Scripture Untangled

Season 11: Episode 9 | James Pedlar | How the Fruit of the Spirit Brings Unity to the Church

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In this episode, James and Andrew discuss: 

• James’ formative years growing up in the Salvation Army, where an intergenerational church family helped nurture his early faith and love for God.
• Hearing God’s call to ministry, and how it was shaped by James’ love for Scripture and the encouragement of mentors who guided him toward full-time service.
• The importance of grace, gifts, and fruit in discerning how the church recognizes and confirms a call to ministry.
• The Salvation Army and Free Methodist and the shared heritage and theology of these two Wesleyan movements.
• Teaching at Tyndale Seminary and how James is living out a pastoral calling through scholarship and theological education.
• The Biblical call to Christian unity and what Scripture teaches about ecumenism and why unity matters to the Church’s witness.
• Understanding our differences in the Body of Christ by balancing truth and love in inter-denominational relationships.
• Living in a ‘post-truth’ age and how the Gospel speaks into a culture obsessed with “my truth.”
• How discovering the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church empowers believers with gifts and helps to guide the Church.
• James shares about equipping future leaders amid cultural and technological challenges, and requests prayers for wisdom, faithfulness, and the next generation of leaders who will carry the gospel forward.

The Rev. Dr. James E. Pedlar is Professor of Theology at Tyndale Seminary, where he holds the Donald N. and Kathleen G. Bastian Chair of Wesley Studies. He also chairs Tyndale’s history and theology department and directs the ThM program and the MA in Historical and Theological Studies. Dr. Pedlar specializes in the study of the Church – especially questions involving reform movements, Christian unity, authority structures, and ecumenical dialogue. He is a past President of the Wesleyan Theological Society, a Fellow of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre, a member of the Review Board of the Wesley Works Digitization Project, a Co-Editor of Wesley and Methodist Studies, and a member of the Study Commission on Doctrine for the Free Methodist Church in Canada.

He is the author of two books: British Methodist Revivalism and the Eclipse of Ecclesiology (Routledge, 2024) and Division, Diversity, and Unity: A Theology of Ecclesial Charisms (Peter Lang, 2015). He is currently co-editing a book on women in the Holiness and Pentecostal traditions.

Dr. Pedlar previously worked with the Commission on Faith and Witness at the Canadian Council of Churches, and he served for seven years on the Canadian Roman Catholic-Evangelical Dialogue. He has also worked for The Salvation Army, conducting a national research project on young adult attrition and serving as Community Ministries Director in the Quinte Region.

He is an ordained minister in the Free Methodist Church in Canada and serves as Worship and Teaching Pastor at Wesley Chapel Free Methodist Church. He and his wife, Samantha, have two daughters.

Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling was the Senior Minister of Timothy Eaton Memorial United Church in Toronto, one of Canada’s largest United Church congregations and was responsible for leadership and administration at Timothy Eaton from 1998 until his more recent retirement. Overseeing staff, providing visionary leadership, acting as the public representative of over 1,500 members and managing a dynamic and ever-evolving ministry to the city of Toronto and beyond.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Law from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, a Master of Divinity from the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a Doctor of Ministry in preaching from Acadia Divinity College, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. In 2008, Wycliffe College, Toronto, recognized his contribution to preaching with an honorary Doctor of Divinity.

Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling is now the Ambassador for the Canadian Bible Society building relationships with churches, academic institutions and individuals across Canada.