John Drury

This week we are featuring our newest faculty hire, to begin July 1 as the first full time theologian of the seminary, John Drury.  John is in the final year of his PhD in Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and has distinguished himself at every point along the way.  His theological mentors have long recognized him as fully capable to engage intellectually in the academy with the best–and we trust he will in the days to come. 

But his heart is with God’s people, and he is an ordained minister of the gospel who has put theory into practice in the local church while on his academic pilgrimage.  He was raised at the center of The Wesleyan Church (he probably knows too much!) and truly comes at truth with the approach of “faith seeking understanding.”  He is married to Amanda, who is also currently working on her PhD at Princeton in Youth Ministry.

We asked John to present a few words on his vision for what his role at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University might be:

“I am called to the theological formation of the church for the sake of its mission as God’s agent of transformation in the world. Therefore, I understand the vocation of theology as one of service: service to the world, through the church, and especially through its designated ministers. So it is with great joy that I have been invited to join a faculty committed to an integrated curriculum, where theological reflection is consistently placed in service to the concrete practices of the church. Such a vision for theological education fits my own vocation and passion. I look forward to coming alongside those who are ministering in the church in order to learn from them what God is doing in their midst and to help them sharpen their perception of the depth and diversity of God’s work among us. I am especially looking forward to the communal aspect of Wesley Seminary, both in terms of the faculty cooperation in the design and deployment of courses and in terms of the long-term mentoring within the spiritual formation cohorts. I believe that God has blessed and will continue to bless this new seminary, and I trust that God will use me and my particular gifts and calling to advance the mission and vision of Wesley Seminary.”