It was my pleasure to be interviewed by Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling for the “Scripture Untangled” podcast, a project of the Canadian Bible Society. We talked about my roots, my journey to faith and ministry, Christian unity, and the gift of God’s Word in a post-truth age, among other things.
Theology
2025 Symposium Audio
This a very belated update, sharing audio files from this year’s Wesley Symposium at Tyndale. Although Dr Thomas Noble was not able to join us, I was privileged to read his keynote address on his behalf. We had a strong lineup of presenters this year, and our highest attendance to date. The recordings of this year’s event are now available on the Symposium website.
For this interested, next year’s Symposium will take place on Tuesday, April 28, with Dr. David Bundy as the keynote speaker. Dr. Bundy is a leading expert in Methodist, Holiness, and Pentecostal history, with an unparalleled knowledge of these movements in global contexts. You can read more about him on his profile page at the Manchester Wesley Research Centre.
2025 Wesley Studies Symposium with Thomas Noble
Since 2009, Tyndale Seminary has convened an annual Wesley Studies Symposium. The 2025 event will take place on Tuesday April 29. This year’s keynote speaker will be Dr. Thomas Noble, a leading theologian in the Church of the Nazarene. He is the author of the important book, Holy Trinity, Holy People, and is currently writing a major multi-volume work, Christian Theology.
Dr. Noble’s keynote address is titled, “Christian Holiness and the Triune God.”
Other confirmed presenters include:
- Bruce Cromwell, “Biblically Faithful Ministry with the LBGTQ+ Community”
- Chris Payk, “The Complex Legacy of Methodism in the Life of Wang Mingdao” [via zoom]
- Aaron Perry, “Wide, Wild, and Deep: Theology for Ordained and Lay Ministry.”
- Chun Hoi Heo, “The Philosophical Character of Wesley’s Theology”
- Michael Reardon, “Recent Protestant Approaches to Deification in dialogue with Wesley’s View of Sanctification.”
- Tom Elliott, “Christian Formation in John Wesley’s Preaching Ministry.”
- Aaron Perry, “Wide, Wild, and Deep: Theology for Ordained and Lay Ministry.”
- John Clifton, “The Homeless Man as a Christological Paradigm of Powerlessness” [via zoom]
- Grant Gordon, “Newton’s Reflections on Wesley’s Sermons”
Visit the Symposium Webpage to find details about the schedule and registration.
The Catholicity of the Heart: Pathologies and Prospects
It was my honour and privilege to serve as President of the Wesleyan Theological Society for the past year. The President of the society chooses the theme for annual meeting and delivers the Presidential Address. I chose the theme “evangelical catholicity,” a term that has been used to describe John Wesley’s theological outlook, but has also been used to describe other thinkers and movements within the church.
The Annual Meeting was held March 1-2 at Trevecca Nazarene University, and I was delighted to see the way the theme was taken up by the many presenters who gave papers. My biggest frustration was that I was unable to be in multiple places at the same time, and I couldn’t hear all the papers that caught my interest.
The Presidential Address took up the theme, “The Catholicity of the Heart: Pathologies and Prospects.” It began by considering the two key figures from the closing chapter of my recently-published book, Samuel Chadwick and Arthur Samuel Peake. Chadwick was a theological conservative, and Peake a liberal, but they shared a kind evangelical catholicity that was more characteristic of eighteenth and nineteenth century evangelicalism. That is, their evangelicalism was, broadly speaking, about fostering the “religion of the heart” and struggling to eliminate nominal Christianity. I employed a threefold typology proposed by Donald Dayton to distinguish this type of evangelicalism from twentieth century evangelicalism. Then I noted some of the evident weaknesses of framing evangelical catholicity as the “catholicity of the heart,” and attempted to respond to some of those weaknesses with reference to John Wesley’s own evangelical catholicity. I concluded with my reasons for holding out hope for the catholicity of the heart.
I have an audio recording posted below; it is not very good quality, but I hope it is audible throughout. The written version of the address still needs some polish, but it will be published in next spring’s issue of the Wesleyan Theological Journal.
New Book on Revivalism and Ecclesiology in British Methodism
My book, British Methodist Revivalism and The Eclipse of Ecclesiology is now available. After many years of work and several delays (pandemic-related and personal) it is a pleasure to have the hard copy in my possession. I hope it will make a solid contribution to our understanding of the history and theology of Methodism, especially as it deals with some figures who have received little attention from a theological perspective.
