Yes, the Watsons are moving...

And we're Wilmore bound.

In January 2006, my wife, Harriet, and I packed up all our belongings and moved from Dallas, Texas, to Dayton, Ohio. She drove our family car with our three-year-old son. I drove a U-Haul with a bad transmission. Our giant hound kept me company by lying in my lap. A thousand miles later, we arrived at our new home, and I promptly locked the keys in the U-Haul.

We had moved to Dayton because I’d accepted a job at United Theological Seminary as Assistant Professor of New Testament. We left family and friends to follow God’s call, and God has blessed us over these nineteen years. United has given me a fulfilling career. It’s provided me with opportunities I never would have had otherwise and surrounded me with faithful Christian colleagues. In turn, I’ve poured myself into its flourishing. For the last few years, my wife has worked in the development office, a job she has found meaningful and fulfilling. We’ve made friends who are now like family. We raised our kids here. We love Stillwater Church where we attend each week.

This season, however, is coming to an end. On Saturday, March 22, I accepted an offer to become the tenth President of Asbury Theological Seminary. We’ve been in this process for several months, praying for discernment, praying that God would open the doors he wants opened and close those he wants closed. God has opened this door, and we’re walking through it. I will begin my work at Asbury at the beginning of July.

It’s difficult to express the honor and gratitude I feel in assuming this role. I am grateful first to God. I am grateful as well as to the search committee members who put untold hours into this search process. I’m grateful to the board for their support, endorsement, and selection of me as a candidate. And I’m grateful to friends and family who have prayed with Harriet and me through this process.

TheBigGiant at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Asbury has stood firm for Wesleyan orthodoxy for over a century. It is a beacon of the Christian faith in an evangelical and Wesleyan expression. Its alumni/ae are serving Christ through powerful ministries all over the world. Many of its faculty members are known internationally, both for their scholarly work and their commitment to serving the laity and local church. It is supported by a staff of Christian men and women who are dedicated to its mission. The statement of that mission is, “Asbury Theological Seminary is a community called to prepare theologically educated, sanctified, Spirit-filled men and women to evangelize and to spread scriptural holiness throughout the world through the love of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit and to the glory of God the Father.” To serve as President of this seminary is a precious opportunity to advance that mission.

Harriet and I would appreciate your prayers in the days ahead. Yes, we’re moving, and as someone once said to me, “You could move everything in our house five feet and it would still be exhausting.” Much more significant, however, are the challenges facing the church and theological education. I believe the church is the most important institution in the world, and the seminary is its educational and preparatory wing. And yet, the times they are a-changin’. The church of the mid-twentieth century is gone and not coming back. The days when seminaries could rely on a steady stream of denominational applicants are a distant memory. This is the context in which we are called to be faithful, spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, and build up the church. It’s not easy, but Jesus never said that following him would be. And remember: God is surprised by none of this, and he is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine.