On January 19-20, 2024, a group of more than 70 scholars met in Alexandria, VA to discuss the doctrine of holiness and its ongoing relevance for the contemporary church. The gathering was remarkable to me because of its size, the focus on holiness itself, and the prerequisites for participation in the gathering:

• affirm the historic creedal faith of the church
• hold to traditional moral standards
• embrace a Wesleyan theological vision

The purpose of the Summit was:

To craft a document designed for the faithful by leading scholars that clearly describes a Wesleyan view of holiness of heart and life. The teachings of John and Charles Wesley will provide the foundation for this document and serve as a uniting principle to guide our work. Of course, following the Wesley brothers’ direction, we will always look to scripture and the faithful interpretation of scripture within the Church’s tradition. This uniting principle will enable a large Wesleyan tent to find a common voice. Or to put it differently, the Wesley brothers make it possible for us – in all of our diversity – to write a document that can be endorsed by everyone from a high church Methodist to a Pentecostal and everyone in-between.

I was asked to give one of two keynote addresses at this gathering, Dr. Warren Smith of Duke Divinity School gave the other.

Here are a few reflections from my time at this gathering:

First, the Lord has raised up a surprising number of conservative Wesleyan scholars who are willing to publicly be seen as such. This is surprising because most of us have come from institutions that were not trying to produce us. In fact, several come serve in contexts where there is pressure not to be associated with these kinds of gatherings.

I see this as a hopeful sign of God’s provision for the church.

Second, I was reminded of what I already know: Spiritual warfare is real and the Holy Spirit is alive and active. When I was initially asked to give a keynote at this gathering, I was excited and happy to accept. But as the day drew nearer and I began to work on my address, my preparation was difficult and unenjoyable in a way that was abnormal for me. To be candid, I was really dreading speaking at this gathering. This is probably because the last few years in the academy have been particularly challenging for me. More than that, I believe I was experiencing interference from the enemy. Added to that is the feeling that we aren’t supposed to talk about spiritual warfare or anything supernatural in academic contexts.

Let me say that I while I am sure there were those who disagreed with parts of what I said in my presentation, I did not experience any hostility from anyone at the Summit. On the contrary, I received words of affirmation and encouragement that were humbling and beyond anything I deserved. I was blessed to be surrounded by people who love well.

Third, there were a couple of interactions that felt healing and redemptive connected to some of the most painful times of my life in the academy. This was a completely unexpected and surprising gift to receive. I share it here because it reminded me of something I want to offer as an encouragement:

Suffering in the moment often feels even more painful because it seems pointless. There have been times I did the best I could to be faithful that increased suffering. This was the hardest for me to take when it led to suffering not only for me, but for my family. The Lord showed me at this gathering that God has used my witness in the past to strengthen other people. I had no idea. I don’t think we usually get to see these kinds of things, but it is such a blessing when we do! (And, of course, my suffering could also be because of bad decisions or mistakes I have made.)

Fourth, I think part of my dread going into the gathering was that I did not want to go to a dry academic conference where we could not be openly hungry for the presence of the Holy Spirit. The greatest blessing to me of the weekend was getting to see how many colleagues in the academy are hungry for more of the Spirit. On Saturday night, a Church of God in Christ bishop preached, Bishop John Mark Richardson, and he gave an invitation. Then, Dr. Cheryl Bridges-Johns gave a word of knowledge with a specific call to prayer. And in a room full of academics, there was a wonderful response to the move of the Spirit. People came forward to receive prayer. It was awesome!

Finally, this gathering pressed me to think more deeply about the distrust that exists between the church and the academy. I shared my conviction that I think this is understandable and largely rational by the church. During my time as a United Methodist, I think most seminaries did a better job saying that their purpose was to serve the local church for marketing purposes than they actually served the church. 

I have a lot of thoughts on this, some of which I am still working through. I may write more on this down the road. For now, I’ll just offer two questions that I think can help church leaders think through these things:

First: Does the institution tend to produce people who are more effective pastors than they were before they attended that institution? I don’t think you can overstate the importance of an established track record here in terms of thinking about what is most likely to lead to the best outcome for the church.

Second, has the institution taken stands that hurt them politically with any constituency that are in alignment with your values and commitments? If they have shown their hand, so to speak, at a cost to themselves, you can trust that this represents their true commitments, values, and priorities.

I am encouraged by the number of individuals the Lord has raised up who affirm basic Christian orthodoxy, are Wesleyan, and affirm traditional moral standards. I hope these men and women will guide the institutions where they serve to more faithfully serve the local church. Raising up the next generation of leaders for Christ’s church is the key reason seminaries exist. If they lose this first love, the church is right to cease supporting them.