Dr. Coppedge has taught for thirty-three years as the Beeson Professor of Christian Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary in the areas of Wesley Studies and Systematic Theology. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, England, in Historical Theology. In addition to post-doctoral research on American Methodist history and theology at the Johns Hopkins University, his education includes a Th.M., Asbury Seminary, a B.D. (Honors), University of Edinburgh, and a B.A., Emory University.
For a number of years Dr. Coppedge served as Academic Dean and Professor of O.T. at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia, South America, where he was under appointment as a missionary with OMS International. He has experience as a pastor in both Georgia and Kentucky, and has done extensive preaching in Central and South America, as well as Scotland and England. For a brief time he worked with The Navigators in San Antonio, Texas. He is a member of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Dr. Coppedge has served as the President and one of the founders of The Barnabas Foundation, Inc., an organization for the promotion of discipleship ministries in the Wesleyan tradition. The Barnabas Foundation was assigned to promote discipleship ministries in seminaries, colleges, local churches and mission organizations.
As a part of his commitment to serious scholarship within the Wesleyan tradition, Dr. Coppedge has written Shaping the Wesleyan Message: John Wesley in Theological Debate, a description of the theological debates over predestination and Christian perfection among the Armenians and Calvinists of the Eighteenth Century Revival. He is also the author of The Biblical Principles of Discipleship which lays out the biblical and theological foundations for the discipleship ministry of The Barnabas Foundation and has written a chapter entitled “How Wesleyans Do Theology” in the book Doing Theology in Today’s World. Dr. Coppedge has also written, Portraits of God; A Biblical Theology of Holiness, published by InterVarsity, 2001, and The God Who is Triune, also by InterVarsity, 2007. He has coauthored In His Image: A Workbook on Scriptural Holiness published by Providence House, 2000, and three Guidebooks to Mature Discipleship: Knowing Jesus, Following Jesus, and a Workbook on Spiritual Gifts. In addition, he has written four shorter Key Idea Books: God’s Purposes For You, Setting the Pace, When the Holy Spirit Comes, and The Promise of Something More.
Dr. Coppedge is married to the former Elizabeth Kinlaw. The Coppedges have four children: Katy Beth and Cricket who were born in Colombia, South America, and William Asbury and Susannah who were both born in Kentucky.
Beth and Al are currently involved in a speaking ministry, separately and sometimes together. They do retreats, conferences, and special events together. Beth does women’s conferences and retreats and Al does revivals, camp meetings, and men’s retreats. This new phase of ministry is under The Francis Asbury Society.
Dr. Hubert Harriman was born and raised in Bolivia, South America, where his parents were missionaries with WGM. He earned his BA from Vennard College (Iowa) before doing graduate work at Jerusalem University College in Israel, and then earned an MA from Anderson School of Theology (Indiana). In 2004, Wesley Biblical Seminary (Mississippi) conferred on Dr. Harriman an honorary doctorate. In 2016, Universidad Evangelica Boliviana (Bolivia Evangelical University) conferred on Dr. Harriman a second honorary doctorate (where he presently serves as a member of their Board of Directors).
Hubert pastored Ligonier Evangelical Church for 26 years. He also served as superintendent of the East Central Conference of the Evangelical Church for two years before becoming the fifth president of WGM in June 2002, where he served until his retirement in 2016. Throughout his ministry, Hubert has been a frequent speaker at church revivals, youth camps, camp meetings, seminars, retreats, conferences, and campaigns, both in the United States and internationally.
In addition to growing up as an MK (missionary kid), Hubert’s ties to WGM include serving on the Board of Directors; serving with Sarah as missionaries in Argentina; speaking on various WGM fields; and participating with Summer Career Corp (now Volunteers in Action) in Mexico during his senior year in college. Along with various published articles, Hubert is the co-author, with Dr. Barry Callen, of the book Color Me Holy.
Hubert and his wife, Sarah, have three grown and married daughters, four granddaughters, and five grandsons.
In appreciation for his 14 years as president of WGM, the WGM Board of Directors honored him with the titles WGM President Emeritus and WGM Ambassador at Large. Hubert and Sarah are responding to speaking engagements as God continues to open those doors. They champion marriage, family, the church, community, missions and evangelism, with a passion born of years of experience.
