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Hi Everyone!
Name: Dr. Michael Cranford
Title: Director of Ph.D. Program & Computer Science Professor
Department: Professional Studies
Bio
Dr. Michael Cranford is currently the Director of Ph.D. Program and a Professor of Computer Science at Kairos University, the professor of philosophy at Concordia University and Pastor of Discipleship at Woodbridge Community Church. He was for eight years a professor of Biblical Studies at Biola University and was a leader in the technology industry for over thirty years.
Academic Degrees & Education
Academic Appointments & Experience
University of California, Los Angeles
Ph.D. Religion and Social Ethics
University of California, Los Angeles
M.A. Religion and Social Ethics
Biola University - Talbot School of Theology
Master of Divinity
University of California, Irvine
B.A. Philosophy
Kairos University
Director of Ph.D. Program & Computer Science Professor
Concordia University
Professor/PhD Director
Biola University
Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies
Affiliations
Senior Software Architect Michael
Baker International, San Diego | 2014-2021
• Senior software architect for an international engineering firm, with responsibilities in the Santa Ana and San Diego offices.
• Team leader on numerous large-scale government web applications for agencies like Caltrans, the Port of San Diego, San Bernardino County, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
• Expertise in problem solving and user engagement through the development of intuitive web interfaces.
• Proven track record as a leader, project manager, and communicator in more than twenty years of technology development.
Pastor of Discipleship
Woodbridge Community Church, Irvine | 2014 (2023) - present
• Member of pastoral team and relief-speaker on Sunday mornings.
• Member and leader at Woodbridge since 2014. Hired, licensed as pastoral staff February 2023.
• Leader and primary speaker at men’s ministry events and various church functions, including (in past years) Family Camp, senior adults ministry.
• Teaches adult Sunday school classes (e.g., a recent 11-week course on understanding and applying the Bible) and has performed baptisms and memorial services.
Associate Chaplain
Providence St. Joseph Hospital, Orange | Sep 2019 – Aug 2021
• Served as Associate Chaplain (covering weekends) throughout St. Joseph Hospital for two years.
• Attended to patients and families in crisis at the hospital, to provide ministry and comfort to patients, families, and hospital staff.
• Completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education.
Publications & Presentations
Cranford, Michael, “Drug Testing and the Obligation to Prevent Harm,” in Laura P. Hartman and Joe DesJardines (eds.), Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity and Social Responsibility (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2007), 301-307.
Cranford, Michael, “Drug Testing and the Right to Privacy: Arguing the Ethics of Workplace Drug Testing,” Journal of Business Ethics 17 (December 1998): 1805-1815.
Cranford, Michael, “The Social Trajectory of Virtual Reality: Substantive Ethics in a World Without Constraints,” Technology in Society 18 (1996): 79-92.
Cranford, Michael, “Abraham in Romans 4: The Father of All Who Believe,” New Testament Studies 41 (Cambridge University Press, 1995), 71- 88.
Cranford, Michael, “The Possibility of Perfect Obedience: Paul and an Implied Premise in Galatians 3:10 and 5:3,” Novum Testamentum 36 (Netherlands: E.J. Brill Publishers, 1994), 242-58.
Cranford, Michael, “Election and Ethnicity: Paul's View of Israel in Romans 9.1-13,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 50 (University of Sheffield, England, 1993), 27-41.
Teaching
Professor/PhD Director
Kairos University/Concordia University
• Teaching two sections of Introduction to Philosophy (CPHI101) with emphasis on integration of classical philosophy and Christian worldview, focusing on ethics, theory of knowledge, and aesthetics.
• Ministry to college students, equipping and training them to follow Christ, think critically, and evaluate moral challenges in today’s post-Christian culture.
Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies
Biola University, La Mirada | 1991-1999
• Taught two to three undergraduate courses per semester for eight years, including:
BBST 165 - Foundations of Christian Thought (Christian Ethics and Worldview)
BBST 251 - Theology I
BBST 254/354 - Theology II
BBST 210 - New Testament History & Literature
• Periodically taught graduate courses in the divinity school, including:
TTNT 604 - Exegesis of the Gospels
TTNT 501 - Greek I
TTNT 502 - Greek II
• Twice invited to participate in the faculty chapel series, including the final year teaching at Biola (1999).