Founder
The Francis Asbury Society
1922–2017
Dr. Dennis F. Kinlaw, founder of the Francis Asbury Society and former president of Asbury College, received his B.A. degree from Asbury College in 1943 and his M.Div. degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1946. He did further graduate study at Princeton Theological Seminary and at New College, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He received the M.A. degree from Brandeis University in 1963 and the Ph.D. degree from Brandeis in 1967. His area of concentration was in Mediterranean Studies.
In 1959, he served for one semester as a visiting professor at Seoul Theological College, Seoul, Korea. In 1963, he joined the faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary as professor of Old Testament Languages and Literature. During his tenure at the Seminary, Dr. Kinlaw also taught Old Testament History and Theology as well as Hebrew and other languages related to the Old and New Testaments.
Dr. Kinlaw left the Seminary in 1968 to serve as president of Asbury College, a post he held until 1981. In 1981 he resigned from the presidency of Asbury College in order to pursue active preaching, writing and other ministry. He again served as professor of Biblical Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary in 1982-83. On July 1, 1986, Dr. Kinlaw returned to the presidency of Asbury College until April of 1991; he then was elevated to the role of Chancellor, where he served for one year. He was the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Houghton College and Doctor of Humane Letters from Asbury College.
He contributed to numerous publications, including commentaries on Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs in the Evangelical Bible Commentary, and Leviticus in the Beacon Bible Commentary, as well as many magazines, journals and anthologies. He was the author of several books, including This Day with the Master, Let’s Start with Jesus, Preaching in the Spirit, The Mind of Christ, and We Live as Christ. Malchus’ Ear and Other Sermons was published after his death.
As to his family background, Dr. Kinlaw was the son of a North Carolina lawyer. He was born in Lumberton, North Carolina. He and his wife Elsie had five children.
Dr. Kinlaw’s interests were varied. A student of human culture (both religious and secular), he had a special interest in those ideas (moral, ethical, philosophical and theological) that shape our destinies. In addition to his pastoral, education, and administrative duties, he preached widely in evangelistic outreach around the globe. He also preached or lectured on numerous college and university campuses, both Christian and secular, throughout the United States.
Dennis F. Kinlaw passed away peacefully Monday morning, April 10, 2017. A video recording of the funeral service is available on YouTube here. The celebration of life service bulletin is available here.
The purpose of The Francis Asbury Society in Dr. Kinlaw’s words