Who are we?
Our Story
Biblical Mastery Academy started its existence as Master New Testament Greek, when we were focused on helping people learn the tools, habits and systems to master the Greek of the New Testament. We still do this, and we’re still convinced that our approach to learning Greek will take you deeper, faster than any other comparable course or product offering.
But we’ve also added Hebrew, which we are developing into a full featured program to take members from zero knowledge of Hebrew to mastery of the Hebrew Old Testament.
However, our mission is wider than this. Our goal is to revolutionize and revive biblical education for the church. So we’re not done yet.
We invite you to join us as we provide low cost, high value education for Christians who love scripture and want to be more like Christ.
Our Staff
Dr. Darryl Burling
Founder & CEO
Darryl spent 15 years in the IT industry working in a variety of roles before beginning his education. He completed a Bachelor of the Arts in Biblical Counseling at the Master’s University in less than two years, and then graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from the Master’s Seminary. He then went on to doctoral studies, earning a Master of Theology and a Doctor of Philosophy in Biblical Counseling with a minor in Biblical Spirituality from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He wrote his dissertation on “The place of union with Christ in the theology and practice of marriage.”
Darryl manages the day to day running of Biblical Mastery Academy and also serves as the product manager for the Greek Mastery Membership and the Growth Membership, in which he leads several calls each week, leads classes on advanced Greek and hermeneutics, and looks after much of the marketing.
He has been happily married for 30 years and has three grown daughters. He serves as an elder and occasional preacher in his local church.
Frank Hartmann
Product Manager, Hebrew
Frank completed his graduate studies at Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity, earning both a Master of Divinity in Biblical Languages and a Master of Arts in Biblical Languages and Linguistics. He is now in the final stage of researching and writing his doctoral dissertation for his Ph.D. in Hebrew and Old Testament Biblical Studies at Columbia Biblical Seminary of Columbia International University.
His dissertation concerns the literariness of Lamentations, through which he will show why and how, from a cognitive linguistic point of view, the poetry of Lamentations has had the impact that it does both in Jewish and Christian traditions.
Frank manages the Hebrew offerings of Biblical Mastery Academy, and teaches students from beginning Hebrew through to mastery.
Daniel Pye
Technical and Media Assistant
Dan was studying toward a degree in forestry, and moved into the practical end of the industry, working on a chainsaw. When he was suddenly without work for a few weeks he volunteered to help out at Biblical Mastery Academy. His can-do attitude and willingness to learn anything quickly made him indispensable.
Now he serves full time as Technical and Media Assistant, managing our YouTube channel (subscribe here), our websites, editing the many videos we produce for members, and picking up almost anything else that comes his way.
Dan is married to Ruby and has a newborn baby. He loves that he gets paid to learn.
Natasha Burling
Content Assistant
Natasha is currently finishing her Bachelors of Biblical Studies from the Master’s University.
Natasha tells us, “One of my greatest desires is to see people thrive in knowing and walking with the Lord. From personal experience, she that this happens in the power of God as we understand, trust and apply His words to our specific circumstances and struggles. For as long as God allows, I want to encourage you to live this out for yourself so that you might personally grow in savoring the sufficiency of Christ.”
Natasha develops content for the Growth Membership and, like Dan, also loves that she gets paid to learn.
Neil Ellson
Community Lead & Greek Instructor
Neil’s Greek journey began in 1990 when he started self study using John Dobson’s grammar. Twenty years later he finished the book, switched to Mounce, joined Biblical Mastery Academy in 2019, and hasn’t looked back since. He refreshed his Greek by joining every cohort possible and started reading the New Testament in Greek far more often than he had in English. Neil achieved certification in BMA’s first accreditation cohort and is living proof that lay people can learn Greek without going to seminary,
Neil has been happily married for 36 years, has two adult children and too many pets, lives near the coast in North Norfolk UK and currently works with adults with learning disabilities in the community.
Greek Instructors
Instructors teaching beginning Greek are required to have at least Level 1 Certification, and tend to be close to Level 2. More information about our certification framework and requirements is available here.
Stephen Hackett
Greek Instructor
Stephen’s real passion is helping people appreciate the beauty and richness of Scripture. He serves his local church in various ways including preaching occasionally. He also runs a small YouTube channel (subscribe here) where he discusses the Bible, theology, and Greek.
Stephen loves Biblical Greek and has found great joy in deepening his knowledge of the language through Biblical Mastery Academy. And he feels incredibly blessed to be able to instruct BMA beginning Greek courses. Stephen is married to a supportive wife and has four very, active children.