Category: May 2021

Highlighting Our Student Ambassadors

By The Rev. Margot Perez-Greene, Ph.D.

Dear Friends:

This concludes our spotlight on our splendid Ambassadors for Perkins. These students have been generous with their time, vulnerable in their conversations with prospective students, and compassionate about their Perkins experience. They have contributed of their energy and from their busy schedules to meet with aspiring theological students, and we are forever grateful for their work in the Office of Enrollment Management. Julian and Courtney will be featured in the next virtual recruitment event hosted by Office of Enrollment Management: CONNECT with Perkins: May 20^th at 12:30 p.m. Now, meet Courtney and Julian, and enjoy their stories. Perkins is joyous because of them.

Sincerely,

Margot
Associate Dean of Enrollment Management

Courtney Mitchell: In His Own Words 

“I was inspired to come to Perkins largely by its many alumni who are currently serving as clergy or other faith leaders, as well as the stellar reputation of the Perkins faculty.  The alumni, the professors, and the administration are all such wonderfully kind people, extraordinarily accomplished professionals, and dedicated servants of God.  Having arrived at Perkins, though, I am deeply grateful for the warm and supportive Perkins’s student community.

I had always understood my Christian calling as that of a devoted lay person of the United Methodist Church.  Then I heard God pulling me forward to serve God, the church, and all creation through ordained ministry.  Growing up, I had a passion for stories, for history, and for music.  While practicing law, I constantly searched for more and deeper ways to serve my community and the church, whether through children’s ministry, adult education, or in church leadership, but I never felt satisfied so long as I was not spending all my time on work that was somehow directly devoted to God.  Finally, God insisted that it was time for me to step beyond my role as lay servant and seek new servant leadership through higher religious education and ordination as an elder in the United Methodist Church.

I hope to be ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church and to serve as a pastor in the Metro District in the North Texas Annual Conference.  I also hope to develop engaging and innovative curriculum for children’s ministry and for adult education that will explore aspects of the Bible and faith that are off the beaten path, and that look at well-traveled subjects in new light. I also hope to engage in intentional and open dialogue with those in our community who hold different beliefs from those of Methodists or Christians.”

Courtney is a first-year Master of Divinity student, and a member at First United Methodist Church in downtown Dallas, Texas.

Julian Hobdy: In His Own Words

“Upon my visit to Perkins and subsequent conversations with staff, faculty, and former and current students, I knew Perkins was the place for me. Perkins has provided me the place to explore my own unique sense of call and continues to provide opportunities for leadership and camaraderie. 

The way I have typically described my call has been to help people come to the “aha!” moments where life and faith connect. That has been true since I surrendered to this sense of call. More specifically, and more recently, I feel a burden to help communities have more substantive conversations on race and justice from a distinctly theological perspective. I envision that call being expressed in the local church, the academy, and in public conversation.

Currently, I am discerning whether I will enter doctoral studies, and if so, in the professional or philosophical category. I also am working on a resource and program to help local churches, school districts, and organizations have brave conversations on race.”

Julian is completing his second year this spring in the Master of Divinity program and serves as Worship Pastor at First Methodist Mansfield in Mansfield, Texas.

On Tuesday, April 13, SMU hosted a one-day fundraising event seeking support for causes submitted by students, staff, and faculty members.  Perkins sought to fund the following five projects:

• The Hispanic/Latin@ Ministries Program, which was founded in 1974 to prepare church leaders for effective ministry in Spanish-speaking and bilingual contexts and cultures. The program remains committed to recruiting, preparing and providing continuing education for people in ministry with Hispanics/Latin@. It is at the heart of Perkins School of Theology’s leadership as a vibrant center of Hispanic/Latin@ theological thought and writing and a vital advocate before the general church with and on behalf of Hispanic/Latin@ congregations and ministries.

The Hispanic/Latin@ Ministries Program offers pastors and laity its short-term, intensive training programs through the Course of Study School in Spanish (Curso de Estudio); the United Methodist Local Pastors Licensing School in Spanish (Escuela de Licencia); and continuing education events, symposia, consultations and lectures.

