BIO Dr. Brian Shelton has worked in higher education for over twenty-five years, serving as professor and as academic dean. He holds the Ph.D. in historical theology centered in early Christianity. His areas of interest include the early church in Rome, patristic exegesis, martyrdom, and Italian religious history. He has led several study tours in Europe, finding on-site experiences to be one of the best ways for students to grasp the significance of history. These have included Luther in Germany, Bonhoeffer in Berlin, the Renaissance in Florence, the early church in Rome, and the Holocaust in Poland. Brian spent ten years in biology research, recently leading a medical and sustainable development mission experience to Honduras. He is a CCCU Leadership Development Institute Fellow, a Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellow, and a senior fellow with the John and Charles Wesley Center for Christian Thought. He serves on the board of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre. Education Ph.D., Saint Louis University M.Div., Covenant Theological Seminary B.A., Asbury University Courses Offered TH 250 Foundations of Christian Thought TH 310 History of the Early Church TH 330 Theology of John Wesley TH 400 Historical Theology TH 410 Modern Theology BTH 475 Senior Seminar Books Published Theology of a Diary: The 1949 St. Louis Exorcism (Pickwick, 2025), which offers a theological treatment of the best documented case of exorcism in the twentieth century, exploring its historical veracity as the story behind The Exorcist. Quest for the Historical Apostles: Tracing Their Lives and Legacies (Baker, 2018), which attempts the difficult journey to follow the historical paths of the twelve disciples after the New Testament. Prevenient Grace: God’s Provision for Fallen Humanity (Francis Asbury, 2014), which makes a case for original sin, conditional election, and the universal opportunity for all to believe. Martyrdom from Exegesis in Hippolytus: An Early Church Presbyter’s Commentary on Daniel (Paternoster, 2008), which finds an encouragement to suffering from an early third century elder using the Book of Daniel. Select Articles and Chapters “Surviving the Hanging to Be Clubbed in Sermons: Judas Iscariot in One Strain of Patristic Reception,” Patristic Theology 2 (2025): 1-26 “Prevenient Grace: Demoting Sin and Delivering Opportunity” Reclaiming the Order of Salvation: Evangelical Wesleyan Perspectives, Jerome Van Kuiken, ed. (Wilmore, KY: Francis Asbury, 2025) “Who Are the Apostles? An Overview of the Identities of the Twelve,” Christian History 156 (2025): 10-13 “An Anglican Reflection on the Nicene Creed for Fellow Wesleyans,” Good News 58.3 (2025): 25-28 “Hughes Auditorium and a Theology of Sacred Space,” Cooperating with the Holy Spirit: Theological and Practical Reflections on the Asbury Outpouring, Suzanne Nicholson, ed. (Abilene Christian University Press, 2025): 139-152 “Riding Against the Speckled Monster: Smallpox in the Thought and Ministry of John Wesley,” Wesley and Methodist Studies 16 (2024): 123-140 “Monasticism,” “Mountain,” “Narthex,” and “Old Testament in the New” in the Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (De Gruyter, 2020) “Athenagoras” in The History of Apologetics: A Biographical and Methodological Introduction (Zondervan, 2020): 67-84 “Gregory the Great” in A Legacy of Preaching: The Life, Theology, and Method of History’s Great Preachers, vol. 1 (Zondervan, 2018): 159-176 “Savonarola” in A Legacy of Preaching: The Life, Theology, and Method of History’s Great Preachers, vol. 1 (Zondervan, 2018): 260-275 “Patristic Heresiology: The Difficulties of Reliability and Legitimacy” in Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christian Contexts: Reconsidering the Bauer Thesis (Wipf & Stock, 2015): 193-212 “Lactantius as Architect of a Constantinian and Christian ‘Victory over the Empire’” in Rethinking Constantine: History, Theology, and Legacy (Pickwick, 2014): 26-36 “Irenaeus” in Shapers of Christian Orthodoxy (IVP, 2010): 15-63 “Learning from Patristic Responses to Culture” in The Contemporary Church and the Early Church: Case Studies in Ressourcement (Wipf & Stock, 2010): 100-130 “An Ancient Israelite Pattern of Kingly Accession in the Life of Christ” in Trinity Journal 25 (2004): 61-73 “Dose Effects of Smallpox Vaccine: Skin Takes, T and B Cell Responses” in New England Journal of Medicine 346 (2002): 1275-1280 Contact Brian Shelton URLThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.Your name(Required)Your email address(Required) Subject line:(Required)Message:(Required)This field is hidden when viewing the formFacStaff Email (please keep hidden) This field is hidden when viewing the formFacStaff Slug (please keep hidden)