Dr. Gareth Lee Cockerill is celebrating being named Southern Wesleyan University’s Alumnus of the Year and also the success of his latest book, Christian Faith in the Old Testament: the Bible of the Apostles.

Dr. Cockerill, a 1966 graduate of SWU, is an ordained Wesleyan and served a decade as missionary to Sierra Leone, Africa, alongside his wife, Rosa. Following that, he has served for 25 years on the faculty of Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. He currently serves as vice president for academic affairs and professor of biblical interpretation and theology at the seminary.

Cockerill’s book Christian Faith in the Old Testament: the Bible of the Apostles was recently released by Thomas Nelson. He is a prodigious bible scholar, having published frequently in the most respected biblical and missiological journals and authoring several noted books. His commentary on Hebrews replaced the renowned F. F. Bruce commentary in the prestigious New International Commentary on the New Testament series (Wm. B. Eerdmans).

Dr. Cockerill has lectured or taught as an adjunct at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Ohio Christian University, Kingswood University, God’s Bible School and College, Patrick Henry College, and the Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is involved in his local church as a Sunday school teacher and preaches or teaches regularly in camps and conferences. He is passionately committed to the world mission of the church and is particularly interested in the training of missionaries and of Christian leaders from around the world.

Asked about his latest book, Cockerill said, “To read the New Testament without the Old is like reading only the last chapter of a novel. The Old Testament was the only Bible that the first Christians had. This book provides insight into how each part of the Old Testament applies to us today and helps us live the Christian life.”

Gary Cockerill

Gary Cockerill book