Phil C. Zylla

Dr. Zylla is Professor of Pastoral Theology and holds the George Franklin Hurlburt Chair of Preaching.  Dr. Zylla has served as Senior Pastor in three congregations over seventeen years in three regions of Canada and has been involved in theological education for over eighteen years.  His interests are in the theology of suffering, theology of ministry, spirituality, and pastoral care.  He is married to Melodie and lives in Ancaster, Ontario.

Dr. Zylla was Lead Pastor at First Baptist, Arnprior, ON (1984-89); Lead Pastor at Greenfield Baptist Church (1990-95); Field Director at Mustard Seed Street Church, Edmonton, AB (1995-1996; and Lead Pastor at Sunshine Ridge Baptist Church, Surrey, BC (1996-2001). He was Principal of ACTS Seminaries of Trinity Western University (2001-2007) and is currently Professor of Pastoral Theology, J. Gordon and Margaret Warnock Jones Chair in Church and Ministry at McMaster Divinity College (2007-present).

Dr. Zylla is an active member of the Society of Pastoral Theology and the British and Irish Association of Practical Theology.  His current research is on the topic of spiritual formation in congregational life.  He also has research interests in pastoral theology, pastoral care, theology of suffering, and theopoetics.