Dennis F. Kinlaw was born on June 26, 1922, in Lumberton, NC to Wade and Sally Kinlaw. Wade was a lawyer, and Sally was a teacher prior to her marriage. Dennis was the youngest of five children.
In 1935, Dennis and his parents attended Indian Springs Holiness Camp Meeting in Flovilla, GA. There, under the leadership of Mother Clark, Dennis committed his life to Jesus. At that same camp meeting, he heard Henry Clay Morrison (the President of Asbury College) speak on holiness of heart and life. He believed God for a deeper cleansing and infilling of the Holy Spirit. His testimony of that experience is included on this site. That encounter with God at Indian Springs became the pivotal moment of his life and walk with God.
Dr. and Mrs. Dennis Kinlaw
Because of the influence of Henry Clay Morrison, he decided to attend Asbury College in Wilmore, KY. He arrived in Wilmore in 1939 and quickly became a leader on campus.
At Asbury, he met his future wife, Elsie Blake, from Schenectady, New York whom he married in 1944. Dennis and Elsie had five children and sixteen grandchildren. Dennis graduated with an A.B. degree in Religion and Christian Studies in 1943.
He attended Asbury Theological Seminary and graduated in 1946. He completed further graduate study at Princeton Theological Seminary and at New College, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He received an M.A. from Brandeis University in 1961 and a Ph.D.
degree from Brandeis in 1967. His area of concentration was Mediterranean Studies.
While a student at Brandeis, Dennis served as the first pastor of Loudonville Community Church in Loudonville, NY from 1952-1963. In 1963 he returned to Asbury Theological Seminary as a professor of Old Testament history, theology, and languages. His love and passion for students and academics led him to accept an invitation to serve as president of Asbury College. He served from 1968-1981 and then from 1986-1991.
In 1983 he founded the Francis Asbury Society in Wilmore, KY for the purpose of publishing Wesleyan holiness materials and supporting Wesleyan holiness evangelists. He also served as chairman of the board for OMS International for thirty years. He served on the board of Christianity Today, Toccoa Falls College and Wesley Biblical Seminary. He was a fellow of The Christianity Today Institute and served as senior editor of Christianity Today magazine. He was appointed to the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Fellowship and affiliated with the Christian Holiness Association.
Dr. Kinlaw's interests were varied. He was a student of human culture, both religious and secular. He had a special interest in the moral, ethical, philosophical, and theological ideas that shape human destinies. In addition to his pastoral, education, and administrative duties, he preached widely in evangelistic outreach around the world. He preached and lectured on numerous college and university campuses, both Christian and secular, throughout the United States.