• Global Theological Education, specifically the Virtual Visiting Professor program. Through this program, Perkins School of Theology provides high quality teaching resources to underserved theological schools in Africa, Asia and Europe. To meet this goal we seek out theologians, church leaders and community developers, particularly those in the global south, who are offering all of us new and deeper insights into the ways that God is active in our world. We video their short lectures, then make them available in a package with readings, discussion questions and learning outcomes on our Virtual Visiting Professor website.
• Student Life, and their campaign for a water bottle filling station. The capable student leadership of the Perkins Student Association suggested funding a water bottle filling station here in our community. They hope to make this vision a reality for our student community and all other individuals who come to Perkins for classes, continuing education, reunions or peaceful walks on our beautiful Habito Labyrinth. This technology would promote safe and healthy hydration, reduce the environmental impact of disposable plastic water bottles and help our students save money on bottled water.
• Perkins Scholarships and Financial Aid. Scholarships are essential to attract and retain gifted students pursuing ministry training in both parish and nonprofit arenas. Gifts that support student scholarships help alleviate a student’s financial burden and make it possible to attend seminary without the fear of accruing debt.
• The SMU Fund for Perkins School of Theology, also known as the Dean’s discretionary fund. This helps SMU’s theological students in real time and in a variety of ways. Covering everything from research grants to community projects, the SMU Fund for Perkins is adaptable, current-use funding that allows the school to meet needs and solve problems as they arise. Previous projects supported by this fund include scholarship support, marketing research and unexpected expenses.

All of these projects can continue to receive donations.  I am especially concerned that we fund the student-led project to install a water bottle filling station in one of Perkins’ buildings. This is a tangible goal with immediate impact on the students of Perkins School of Theology. Will you help us finish that project?

YEAR END GIVING

SMU/Perkins’ fiscal year ends on May 31.  If you have not joined the many alumni and friends who have given in the ‘20-‘21 school year, now would be an ideal time.

You can either go online at https://giving.smu.edu/schools-areas/perkins/ or mail a check to:

John A. Martin
Perkins Development
PO Box 750133
Dallas, TX 75275-0133

After receiving word that Bridwell Library had been named the recipient of the collections of the recently closed World Methodist Council Museum, Dean Craig Hill and Anthony Elia, Director of Bridwell Library, traveled to the museum in Lake Junaluska, N.C., on April 15 to meet with the museum staff and to review the collection. They were joined by the World Council Museum Friends Board of Directors for a ceremony marking the transition. Outgoing Museum President Terry Bevill delivered a presentation and introduced Hill and Elia, who each spoke to the group from Wesley’s own travelling pulpit.

“At key moments of my life, I’ve felt John Wesley looking over my shoulder, but never more than today,” Dean Hill told the gathering. He then spoke about the distinctiveness and importance of Wesleyan theology, and the new opportunities for passing on this vital legacy created by this convergence of likeminded institutions.

After reviewing several proposals, the Archival Committee chose Bridwell Library to acquire the collection, based on Bridwell’s ability to preserve, curate, and display materials comprehensively and to engage a broad public. The World Methodist Council (WMC) Archival Committee announced the decision on April 1; the entire collection will be given and transferred to Bridwell Library at SMU by May 15.

The World Methodist Museum was founded in 1956 and closed in early 2021. The Museum holds one of the world’s largest collections of historical items related to John Wesley, founder of Methodism. The World Methodist Council, established in 1881, is a global consortium of Methodism that includes dozens of Methodist denominations from Cuba to Korea, Mexico to Bangladesh, and everywhere in between.

“We are honored to be chosen as the recipient of the collections and will continue to oversee and curate these items with the highest quality and standards,” said Elia.

“All who care about this collection can be confident that its future impact for faithful ministry in the Wesleyan tradition is assured,” said Robert Williams, Retired General Secretary of the United Methodist Church General Commission on Archives and History, who assisted with the deaccessioning of the museum.

Watch Live: A Celebration of Degrees and Academic Achievements

(https://youtu.be/9Qgrm0TsIIE)

COVID-19 safety requirements (face coverings, safe distancing) remain in place for all SMU commencement events, including today’s Perkins ceremony, despite this week’s announcement about masks and distancing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Graduation ceremonies will take place May 14-15, with Perkins School of Theology’s service, “A Celebration of Degrees and Academic Achievements,” on Friday, May 14 at 4 p.m. at Moody Coliseum and the All-University Commencement ceremony at Ford Stadium on Saturday, May 15 at 8 a.m.

