Dr. Kenneth J. Collins
Professor of Historical Theology and Wesley Studies Director of the Wesleyan Studies Summer Seminar Director of the Wesleyan Holiness Pentecostal Studies Center
Dr. Kenneth J. Collins is professor of Historical Theology and Wesley Studies. He is the 2008 recipient of the Professor of the Year Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Before coming to Asbury in 1995, he was recognized for exemplary teaching in a national competition among United Methodist schools in 1994. Earlier he received the Black Student Movement Award for Excellence in Religious Education at Methodist University.
Dr. Collins is a past president of the Wesleyan Theological Society and a member of the editorial board of the Asbury Journal. Beyond this, he currently serves on the faculty of the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary in Tallinn, Estonia.
Joining Asbury Seminary’s faculty in 1995 as professor of church history, Dr. Collins has lectured and taught throughout the world and is known for his engaging, critical-thinking style. In May 2008, he taught a course on The Theology of John Wesley at the Moscow Evangelical Christian Seminary in Moscow, the Russian Federation. He has also lectured on the theology of John Wesley in several diverse settings ranging from Costa Rica to South Korea, from England to Australia, from Finland to Japan.
Dr. Collins serves as the Director of the Wesleyan Studies Summer Seminar which fosters research, scholarship and publication globally in the broad field of Wesleyan studies. The program began in June, 2011 and continues today and it will have a special celebration in 2023, the centenary of the seminary.
Dr. Collins is a member of the following professional organizations: The American Academy of Religion, The Oxford Institute, The Wesleyan Theological Society, The Wesley Historical Society, The Historical Society of the United Methodist Church, the Editorial Board of Wesley and Methodist Studies, the Editorial Board of Australasian Centre for Wesleyan Research, the Board of Directors, the Institute on Religion and Democracy (Washington, D.C.), and the Editorial Board of Methodist Review: A Journal of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies. He has published a host of books and scores of articles exploring topics ranging from Wesleyan theology to Christian spirituality, including recent publications:
- Collins, Kenneth J. Jesus the Stranger: The Man from Galilee and the Light of the World. Franklin, Tennessee: Seedbed, 2021.
- Collins, Kenneth J., and Robert W. Wall, eds. Wesley One Volume Commentary. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 2020.
- Collins, Kenneth J. and Jerry L. Walls. Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017.
- Collins, Kenneth J. and Jason E. Vickers. The Sermons of John Wesley: A Collection for the Christian Journey. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013.