For Carol Allan, a part-time student pursuing a Graduate Diploma at Trinity, theological study isn’t just an academic exercise – it’s the culmination of a lifelong search for deeper understanding, answering questions that church alone couldn’t satisfy.
Carol’s faith journey began in the UK with her family’s “fairly rigid view of Christianity”. After training as a nurse she considered theological college, but finding herself at a crossroads, she decided she no longer wanted to be a nurse or a Christian. A working holiday to Australia became a period of re-evaluation. It was here, far from her roots, that she had a profound realisation: “I realised that I really missed Jesus, trying to live without him. It’s just, there’s nothing if you don’t have Jesus in your life, you don’t have anything! That was how I felt”.
Carol’s career and ministry experiences have been rich and varied. She has served as a field worker with Tear Australia in Cambodia and Myanmar, working in community health and development projects. She continues to work part-time as a midwife and a nurse for a small charity operating in Papua New Guinea, where she trains village birth attendants. At her home church, Lakeside Baptist Church, her ministry remains grounded in practical service, often involving assisting with the day-to-day running of the busy recreation centre the church runs, and leading a women’s small group. “I usually say that my main ministry at Lakeside is washing the tea towels for the cafe and the kiosk,” she jokes.
With her children grown and more time available, Carol decided to finally revisit the idea of formal theological study. Her motivation was simple: after “probably over 60 years of going to church”, she wanted to gain a comprehensive, “bigger picture view” of Christianity. However, her deeper motivation stemmed from wrestling with some of the Bible’s “curly questions.” She was particularly challenged by the Old Testament, which she found violent and undervaluing of women, leading her to temporarily stop reading it.
The experience of formal study has been revelatory. “I’ve been absolutely mind blown at some of the things I’ve learned at Trinity, which wasn’t what I thought at all,” she says. “And it’s not just ‘same old, same old’ – there’s lots of new information there”.
Currently taking an Old Testament unit, Carol is learning different ways to read the text that move beyond a strict literal reading in English. She recalls her father’s rigid interpretation of Genesis: “If he said God created it all in seven days that’s exactly what God did, very literal”. Now, her study challenges this perspective. As she explains, people may say they want to take the Bible literally, “but you’re taking it literally in English, you need to take it literally in an ancient Hebrew mindset as to how you read it”.
The studies have helped Carol understand “the big picture and the backstory” of her faith. Subjects like Church History have helped her understand how denominations originated and especially how things operate in Europe, making sense of her own upbringing in England.
The commitment is significant. Carol notes that even doing one subject part-time requires finding a lot of time outside of lectures to do the readings and assignments. The most stressful part was re-entering the world of formal assessments. “I don’t think I’ve actually sat down and written an exam since… I think it was 1980-something,” she shares. To prepare for exams, she practices writing at home and reminds herself “not to panic or be a perfectionist”.
Despite the challenges, Carol is thriving. “My favourite day of the week is when I toddle off to Trinity,” she says. She greatly enjoys the face-to-face sessions and the dynamic atmosphere of mixing with younger students who are often giving up “potential good earning careers to go into ministry”. She finds the younger students “so interesting and they have some interesting ideas”.
And she is putting her learning into practice by reteaching material to her ladies’ Bible study group. She loves the opportunity to share her new knowledge.
For anyone older considering theological study, Carol’s advice is straightforward and encouraging: “It’s definitely worthwhile if you’ve got the time”. While the time commitment is real, the reward of gaining a deeper, more contextualised faith is immeasurable. Carol plans to continue sharing the depth of knowledge she is gaining with others in her community who are interested but lack the opportunity to study themselves.
