History and theology studied at PLNU’s H. Orton Wiley Lecture Series in Theology
Monday, March 10, 2008
San Diego
In honor of the beginning of the Church of the Nazarene’s Centennial Celebration, Point Loma Nazarene University’s (PLNU) 2008 H. Orton Wiley Lecture Series in Theology focused on “American Evangelicalism:  Past, Present, and Future” on February 21-22 and 25-26, 2008.

George M. Marsden, a leading historian of American evangelicalism, presented three lectures on “The Light of the Past on the Present and Future.”  Marsden, the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, lectured on the thought of Jonathan Edwards, the twentieth century shift of American evangelicalism from a early twentieth century focus on otherworldly salvation to its current role as a major political player in U.S.’s national politics, and finally, to the "complex interplay between evangelicalism and secularization as we look to the future."

On Monday and Tuesday, February 25 and 26, Stan Ingersol lectured on “A Nazarene Odyssey through Evangelical Seas.”  Ingersol, the archivist at Nazarene International Headquarters, placed the historical trajectory of the Church of the Nazarene within the dynamics of the American Methodist tradition’s emphasis on Wesleyan holiness and in the complicated relationship with larger, non-Wesleyan evangelical movements in the U.S.  As Ingersol looked to the future, he looked to the problems and potentials of internationalization, particularly to the greatly increased ratio of the number of members of the Board of General Superintendents to the number of districts.  He historically disputed the so-called 100 year cycles of denominational vigor and growth and decline by pointing out the increased vigor of many movements in the second 100 years of their existence.

The lectures took place before audiences of 100-200 administrators, pastors, faculty, and students at PLNU. The lectures enabled the audience to understand how the Church of the Nazarene’s history has its own particular place within the broader dynamics of American evangelical history, and how the internationalization of the Church of the Nazarene arises out of this history, while presenting positive dynamics, as well as profound challenges, for the future. 

Podcasts of the lectures are available on PLNU’s website. Ingersol’s lectures will be published soon by Point Loma Press.

The H. Orton Wiley lectures have continued since 1951 at PLNU. Begun by a series lectures by Wiley himself, recent lecturers have included Kent Brower, Randy Maddox, Donald Dayton, William Abraham, and Susie Stanley.  The lectures are sponored by PLNU’s Graduate Faculty of the School of Theology and Christian Ministry and overseen by Brad Kelle, the director of the master of arts in Religion program and faculty member in the School of Theology at PLNU.
--John Wright for PLNU