Victor Hamilton was professor of Old Testament studies at Asbury College (now Asbury University) for 36 years, from 1971 until 2007. Upon retiring, Asbury appointed him as a scholar-in-residence at the University. He completed the fifth and final year of that appointment in 2012. He has a BA from Houghton College in New York State (1963); a BD and ThM from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky (1966;1967); and an MA and PhD in Mediterranean Studies from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts (1969; 1971) under the mentorship of the late, great Orientalist, Cyrus Gordon. It was because of Gordon’s influence that he wrote his doctoral dissertation on “Syriac Incantation Bowls from Pre-Islamic Iraq.” His special areas of interest in the classroom were Pentateuch, Jeremiah, Preaching from the Old Testament and Old Testament Theology.
Vic’s first book was Handbook on the Pentateuch which Baker Academic published in 1982. A second and revised edition of that book appeared in 2005. It has been translated into Russian, Korean, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese. His other books include The Book of Genesis, New International Commentary on the Old Testament, two volumes (Eerdmans, 1990; 1995) in process of being translated into Chinese; Handbook on the Historical Books (Baker Academic, 2002) translated into Korean and in process of being translated into Chinese; Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary (Baker Academic, 2011). He served on the translation team for two modern Bible versions, the New King James version (NKJV) which Thomas Nelson produced in 1982, and the New Living Translation (NLT) which Tyndale House published in 1996 and 2004 (second edition). In conjunction with the NKJV project he wrote the notes for Exodus and Leviticus in The Wesley Bible. A Personal Study Bible for Holy Living (Thomas Nelson, 1990). In conjunction with the NLT project, he wrote the notes for 1 and 2 Samuel in the NLT Study Bible (Tyndale House, 2008). Additionally, he has contributed chapters and entries to numerous other publications such as The Quest Study Bible, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, An Evangelical Commentary on the Bible and the Asbury Bible Commentary. He has written, and continues to write, a number of adult Sunday School lessons for Illustrated Bible Life of the Church of the Nazarene.
Vic has had the privilege to lecture and preach at a number of other college campuses, as well as speak in churches, retreats, pastors’ seminars, family conferences, camp meetings, and overseas in Korea, Japan Jamaica and, most recently, China (Beijing). Among his highest joys has been the opportunity to preach over a hundred times in the chapel service in Hughes Auditorium at Asbury University, and at least once a year for 40 consecutive years stretching from 1972 to 2012. For the last 30 years he has preached (through an interpreter) one Sunday a month at the Lexington Chinese Christian Church, long before they were at their current church building on Nicholasville Rd.
Vic and his wife Shirley have been married for 51 years, and have four married children and thirteen grandchildren (four grandsons, nine granddaughters). Both Vic and Shirley were born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, and have dual citizenship, Canadian and American (as of several years ago). Vic is ordained in the Wesleyan Church (Central Canada District). He and his wife, Shirley, have their membership in the Milliken Wesleyan Church in Markham, Ont. just outside of greater Toronto. They have been attending the Wilmore Free Methodist Church for approximately 12 years.
Rev. Dr. Matt Ayars is the President of Emmaus Biblical Seminary in Haiti (www.ebshaiti.org) and has been serving as a full-time missionary with the One Mission Society (formerly OMS International) at EBS with his family since 2007. Matt is married (Stacey) and has three daughters (Lily, b. 2009, Sofia, b. 2011, and Nora, b. 2015).
Matt is originally from New Jersey and is a graduate of Asbury College (now university), Wesley Biblical Seminary, and has recently earned his PhD in Old Testament at St. John’s College of Nottingham. Matt is also an ordained minister with the One Mission Society.
Matt is also the author of Salvation in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross, and Kingdom and co-authored with the Rev. Dr. Charles Lake Holy Is a Four-Letter Word). Matt also has a devotional blog at www.teainsolitude.com and his wife Stacey blogs about their life and ministry in Haiti at www.mshaiti.blogspot.com. Matt also has a love of movies and music (jazz).
