Conference Teacher Bio

Dr. Kevin Watson is the Assistant Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He is the author of Pursuing Social Holiness: The Band Meeting in Wesley’s Thought and Popular Methodist Practice. He has also written The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience and A Blueprint for Discipleship: Wesley’s General Rules as a Guide for Christian Living. Dr. Watson is also an ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference of The United Methodist Church.

In addition to his work at Candler School of Theology, Dr. Watson also hosts a blog entitled, Vital Piety, which is broadly focused on Christian formation and discipleship from a distinctly Wesleyan perspective. More specifically, he writes on small groups (particularly the Wesleyan class meeting and band meeting), Wesleyan/Methodist Christianity, the history of early Methodism, American Methodism, common misunderstandings of the Wesleyan tradition, and current events in The United Methodist Church.

Dr. Watson sees himself as both an academic and a pastor who seeks to serve the church. He was trained as a church historian and has also served in full-time local church ministry. He is passionate about both theological education and the local church. These passions are combined in his belief that many of the key insights of the first Methodists are of enduring relevance for contemporary Christianity.