Before 2020, the Perkins celebration took place in the sanctuary of Highland Park United Methodist Church, which was usually packed; this year the event moves to Moody Coliseum to allow for social distancing and other safety protocols. Four schools within Southern Methodist University will hold their events throughout the two-day period at Moody.

Perkins students who graduated in December 2019, May 2020 or August 2020 are invited to participate in these graduation ceremonies. Because the 2020 commencement ceremony was deferred until August 2020, and many graduates from the 2019-20 academic year were unable to attend, Perkins and Southern Methodist University have extended the invitation to these graduates to attend the events for May 2021 as well.

Graduates are each receiving 10 tickets to the Perkins service on May 14.  Students have been invited to pick them up from the Student Life Office, or we will happily mail them.  There will be a clear bag policy in effect for Moody, and face masks are required.

For the All-University Commencement ceremony, one candidate entry ticket and four guest tickets will be given to each graduating student. Additional information about tickets for the SMU Commencement ceremony may be found at https://www.smu.edu/EnrollmentServices/registrar/AcademicCeremonies/MayCommencement/RequestWeekendTickets

Distancing protocols established by the University will be in effect.

The events will also be live streamed for those graduates and guests who cannot attend in person.  To watch the Commencement online, visit smu.edu/live. To view Perkins’ Celebration of Degrees and Academic Achievements, https://youtu.be/9Qgrm0TsIIE.

Information about commencement will be updated on the University’s commencement web page.  Those who RSVP’d will receive more information about both events as the details become available, including information about obtaining tickets for invited guests.

Four longtime members of the Perkins faculty and staff — Billy Abraham, Isabel Docampo, Evelyn Parker and Duane Harbin– will retire at the end of this semester.

“These four are so much a part of the fabric of this school. I’ve never known Perkins without them, and find it difficult now to imagine it. We are profoundly grateful for the enormous contributions they’ve made over the span of many years,” said Dean Craig Hill. “We wish them the best, and they will certainly be missed.”

A farewell celebration for members of the Perkins community is planned for later in May. Here’s a brief look at what they’ve accomplished at Perkins and their plans for the future.

William J. Abraham
Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies

While he is retiring from Perkins, Abraham is also embarking on a new journey too, as founding Director of the recently established Wesley House of Studies at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary.

Truett Seminary has trained students primarily from Baptist congregations; the Wesley House will ensure that students attending from Wesleyan traditions “are nurtured and networked for the ministries into which they are being called,” according to a Baylor University press release. Wesley House of Studies seeks to form and equip Christ-centered, Spirit-led students to serve churches and other institutions in the Wesleyan tradition. Additionally, Abraham, will regularly teach courses at Truett pertaining to Wesleyan thought and practice, will collaborate with individuals, congregations and organizations in the Wesleyan tradition in recruiting, training and placing students and in supporting and educating ministers who already are engaged in Christian service.

“Ministry and teaching continue even though I think it is time to let Perkins move into a new phase of its life with new faces and voices,” Abraham said.

(Read a story about the Wesley House in the Baptist Standard here.)

In addition to his new role at Truett, Abraham will be working nationally and internationally in Wesleyan circles, and writing an intellectual biography of Basil Mitchell (1917-2011), an English philosopher and Oxford professor.

Abraham has been a prolific author and sought-after lecturer. He holds an undergraduate degree from The Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland; a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary; and a doctorate from Oxford University, Regent’s Park College. He has taught at Seattle Pacific University and Harvard Divinity School, as well as SMU. An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, he served on the General Commission on Unity and Interreligious Concerns of the United Methodist Church (1992-present). He was the recipient of Pew Evangelical Scholars Program Grant, Pew Charitable Trusts (1993-1996) and Joint Book of the Year Award from the Institute of Christian Studies for Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology (1999). In 2018, he was the recipient of the is the recipient of the SMU Faculty Career Achievement Award for his extensive work and dedication to Perkins and Southern Methodist University.

