By John Oswalt
The year was 1983. I was trying to settle into my new job as president of Asbury College, and I had a visit from Dr. Harold Burgess, professor of Christian Education at Asbury Theological Seminary and former colleague. He told me of his concern for Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, former president of the College. Harold was concerned that we keep Dr. Kinlaw “tied” to Wilmore. Dr. Kinlaw had left the presidency in order to devote more time to his ministry of evangelism, but that had him away from his connections here in any kind of an official way. So, Dr. Burgess was asking me if there was any possibility of the College’s making space available on-campus for an office for Dr. Kinlaw, an office that Harold would maintain. I immediately agreed, and we found space in the Morrison building, which had been the first home of Asbury Theological Seminary when it was the theological school (1923–1939) of Asbury College.
It was in that office that the Francis Asbury Society began. Dr. Kinlaw resisted any suggestion that the “Dennis F. Kinlaw Evangelistic Association” should be born. As was so often the case with him, he had bigger ideas. He had in mind the formation of a group of people committed to maintaining and spreading the message of heart-holiness that had been the reason for the formation of both Asbury institutions. He dreamed of an association that would be more committed to the propagation of a message than to the maintenance of an institution. How would they propagate the message? Through the publication of books and articles, through evangelistic preaching, and through regular conferencing. Dr. Burgess took those ideas and, with his gift of organization and empowerment, put together our Society, which is going forward today.
Read next: The Francis Asbury Society – The Next Forty Years by Bill Kierce.