Dr. John P. Wesley

    John is in his thirteenth year as minister at First Christian Church.  A native of Harrodsburg, KY, where he lived on a dairy farm, he grew up in a community known as the Swiss Colony in Eastern Kentucky.  A graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1976) and Lexington Theological Seminary (1983)  John has served Disciple congregations in Corbin and London, KY.

     Worship is one of John's great passions.  He believes Christians are shaped by a pattern of worship each week that includes prayer, listening to God's Word, offering oneself afresh in love and service and  celebrating God's grace and many gifts at the table of communion.   Each day of the week can be lived out in this pattern of talking to God, listening to and discovering God's word in daily life, offering oneself to others in service and celebrating the daily gifts as signs of God's presence.

    

John is married to Dr. Susan Wesley, associate professor and director of the BSW program at Western Kentucky University.  Two adult children live in the area as do six terrific grandchildren. 

     John loves to golf and garden.  He has been roasting his own coffee for about three years and is able to brew a mean cup of "joe" or a rich, creamy cup of expresso.  He also enjoys making lye soap for his own use.  John is an avid reader and is spending a lot of time this year researching the Lord's Supper.  This research includes the influence of the Hellenistic or Roman meal on the early church and how the practice of communion declares what a congregation believes.

 

johnwesley@firstchristianbg.org