Dr. Ron Smith

Dr. Ronald E. Smith, Executive Director of the Francis Asbury Society, Wilmore, Kentucky, is a 1977 graduate of Asbury College, 1982 (M.Div.) graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary, and a 1990 (Th.M.) graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary. He completed the Masters of Philosophy degree at the graduate school of Drew University, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Theological and Religious Studies from the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies at Drew University.

Ron is an ordained deacon and elder in the Greater New Jersey Conference of the United Methodist church, and has served under appointment of the Bishop since 1982. Ron pastored for eleven years in New Jersey before serving for three years as a Fellow at the Francis Asbury Society. He then served as Executive Director of the Society for two years. On January 15, 1998 Ron was elected president of Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. In February 2008 Ron planted a church, Wesley Chapel, and is serving as Senior Pastor and President of the Seminary. He rejoined the Francis Asbury Society as Executive Director alongside President Paul Blair in November, 2010.

Ron has been privileged to speak in a wide arena of denominational settings around the world. He has served as a keynote speaker in a variety of regional and national meetings for denominations and consortiums in the broader Wesleyan world. Ron has also delivered several distinguished lecture series at different colleges, universities, and theological seminaries, such as the noted Thomas F. Staley Distinguished Lecture Series.

Ron has served on such boards as World Gospel Mission and the Francis Asbury Society and, for several years, served as Chairman of the Board of OMS International.

He has also written and taught professionally on subjects in the field of the History of Christian Doctrine. His work has focused on Evangelicalism and Modernity; The Intellectual History of the Nineteenth Century; Forging the American Evangelical Tradition, Perfectionism and Pre-Millennialism; and, The Theological Lifework of Dr. Henry Clay Morrison.

He has written articles for many denominational and missional publications, and has a special interest in producing substantive theological literature for the Church today.

Ron is married to Dorena (Ritzler) and together they have two daughters, Katie and Laura.

Dr.Joy Moore

Rev. Joy J. Moore, PhD, is Associate Dean of Black Church Studies and Church Relations at Duke University Divinity School and teaches in the area of homiletics and the practice of ministry. Moore joined the Administration at Duke in July of 2008 as Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning.

Prior to moving to Duke University, Dr. Moore was Assistant Professor of Preaching at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky. Before joining the faculty, she served as Director of Student Life at Asbury Seminary with responsibilities for programming student services and residence life.

Rev. Moore has written "Preaching: Telling the Story in a Sound-bite Culture," in Andrew Thompson's (ed),Generation Rising, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011 and her forthcoming book Text Messaging: Ancient Stories for a Cyberspace Future is under contract with Bristol Books. She has previously contributed to Essential Truths (Bristol Books, 1997) and Unity, Liberty, and Charity (Abingdon Press, 1996).

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Rev. Moore's desire to teach led her to study at National Louis University in Evanston, Illinois, from which she received a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Mathematics. She holds a Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Seminary. Moore earned a PhD. from Brunel University, London, England in practical theology with an emphasis in Homiletics and Theological Hermeneutics.

Moore became a John Wesley Fellow in 2001, and is a member of the Society for Biblical Literature, the Academy of Homiletics, the American Academy of Religion, the National Association of United Methodist Evangelists and the National Steering Committee of the Confessing Movement. Joy has served the denomination at the general, jurisdictional, and annual conference level and has reviewed books for the United Methodist Publishing House, Abingdon Press, Baylor Press, and Moody Publishers.

An ordained elder in of the West Michigan Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Joy has served in Michigan pastorates since 1988. Her call to Methodism originally focused on cross-racial ministry in urban, rural, and suburban congregations. As pastor, Joy has called local congregations to recognize their community's vocation to glorify God as a peaceable community - practicing hope, hospitality, and honesty.

Practicing a Wesleyan-Arminian theological orientation with interests in North American Christian Practices, her research interests focus primarily on understanding the critical issues influencing contemporary culture and its impact on the church for community formation. Professor Moore has examined these interests by focusing on current topics such as Practical Theology, Homiletics, and Narrative Hermeneutics. (ALL that simply means: she likes to tell Bible stories!!)