User:Mark Keown

Rev Dr Mark J. Keown is an evangelical biblical scholar and author. Born in the Chatham Islands in 1961, Mark spent a number of his early years in Niue and Rarotonga where he became a follower of Jesus. Mark was an accomplished sportsman, playing premier club rugby for Pakuranga United Rugby Club and cricket with the Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club. After attending Edgewater College and becoming a school teacher, Mark taught at Greenmeadows Intermediate School. Working with his wife the Rev Dr Emma Keown, he then became a community outreach worker with St Columba Presbyterian Church. He studied theology at the Bible College of New Zealand (now Laidlaw College) and completed a Doctorate with the Australian College of Theology in 2004. He is an accomplished singer and songwriter, worship leader, evangelist, preacher, teacher, and author. Mark's first book was What's God Up To On Planet Earth?, a summary of the gospel for seekers (2008, 2010). He has published three works on Philippians. The first--Congregational Evangelism in Philippians--looks at Paul's evangelistic strategy in the letter (2009). He then wrote the two-volume Evangelical Exegetical Commentary on Philippians (2017) and the a Concise Commentary on Philippians (2021). He has also written a two volume work on Mark's Gospel, Jesus in a World of Colliding Empires, considering Mark's Jesus against the backdrop of imperial politics (2018). He is also publishing a three volume Discovering the New Testament (2018-21), The New Testament A Taster, and a commentary on Galatians. He continues to serve as Senior Lecture in New Testament at Laidlaw College.

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