“For me the greatest joy has been working through a research agenda in philosophy, theology, and Wesley Studies and sharing this with students across multiple degree platforms,” he said. “I also took enormous pleasure in helping students find their own voice in the conversation and becoming my teachers.”

What he’ll miss most about Perkins: “Meeting students at my corner table early in the morning at La Madeleine restaurant,” he said. “I am working on securing the table as a relic! Working informally was as precious as working formally.”

Isabel Docampo
Director, Center for the Study of Latino/a Christianity and Religions
Co-Director of the Intern Program
Professor of Supervised Ministry

Docampo earned her D.Min. from Perkins; her academic work focused on peace/social justice ministries; cross-cultural and interfaith communication; urban ministry; church and community studies; and Latino/a ministry. An ordained Latina Baptist Clergy, she was a Dallas Peace and Justice Center award recipient for co-founding the DFW Women’s Interfaith Dialogue. In 2015, she was co-leader with Dr. Hind Jarrah of a live-streamed workshop at the Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Looking back over her career at Perkins, Docampo says she’s most proud of the Perkins Internship Program, in which each student participates in a continuous 9-month immersion in one setting with the support of a pastor, faculty, mental health consultant, a peer group and laity. These internships give students the opportunity to integrate seminary classroom work with their practices with great depth.

“Students are given the time to experience failures, successes and everything in between as they engage in ongoing critical theological reflection and grow in self-awareness in a most unique way,” she said. “As an Intern Faculty Advisor, it has been my privilege to learn and reflect and grow with them. I will miss the students and how they always challenged me to growth as I walked alongside of them during their Internships. The friendships that I have made with Intern Program colleagues, students, mentor pastors, mental health consultants and laity are treasures. I have learned so much from my students about faith, commitment, theology and walking together in ministry.”

Another highlight has been leading The Center for the Study of Latino/a Christianity and Religions, which has contributed to theological education through a variety of publications from a Latinx perspective.  The Center has fostered partnerships, faculty and student immersion trips to Latin America, the Th.M. in Spanish cohort of 2017-2019, impacting the lives of current and future scholars, pastors, and theological education.

“A great joy are all the relationships with faculty friends, staff and students,” said Docampo. “These have made a deep imprint on my heart and I am grateful.”

Docampo looks forward to traveling to England along with her husband, Scott, to visit their children, whom they haven’t seen since 2019 due to COVID, and learning how to grow vegetables in their community garden.  She says she will miss Faculty Lunches, where she had the chance to learn from colleagues’ work as they shared recent projects and books, and the SMU campus, having worked remotely since 2020. “I like walking across campus and sitting on different benches and being part of university life,” she said.

Evelyn L. Parker
Susanna Wesley Centennial Professor of Practical Theology

Parker spent one of the last years of her Perkins career in South Africa as a 2019-2020 U.S. Fulbright Scholar, based at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice and the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, where she worked on a project titled “Role of Religious Leaders in Preventing and Intervening in Teen Dating Violence in South Africa.” As Parker got to know the young women studying there, she said, “Their stories weave a beautiful tapestry of characteristics that include sassiness, savviness, tenacity, courage, resistance, and persistence.”

That work related to Parker’s academic focus, which included religious identity and spiritual formation in African American adolescents, adolescents in sociopolitical movements and their understanding of vocation, adolescent resiliency and vocation.

What will she miss most after retiring from Perkins? Having served as a faculty advisor and academic dean for six years, it’s the students.

“I sincerely loved teaching and advising Perkins students,” Parker said. “Their probing questions about vocation, justice, and ministry intersecting with theory/theology/practices about topics that include spirituality of African descended youth/young women, issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality were always energizing. I learned from my students how to formulate questions that have the potential to change lives and transform unjust situations through my teaching and research. I learned how to listen closely to their concerns as they sought comfort and care and to celebrate their joys as they overcame challenges.”

Looking back on her Perkins career, Parker is most proud of her work which led to the move of the Houston/Galveston Program to the Houston Medical Center, where the program is now affiliated with the Houston Methodist Hospital (HMH), St. John’s UMC, and St. Paul UMC.

