Back to Events Sep 30 Christian Studies Featured Spiritual Life The Wesleyan Heritage Conference 2026 Date: From September 30, 2026 to October 2, 2026 Time: 10:00 - 4:30 pm Location: Hughes Auditorium About the Wesleyan Heritage Conference The Wesleyan Heritage Conference has occurred at Asbury University biennially for almost thirty years. The purpose of the conference is to explore the rich heritage of Asbury University, particularly the Methodist revival that began under John and Charles Wesley in the eighteenth century and the American Holiness movement of the nineteenth century. These are the spiritual roots of Asbury University (founded as Asbury College in 1890), which has flourished as a Wesleyan-Holiness beacon in the church and the world throughout the twentieth century even until today. The conference does not merely engage in antiquarian interests. Rather, we look to the riches of the past to inform our lives today. We want to know how our Wesleyan heritage can shape our theology, ethics, discipleship, evangelism, missions, and pursuit of holiness in heart and life. In short, the conference seeks to show us ways, both old and new, to become authentic disciples of Jesus. “FOLLOWER OF THY SUFFERING SON”:Suffering and Hope in the Church and the WorldOctober 30 to September 2, 2026 The title for this year’s Wesleyan Heritage Conference comes from hymn #236, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39) in Charles Wesley’s Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures: A FOLLOWER of thy suffering Son,I would the bitter cup decline,Yet let thy sovereign will be done,My own I patiently resign,And calmly rest, whate’er I feel,Assur’d thou art my Father still. This year’s conference will take a wide-ranging look at how Christians ought to respond to suffering. Our conference speakers will be in touch with the pressing realities of Christian suffering today—both personal and global—and point to the example of Christ, the counsel of the Holy Scriptures, and patterns from our Wesleyan heritage to seek God’s comfort and salvation. SCHEDULE Wednesday, September 30 Chapel: “Suffering in Mark” (Mark 8:29-38)—Dr. Craig Keener Talkback Session (11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.)—Dr. Craig Keener | Location: The Eatery Lecture and Q&A: “Global Christian Suffering Today: Persecution, Displacement, Hunger”—Dr. Craig Keener Thursday, October 1 Faculty Luncheon (11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.): “Cries of the Oppressed and the Hope of the Gospel”—Dr. Patrick Eby | Location: The Eatery (open only to faculty and administration, RSVP required) Worship Service with Holy Communion Friday, October 2 Chapel: “Suffering and Hope”—Dr. Thomas McCall “Coffee House” Lecture and Q&A: Wesleyan Responses to Personal Loss”—Dr. Patrick Eby SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES Craig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is author of roughly 40 books, with some 1.4 million copies in circulation. The books have won fifteen national or international awards, including six in Christianity Today. His books together take up some 20,000 pages. He has also authored roughly one hundred academic articles; seven booklets; and roughly two hundred popular-level articles. One of his most recent books is Suffering: Its Meaning for the Spirit-Filled Life (2025). In 2020 Craig was president of the Evangelical Theological Society. Craig is married to Dr. Médine Moussounga Keener, who was a refugee in her home country of Congo for eighteen months. His YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/c/CraigKeenerPhD; his blog site is http://www.craigkeener.com/. Patrick Eby (PhD, Drew University) is Professor of Historical Theology and Wesley Studies and Former/Assistant Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University. He earned a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Wesley and Methodist Studies from Drew University, a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary, and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. With decades of experience in theological education, pastoral ministry, and denominational leadership, Dr. Eby is dedicated to equipping Christian leaders through the study of church history, Wesleyan theology, and spiritual formation. An accomplished scholar of John and Charles Wesley, Dr. Eby’s research focuses on Wesleyan theology, historical theology, early Methodism, and spiritual formation. He is the author of The Heart of Charles Wesley’s Theology: Being Restored in the Image of God (2017) and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on Methodist history, Charles Wesley, and the Wesleyan tradition. His scholarship reflects a passion for connecting the rich theological heritage of Methodism with the mission of preparing pastors and Christian leaders for effective ministry today. Thomas McCall (PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary) is Timothy C. and Julie M. Tennent Chair of Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is ordained in the Wesleyan Church and has pastored churches in southwestern Michigan and southcentral Alaska. Dr. McCall is the author of numerous books and articles in the areas of analytic theology, Jacob Arminius’s theology, the doctrine of the Trinity, and Wesleyan theology. Recently he coauthored (along with Jason Vickers) Love Divine: A Wesleyan Systematic Theology (2026). He also teaches course at Asbury University as an adjunct professor. Dr. McCall began his time on the Kentucky campus of Asbury Theological Seminary in July 2021. He is married to Jenny (a middle school science teacher and NASA enthusiast), and they have four children in college, high school, and middle school (Cole, Josiah, Madelyn, and Isaac).