The book is rather expensive for personal purchase, but, if you are interested, please encourage your librarian to pick up a copy for their collection. This flyer provides a discount code for 20% off the list price until March 1.
If you would like a preview, you can read the introduction and a good portion of chapter 2 on Google books.
In many ways, the book extends my previous work on the Salvation Army backwards to the time of Wesley, as well as considering the trajectory of British Methodist revivalism into the early twentieth century, In brief, the book demonstrates that the personal work of the Spirit was magnified by revivalists at the expense of the Spirit’s corporate work through the church, and argues that this pneumatological imbalance contributed to the division of British Methodism. The theology of revivalism was empowering to ordinary people, but was less successful at grounding the personal discernment of the Spirit in the broader community. The book points to the need for a full-orbed understanding of the Spirit’s work in the church through the means of grace–a pneumatology that recognizes that the Spirit’s work is personal and corporate, immediate and gradual, innovative and institutional. Crucially, the I argue that the means of communal discernment must include the ministry of oversight, or there will be no lasting unity in any ecclesial body.
Coming Soon: British Methodist Revivalism and the Eclipse of Ecclesiology
I am pleased to announce that my second book will soon be published by Routledge in their Methodist Studies Series.
The book analyzes the theology of the Spirit and the church in British Methodist revivalism and argues that seemingly subtle theological differences between the revivalists and other Methodists contributed significantly to the division and eventual reunion of British Methodism.
The book should be available late this year or early next. I’ve pasted the “blurb” and table of contents below, and I’ll post excerpts / highlights in the coming weeks.
Revivalism was one of the main causes of division in nineteenth century British Methodism, but the role of revivalist theology in these splits has received scant scholarly attention. In this book, James E. Pedlar demonstrates how the revivalist variant of Methodist spirituality and theology empowered its adherents and helped foster new movements, even as it undermined the Spirit’s work through the structures of the church. Beginning with an examination of unresolved issues in John Wesley’s ecclesiology, Pedlar identifies a trend of increasing marginalization of the church among revivalists, via an examination of three key figures: Hugh Bourne (1772-1852), James Caughey (1810-1891), and William Booth (1860-1932). He concludes by examining the more catholic and irenic theology of Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932), the leading Methodist revivalist of the early twentieth century who became a strong advocate of Methodist Union. Pedlar shows that these theological differences must be considered, alongside social and political factors, in any well-rounded assessment of the division and eventual reunification of British Methodism.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. ‘A Division of Heart’: Separation and the Spirit in the Later Wesley
3. ‘We shall have no mastery’: Hugh Bourne and the Emergence of Primitive Methodism
4. Revival and the Reformers: James Caughey and the Schism of 1849
5. Separate but Non-Sectarian: The Salvation Army’s Ecclesiological Ambiguities
6. Catholicity of the Heart: Samuel Chadwick and Methodist Union
7. Conclusion: Revivalism’s Mixed Legacy
2023 Wesley Studies Symposium at Tyndale University
Heritage and Hope: Wesleyan Wisdom for the Future of Ministry
Celebrating 30 Years of the Bastian Chair of Wesley Studies
We are living in a time of tremendous challenge for the church: global instability, the continuing collapse of Christendom, an ever-changing technological landscape, the challenges of intercultural ministry, evolving patterns of church attendance and affiliation…in many ways we are sailing in uncharted waters. How might John Wesley and the Wesleyan heritage keep us on an even keel as we navigate toward a brighter future for the church and its ministry? How does the Wesleyan “optimism of grace” keep us oriented in a disorienting time?
We will consider these questions and more at our annual Wesley Studies Symposium on April 25, 2023 at Tyndale University. This year we are celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Donald N. and Kathleen G. Bastian Chair of Wesley Studies by welcoming back the two previous occupants of the Chair as our keynote speakers: Dr Victor Shepherd and Dr Howard Snyder. Both men are outstanding scholars who are well known to the Canadian Wesleyan community. Dr Shepherd held the chair from 1993-2003, and has continues to serve at Tyndale as Professor Emeritus of Theology. Dr. Snyder was the Chair from 2007-2012, and is presently the International Representative of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre.
