by,
William Kostlevy

Although not formally organized until 1965, the Wesleyan Theological Society is best understood as one of the more significant products of the evangelical "renaissance" of the 1940s and 1950s. Its founders included scholars of notable accomplishment who, in the two decades following WW2, had written a series of ground-breaking doctoral dissertations and had founded the first evangelical scholarly journal, the Asbury Seminarian.

Particularly noteworthy in the beginning of the Society were a series of conferences in the early 1960s conducted at Wesleyan/Holiness colleges under the leadership of Kenneth Geiger, president of the National Holiness Association. Important papers from these conferences were published as Insights into Holiness (1963) and Further Insights into Holiness (1963).² These conferences culminated in the Winona Lake Study Conference on the Distinctives of Arminian-Wesleyan Theology, held in November, 1964, and sponsored by the NHA. Papers from this conference were published as The Word and the Doctrine in 1965.³ Dr. J. C. McPheeters, the respected elder statesperson of the Holiness Movement, indicated that the Winona Lake conference "was perhaps the most significant event in our generation for the spread of Scriptural holiness."⁴ It was this meeting which set the stage for the organization of the Wesleyan Theological Society at the April, 1965 NHA meeting in Detroit.

The stated purpose of the new organization was to encourage an exchange of ideas among Wesleyan/Holiness theologians, develop a source of papers for NHA seminars, stimulate scholarship among young theologians and pastors, and publish a journal containing significant contributions to Holiness Movement scholarship.⁵ Leo Cox of Marion College (now Indiana Wesleyan University) was elected president, with Merne Harris of Vennard College, secretary, and W. Ralph Thompson of Spring Arbor College, treasurer. Other early presidents of the WTS were Richard Taylor, William Arnett, Lowell Roberts, Merne Harris, Ralph Perry, George Blackstone, Robert Mattke, Delbert Rose, and Mildred Wynkoop. In November, 1965, the organization’s inaugural meeting at Spring Arbor College drew approximately sixty people. Reflecting the diversity of its parent body, the NHA, papers were presented by members of the Methodist Church, Church of the Nazarene, United Missionary Church, Free Methodist Church, Wesleyan Methodist Church, and the Salvation Army. In January, 1966, when the initial membership drive ended, the organization could claim ninety-two charter members. Since its inception the WTS has experienced steady membership growth (by 1970 286, increasing to 1,103 in 1982). Currently the number of members exceeds 1800.

Following the adoption of a constitution in 1969, an increased desire was expressed to establish formal ties to the NHA. At its 1970 annual meeting the WTS voted to become an official commission of the NHA.

The most noteworthy early achievement of the WTS was the establishment of a scholarly journal, the Wesleyan Theological Journal. Inaugurated in 1966, the journal’s first editor, Charles Carter (1965-1972), guided the periodical during its difficult formative years. Initially published annually, the WTS Journal has been published bi-annually since 1979.

One of the WTS’s most meaningful contributions to the broader Wesleyan/Holiness Movement has been the visibility it has afforded the Holiness Movement in scholarly and ecumenical circles. The WTS, through its members, has made significant contributions at the Oxford Institute of Methodist Studies and the John Wesley Institute near Chicago. It also has had a presence at meetings of the American Academy of Religion and since the early 1980s has been represented in the discussions of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.

In 1975, the Society’s president, Eldon Fuhrman, suggested that it might be appropriate to include in WTS discussions individuals representing various theological views and traditions. Since 1983 outside representatives, including John Howard Yoder, Albert Outler, Mortimer Arias, Dale Brown, Thomas Oden, and Craig Blaising, have enriched theological discussion at the WTS ‘s annual meetings. In 1980 the noted Methodist scholar Frank Baker expressed the view of many scholars when he noted that the Wesleyan Theological Journal was an important sign of the continued vitality of Wesleyan scholarship and that its articles for the most part were "well written and carefully documented" and occasionally were of major importance.

Indicative of the WTS’s success is that its stated objectives have been largely realized. The organization has provided a forum for theological reflection in the Wesleyan/Holiness tradition, published significant scholarship in the tradition, and has encouraged a generation of young scholars. The encouragement and publication of the work of young scholars has been one of the most significant fruits of the Wesleyan Theological Society. Beginning with the presentation of papers by Kenneth Kinghorn, at the WTS ‘s first conference, and by Jerry Mercer, at its second, the WTS has provided a continuous forum for young scholars.

The most important contribution of the Wesleyan Theological Society has been in the growing theological maturity of the Wesleyan/ Holiness Movement. Reflecting the Society’s roots in neo-evangelicalism, the scholarly debate in the early years of the WTS was dominated by issues surrounding the Biblical basis of Christian perfection and the doctrine of inerrancy. By the mid-1970s the central concern of the Society was the doctrine of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Especially noteworthy was an important dialogue between Donald Dayton and Timothy Smith which has produced some of the most significant scholarship in the Wesleyan/Holiness tradition, and has helped to clarify important issues surrounding the origins and relationship of the Holiness Movement to Pentecostalism. Equally important has been an extended discussion, beginning at the Society’s second annual conference, concerning personal and social ethics in the Wesleyan/Holiness tradition. The Society’s 1987, 1989, and 1991 annual meetings included important papers on the social views of the Wesleyan/ Holiness Movement.

This, I suspect, is merely the beginning of the story. The recent flowering of theological, philosophical, historical, ethical, and Biblical scholarship suggests that the Wesleyan/Holiness tradition, the product of the NHA-sponsored camp meetings of the nineteenth century, has a important role to play in the academy of the twenty-first century.

¹This essay, originally appearing in the Holiness Digest (Spring 1993), is indebted to an article by John Merritt, "Fellowship in Ferment: A History of the Wesleyan Theological Society, 1965-1984," Wesleyan Theological Journal 21 (Spring-Fall, 1986), 186-204.

²Both of these volumes were published by Beacon Hill Press, Kansas City.

³Kenneth Geiger, compiler, published by Beacon Hill Press, Kansas City, 1965

⁴Geiger, 1965, 5.

⁵The result, of course, is the present Wesleyan Theological Journal.

Edited by Michael Mattei for the
Wesley Center for Applied Theology
at Northwest Nazarene University
© Copyright 2000 by the Wesley Center for Applied Theology

Text may be freely used for personal or scholarly purposes, provided the notice below the horizontal line is left intact. Any use of this material for commercial purposes of any kind is strictly forbidden without the express permission of the Wesley Center at Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, ID 83686. Contact the webmaster for permission or to report errors.