Dr. Michael Cranford

Academic Degrees & Education

• University of California, Los Angeles

• Ph.D. in Religion and Social Ethics

• M.A. in Religion and Social Ethics

• Biola University - Talbot School of Theology

• Master of Divinity

• University of California, Irvine

• B.A. in Philosophy

Academic Appointments & Experience

• Kairos University

• Director of Ph.D. Program & Computer Science Professor

• Concordia University

• Professor and Ph.D. Director

• Biola University

• Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies

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.

Affiliations

• Senior Software Architect, Michael Baker International, San Diego (2014-2021)

• Led software architecture for an international engineering firm with roles in the Santa Ana and San Diego offices

• Headed large-scale government web application projects for agencies such as Caltrans, the Port of San Diego, and San Bernardino County

• Recognized as a leader and project manager with over 20 years in technology development

• Pastor of Discipleship, Woodbridge Community Church, Irvine (2014-present)

• Member of pastoral team and relief-speaker; licensed as pastoral staff in 2023

• Leader and primary speaker at men’s ministry events and various church functions, teaching Sunday school classes and conducting baptisms and memorial services

• Associate Chaplain, Providence St. Joseph Hospital, Orange (Sep 2019 – Aug 2021)

• Served as Associate Chaplain on weekends, offering ministry and comfort to patients, families, and staff

• Completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education

Publications & Presentations

• Cranford, Michael, “Drug Testing and the Obligation to Prevent Harm,” in 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 (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 (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 (1994): 242-258.

• Cranford, Michael, “Election and Ethnicity: Paul’s View of Israel in Romans 9.1-13,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 50 (1993): 27-41.

Teaching

• Professor/Ph.D. Director, Kairos University/Concordia University

• Teaching Introduction to Philosophy (CPHI101) with a focus on classical philosophy and the Christian worldview

• Mentoring college students to think critically and engage with moral challenges in a post-Christian culture

• Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies, Biola University (1991-1999)

• Taught undergraduate courses 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 such as:

• TTNT 604 - Exegesis of the Gospels

• TTNT 501 - Greek I

• TTNT 502 - Greek II

• Invited to participate in faculty chapel series, including the final year at Biola (1999)