Online and In-Person tickets available. Order by March 31 to receive the early bird discount. Student discounts also apply.
One Day Conference – Women in the Holiness and Pentecostal Traditions
Since 2009, Tyndale Seminary has gathered scholars, students, and church leaders for an annual Wesley Studies Symposium. The symposium exists to highlight and foster scholarly work on the Wesleyan tradition, as well as research on related topics undertaken by Wesleyans, with a particular focus on Canadian contributions. Our presenters have included senior scholars, emerging scholars, pastors, and students.
This year, we are following up our joint Wesleyan-Pentecostal Symposium from 2016 and hosting another partner event with Master’s Pentecostal Seminary. Information is posted below – register by April 8 to receive the early-bird discount for in-person attendance.
Sisters of the Spirit
Women in the Holiness and Pentecostal Traditions
April 26, 2022, Tyndale University (in person and online)
Co-sponsored by Tyndale Seminary and Master’s Pentecostal Seminary
Keynote Speakers:
Priscilla Pope-Levison (Southern Methodist University)
Linda Ambrose (Laurentian University)
The Holiness and Pentecostal Traditions have been on the forefront in empowering women to serve in church leadership. John Wesley’s tentative recognition of women preachers and the extraordinary example of early Methodist women such as Mary Bosanquet and Mary Barritt Taft laid the groundwork for the seminal ministries of women such as Phoebe Palmer, Amanda Berry Smith, Catherine Booth, Maria Woodworth-Etter, and Aimee Semple MacPherson. And yet, women have still struggled, in various ways, to overcome patriarchal structures and assumptions within the Holiness-Pentecostal family.
This conference will explore the contributions and experiences of women in the Holiness and Pentecostal traditions. We invite submissions for 30-minute papers that will address the topic from a variety of academic disciplines, and we would particularly welcome any exploration of the connections between the two traditions.
Registration cost:
In-person Early Bird (by April 8): $50
In-person (after April 8): $65
Student in-person (with lunch): $15
Student in-person (no meal): $0
Online registration: $25
Online Student registration: $0
Interview on the More to the Story podcast
It was a pleasure to be interviewed by Dr Andy Miller III for his podcast, More to the Story. Andy has recently taken up a position at Wesley Biblical Seminary as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Assistant Professor of Historical Theology. He’s also working on a PhD in historical theology at the University of Manchester through Nazarene Theological College, where I am his co-supervisor.
This interview gave me a chance to revisit my doctoral research on The Salvation Army, and through that discussion we also touched on some bigger issues of Christian unity, denominational distinctives, and church renewal.
If you appreciate the interview take a look at some of Andy’s other recent podcasts.
Call for Papers – Women in the Holiness and Pentecostal Traditions
Tyndale Seminary and Master’s Pentecostal Seminary are following up on our successful collaboration in 2016 with a second jointly-sponsored academic event next April at Tyndale. We are looking for high-quality paper proposals and plan to use the best of the presentations for a book project on this important topic. Further details are found below.
Sisters of the Spirit
Women in the Holiness and Pentecostal Traditions
April 26, 2022, Tyndale University
Keynote Speakers:
Priscilla Pope-Levison (Southern Methodist University)
Linda Ambrose (Laurentian University)
Call for Papers
The Holiness and Pentecostal Traditions have been on the forefront in empowering women to serve in church leadership. John Wesley’s tentative recognition of women preachers and the extraordinary example of early Methodist women such as Mary Bosanquet and Mary Barritt Taft laid the groundwork for the seminal ministries of women such as Phoebe Palmer, Amanda Berry Smith, Catherine Booth, Maria Woodworth-Etter, and Aimee Semple MacPherson. And yet, women have still struggled, in various ways, to overcome patriarchal structures and assumptions within the Holiness-Pentecostal family.
This conference will explore the contributions and experiences of women in the Holiness and Pentecostal traditions. We invite submissions for 30-minute papers that will address the topic from a variety of academic disciplines, and we would particularly welcome any exploration of the connections between the two traditions.
Paper proposals (max 200 words) should be sent to James Pedlar (jpedlar@tyndale.ca) or Van Johnson (vjohnson@mpseminary.com) by November 1, 2021.
James Pedlar 