“I conceived the idea as I was transitioning into the academic dean’s office in 2013 after Dr. Charles Millikan, VP of Spiritual Care and Values Integration at HMH approached former Dean Bill Lawrence about collaborations between the hospital and Perkins,” she said. “Evaluating the Houston/Galveston Program for ATS accreditation was the perfect moment to make the move for many, many reasons, to help our students, faculty, ecumenical clergy/ministers and the greater Houston Community.”

She adds that it was also “a self-enlightened interest” of hers, as a former biomedical scientist who desired to reconnect with the biomedical world through her teaching, research and administration.

Parker is an active member of Kirkwood Temple CME Church in Dallas and serves as a representative of the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) denomination to the World Council of Churches. Her WCC work spanned more than two decades and a variety of positions and responsibilities. She represented the denomination in the WCC’s Faith and Order Plenary Commission from 1996 to 2006. In 2014, she was elected to the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA).

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to do this ecumenical work,” Parker said. “It’s the natural thing if you want to be Christ present in the world where people are suffering.”

What’s next for Parker? “I look forward to continuing my work with the WCC, research, and writing/publishing,” she said.

Duane Harbin
Assistant Dean for Technology, Planning & Compliance

After celebrating his 25th year with Perkins last fall, Duane Harbin will retire this spring and head to Scottsdale, Ariz., to be closer to family.

A 1981 graduate of Yale Divinity School, Harbin joined SMU in 1995 as Associate Director of Bridwell Library and was appointed Assistant Dean for Information Technology and Institutional Research for Perkins in 2001.  He stepped into his current position in 2015.

What Harbin will miss most: the people of Perkins and lunchtime in the refectory.

“I don’t get to meet the majority of our students anymore, but I get to know a core that show up regularly,” he said. “They give me great faith in the future because they are so smart, disciplined, creative, and kind.  The faculty and staff are a delightfully mixed bag, and they are all dedicated to the school.  They have certainly taught me that a team does far better work and makes far better decisions than any individual.”

He’ll also miss the Bridwell Library: “I think my biggest regret in leaving Dallas is that I won’t’ be able to play among its amazing collections now that I will have spare time.  And of course, nobody parties like librarians!”

He also regrets that he won’t be here to contribute to the reimagined curriculum for Perkins.  “The Curriculum Review Committee under the leadership of Prof. Rebekah Miles is doing a very serious and thoughtful job of discerning how the Perkins curriculum needs to function to equip the next generation of students for their future ministries.”

What’s he most proud of? “It’s completely nerdy but I am tickled that for our last Association of Theological Schools reaccreditation review, Perkins had a clean review,” he said. “That wasn’t my doing but it showed the school’s growing awareness that it is part of the broader project of theological education and the school’s ongoing commitment to excellence.  I am extremely pleased that Andy Keck will be Perkins’ ongoing liaison with ATS because of his personal commitment to that broader project.”

Once settled in in Scottsdale, Harbin plans pursue a couple of hobbies: cars and corgis. He’s looking forward to attending classic car club shows with friends and seriously considering enrolling in an Automotive Mechanics class at Maricopa Community College. He’s getting to know some Arizona breeders of Pembroke Welsh Corgis because he eventually would like to adopt and raise a puppy.

“In the past, I’ve adopted two adult rescue corgis, but I’ve always wanted to raise a puppy,” he said. “This will need to wait for a while because Bella, my corgi companion, is 14 and too senior to adapt to a puppy at this point in her life.”

He also hopes to do some writing.

“I’m already part of a writers’ group and I will be out of excuses for not finishing a set of stories that I have mapped out,” he said. “If I get really ambitious, I will try to write a novel-length whodunit.”

Perkins School of Theology announces the appointment of two new holders of two endowed chairs: Dr. Rebekah Miles as the Susanna Wesley Centennial Professor of Practical Theology and Dr. Ted Campbell as the Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies. Both appointments begin on June 1, 2021. The recommendations were made by Perkins Dean Craig C. Hill and supported by the unanimous vote of those holding chairs at the Perkins School of Theology.

“We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Miles and Dr. Campbell to continue the legacy of these two prestigious endowed chairs,” said Dean Craig Hill. “These two professors have been leaders in the Perkins community as well as outstanding scholars and teachers, and their appointments underscore Perkins’ abiding commitment to Methodist and Wesleyan studies.”

