Asbury Seminary’s Offense: Believing the Bible as Written

The recent news from the United Methodist Church (UMC) and our friends at Asbury Theological Seminary reads almost like a story straight from the Babylon Bee.

Late last month, the United Methodist Church removed Asbury Seminary from its list of approved schools for candidates for the denomination’s ordination. 

In short, the liberal and heretical UMC can no longer tolerate the biblically faithful standards of Asbury Seminary.

You might recall that it was at the Wilmore, Kentucky campus back in 2023 that a 16-day spiritual awakening erupted. During those historic couple of weeks, upwards of 70,000 people flocked to the campus where prayer, Scripture reading and hymn singing occurred around the clock. Many committed or recommitted their lives to the Lord.

What exactly did the UMC find so objectionable about Asbury?

In a gracious and charitable response to the news, Dr. David F. Watson, Asbury’s president, explained:

The [UMC] Senate’s requirements, particularly those related to the UMC’s 2024 Social Principles concerning ‘Human Sexuality’ and ‘Marriage,’ are not aligned with Asbury Theological Seminary’s institutional ethos and the historic witness of the Christian faith. We affirm marriage as sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union for life, as delineated in Scripture, and provides the sole context for sexual intimacy, helping to ensure the blessings of that relationship as God intended.

Our theological commitments, including our commitment to Scripture, remain unchanged. As an independent, multi-denominational seminary in the Wesleyan tradition, we have remained steadfast for more than a century in teaching the unchanging truth of orthodox Christianity. Our mission and values are the same today as they have been for more than a century.

In other words, it’s an old and familiar story. Asbury Seminary hasn’t wavered when it comes to God’s Word — it’s the United Methodist Church that has chosen to reimagine and reinterpret timeless truth.

The social “principles” that the UMC has revised over the years now declare that marriage can be between any “two adult persons of consenting age.” 

Founded in 1923 and now the eighth-largest seminary in the country, Asbury’s motto has long been “The Whole Bible for the Whole World” — a declaration that doesn’t leave any room for politically or socially correct editing. 

Although rooted in Wesleyan theology (an emphasis on grace and holiness), the seminary has traditionally recruited and taught not just Methodists but students from upwards of 80 different Christian denominations at any one time.

Given the heretical trajectory of the UMC over the years, it should come as no surprise that the denomination and the seminary have parted ways. Perhaps the only curiosity is why it took so long — and why it was the UMC that first initiated the breakup. But Dr. Watson subtly suggested Asbury’s patience and long-suffering may well have been because of their commitment to loyalty and unity. He noted last week:

We value our long history of serving United Methodist students and churches, and we are grateful for decades of partnership. Today, more than 4,000 living Asbury Theological Seminary alumni affiliated with The United Methodist Church are serving, or have served, faithfully around the globe. We love and respect our United Methodist students, alumni and faculty, whose presence has enriched our community for generations. We pray for God’s continued blessing on them as they minister faithfully across denominational lines.

However generous in tone in its response, Asbury Seminary can and should consider the UMC’s rejection of the school as an affirmation of its ongoing commitment to biblical orthodoxy. In fact, when it comes to future recruiting and enrollment, it might just come to be considered a helpful and fortunate “defeat” to be repudiated by the current UMC.