The Rev. Dr. Rebekah Miles (Courtesy Photo)
DALLAS (SMU) – Dean Bryan P. Stone announced today that, upon his recommendation, Provost Rachel Mersey has appointed Dr. Rebekah Miles as the next Albert C. Outler Chair of Wesley Studies at Perkins School of Theology, effective immediately.
Her appointment fills the vacancy in that chair due to Dr. Ted Campbell’s retirement this past spring. Dr. Miles is the first woman to hold this chair, and she will be the fourth Outler chair holder following Dr. Dick Heitzenrater (1985-1993), the late Dr. Billy Abraham (1995-21), and Dr. Ted Campbell (2021-2025.)
Dr. Miles is an accomplished Wesleyan scholar across many disciplines, including ethics, history, systematic theology, and practical theology. She is author or editor of eight books, including a collection of the writings of Methodist theologian Georgia Harkness, and is currently working on volume 15 of the John Wesley Works Editorial Project, a series in which Heitzenrater, Campbell and Outler have edited volumes.
Dr. Miles identifies as an LGBTQ member of the Perkins faculty and serves on the Board of the Reconciling Ministries Network. She has served in a number of Wesleyan ecclesial and academic roles, such as committees, editorial boards, and task forces. An ordained elder in the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church, Miles, like Outler, was elected to serve as a clergy delegate to six General Conferences.
“Dr. Miles’ appointment contributes powerfully to SMU Perkins’ trajectory toward being one of the most important centers for the study of Methodism, and we are thrilled that she is now moving into that position,” said Dean Stone. “In the Spring, we will celebrate her appointment with a service of installation in Perkins Chapel.”
“I am grateful to hold the Albert Outler Chair and to follow my friends, Dick Heitzenrater, Billy Abraham, and Ted Campbell,” said Miles.“ Not only Outler, but all those who have held the Outler chair, have given much of their lives to bridge-building – between church and theological education, across theological divides, and among diverse branches of the Christian family.”
The Albert C. Outler Chair in Wesley Studies was funded by the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church between 1978-1983, partly by apportionments to the churches and partly by private and foundation gifts. The stated purpose of the Endowment is “the support of Wesley Studies at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, conceived and maintained at the highest level of academic excellence and reflecting, as far as poss ible, the breadth of John Wesley's interest in evangelical theology, ethics and ecclesiology. It is hoped and intended that such a program of study and teaching will avoid the extremes of narrow specialization on the one side and lack of focus on the other.”
In the original definition of the position, "Wesley Studies" was understood “to include critical inquiries into the background sources of the thought and praxis of John Wesley (and possibly those of his brother Charles and other leading figures of Methodism), and also attention to the development that flowed from John Wesley's career into succeeding generations. This quality and kind of study also connotes the relevance of Wesley's life, thought and work for other traditions (Protestant, Anglican, Catholic) and for the ongoing causes of Christian evangelism, Christian nurture and Christian unity.”