We Have in Jesus''. London, UK: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2005. * ''A School of the Prophets: 150 Years of Spurgeon's College''. London, UK: Spurgeon's College, 2005. * ''The English Baptists of the Twentieth Century''. Didcot, UK: Baptist Historical Society, 2005. * ''Spirituality and Social Change: The Contribution of F. B. Meyer (1847–1929)''. Carlisle, UK: Paternoster Press, 2003. ' * ''More than a Methodist: The Life and Ministry of Donald English''. Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 2003 (with Brian Hoare). * ''One Body in Christ: The History and Significance of the Evangelical Alliance''. Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 2003 (with David Hilborn). * ''Transforming Keswick''. Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 2000 (with Charles Price). * ''Educating Evangelicalism: The Origins, Development and Impact of London Bible College''. Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 2000. * ''Evangelical Experiences: A Study in the Spirituality of English Evangelicalism'', ''1918–1939''. Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 1999. * ''Cambridge Students and Christianity Worldwide: Insights from the 1960s'', Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, Ian 1948 births Living people Evangelicalism British evangelicals Alumni of Regent's Park College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Historical Society