Dr. Rebekah “Beka” Miles, Professor of Ethics and Practical Theology, was appointed Susanna Wesley Centennial Professor of Practical Theology, a chair recently vacated by Dr. Evelyn Parker, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who retires this semester, and who was named inaugural holder of the chair in 2015. The chair was established in 2014 by a $2.5 million gift made by an anonymous donor through the Texas Methodist Foundation. It honors Susanna Wesley, frequently referred to as “the mother of Methodism.” Her sons, John and Charles Wesley, led a revival within the 18th century Anglican Church that sparked the emergence of global Methodism generally and the Methodist Episcopal Church in the American colonies. Historians point to the “practical divinity” embraced by Susanna and her sons John and Charles after her.

Miles is an ordained elder in the Arkansas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and has served five times as a clergy delegate to the United Methodist General Conference. A recipient of Henry Luce III Fellowship in Theology, Miles’ writes in the areas of Christian ethics, practical theology, and Wesley studies, including an edited collection of the works of Methodist practical theologian Georgia Harkness. She is now co-editing Volume 15: Domestic, Moral, Political, and Economic Writings in The Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley.

Dr. Ted Campbell, Professor of Church History, was appointed Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies. Rev. Dr. William J. Abraham, who has held the chair since 1995, retires this semester. The chair was established in 1982 in honor of Albert Cook Outler (1908 – 1989), a longtime faculty member at Perkins as well as a distinguished Methodist theologian and philosopher. Outler made crucial contributions to the scholarship of John Wesley including a critical selection of John Wesley’s work published in the Library of Protestant Thought which led to his leadership in the Wesley Works editorial project, now The Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley. Funding for the chair was provided by the Texas Annual Conference. The chair is designated to promoting the study of John Wesley, as well as his brother Charles Wesley and other leading Methodist thinkers.

Campbell is an ordained elder of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church; a former president of the Charles Wesley Society (1999-2003); and a delegate to the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches in the USA (1992-2002).  Campbell served as the American Convenor for the Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies in 2013 and as co-convenor of the Wesleyan and Methodist Studies Unit of the American Academy of Religion. His writings in Wesley Studies include having edited the third volume of John Wesley’s letters, and he is now editing the fourth volume for The Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley.

Miles and Campbell have also worked closely together, including their co-authorship of Wesley and the Quadrilateral with Scott Jones, Randy Maddox, and Stephen Gunter.  They are also both John Wesley Fellows of A Foundation for Theological Education (AFTE).

Perkins is also saying farewell to Parker and Abraham, who are retiring after long and distinguished careers at Perkins.

Parker spent one of the last years of her Perkins career in South Africa as a 2019-2020 U.S. Fulbright Scholar, based at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice and the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town. Her academic focus included religious identity and spiritual formation in African American adolescents, adolescents in sociopolitical movements and their understanding of vocation, adolescent resiliency and vocation. Parker helped spearhead the move of Perkins’s Houston/Galveston Program to the Houston Medical Center, where the program is now affiliated with the Houston Methodist Hospital (HMH), St. John’s UMC, and St. Paul UMC.  An active member of Kirkwood Temple CME Church in Dallas, Parker serves as a representative of the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) denomination to the World Council of Churches. She has served in many roles throughout the CME connection.

Abraham has been a prolific author and sought-after lecturer. An ordained elder in the Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, he served on the General Commission on Unity and Interreligious Concerns of the United Methodist Church (1992-present). He was the recipient of Pew Evangelical Scholars Program Grant, Pew Charitable Trusts (1993-1996) and Joint Book of the Year Award from the Institute of Christian Studies for Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology (1999). In 2018, he was the recipient of the SMU Faculty Career Achievement Award for his remarkable career in teaching and scholarship with many contributions to Wesley studies, including a new edition of John Wesley’s Standard Sermons released in the last month by Wesley’s Foundery Books.

Following Bridwell Library’s acquisition of the massive resources of the World Methodist Historical Museum, and building on the existing Wesleyana and Methodistica collections at the Library, these appointments will make clear the commitment of Perkins School of Theology to leadership in Wesleyan and Methodist studies.