Dr. Randy Maddox, renowned Wesley scholar honored with Distinguished Service Award. Dakotas Conference file photo.

Editor's note: Rev. Dr. Randy Maddox was ordained an elder in the Dakoas Conference in 1989. He served in extension ministries at Sioux Falls College, Seattle Pacific University, and Duke Divinity School. Rev. Maddox retired in 2020. We are grateful for his service to The United Methodist Church. 

Madison, N.J.—Dr. Randy L. Maddox, one of the foremost authorities on the theology of John Wesley and the theological developments of Methodism, was selected as the 2023 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH) at the agency’s annual meeting.

The award is given annually to a person who has made significant academic contributions to the ministry of memory of The United Methodist Church.

“Randy’s contribution to Methodist history, from research to preservation, cannot be overstated,” says Dr. Ashley Boggan D., GCAH's general secretary.  “In addition to his own personal body of work that includes volumes, as well as scores of articles and essays, Randy has partnered with numerous scholars and academics across the decades to ensure that vital research is both documented and accessible. We thank Randy for the lasting impact of his passion and brilliance on behalf of Methodism.”

Maddox, who is an ordained United Methodist elder in the Dakotas Conference and Professor Emeritus of Theology and Methodist Studies at Duke University Divinity School, also serves as the General Editor of the Wesley Works Project, a major initiative that has produced the first comprehensive and critical edition of the works of John Wesley. He served until 2020 as the William Kellon Quick Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies at Duke University.

"I am honored by this recognition, and even more by the support the Commission has given and continues to give to cultivating faithful preservation and exploration of our Wesleyan heritage -- in all of its generations and contexts," says Maddox.

The General Commission on Archives and History gathered its members from across the globe for a virtual meeting on September 14-15.