By GEORGE MARTZEN

ALDERSGATE Convention 2008, scheduled for May 19 to 24, will feature the Rev Dr Ben Witherington, Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary.


He will present three evening talks, concluding by preaching for the Aldersgate Service on May 24, a Saturday evening. The venue has yet to be fixed.
There are also plans for a Chinese speaker on a similar topic.


Methodists are encouraged to mark their calendars now for this annual event.


The theme for the convention will be "Going on to Glory: The Future of the Future in Wesleyan Perspective".


It will be a fitting follow-up to the 2007 event, which focused more on creation and scientific theories about the beginnings of the universe. The Rev Dr David Wilkinson, a British astrophysicist and theologian, spoke about the "Big Bang" and the relationship between science and the Christian faith.


With the 2008 theme "Going on to Glory", the Rev Dr Witherington will draw on his New Testament expertise, especially the Revelation to John. At a time when many popular and often inconsistent theories about the end times clutter our bookshelves, the speaker will present the findings of sound exegetical scholarship.


The Rev Dr Witherington is an internationally sought-after speaker and has written many commentaries, books and articles. He published a commentary on Revelation recently. His publications include What Have They Done with Jesus?; The Gospel Code; The Brother of Jesus; The New Testament Story; and The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism and Wesleyanism.

He has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia and the United States. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan and Egypt.


In addition, he has often appeared on television interviews from CNN to the History Channel, and writes for Beliefnet website and keeps his own fast-paced Internet blog (http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/).


With degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Durham University, he is considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world. He is an ordained clergy in The United Methodist Church, and is married with two children.

The Rev George Martzen is Minister Attached to the Bishop's Office.