Maddox’s scholarly interests focus on the theology of John and Charles Wesley and theological developments in the later Methodist/Wesleyan tradition. In addition to numerous articles he is author of Responsible Grace: John Wesley’s Practical Theology, a contributor to Wesley and the Quadrilateral, and editor of Aldersgate Reconsidered, Rethinking Wesley’s Theology for Contemporary Methodism, The Cambridge Companion to John Wesley, and Volume 12 of The Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley. He serves as general editor of the Wesley Works Editorial Project, and heads a project that makes available all of the verse of Charles Wesley online at the website for the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at Duke Divinity School.
Maddox is currently the institute secretary of the Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies. He served previously as president of the Wesleyan Theological Society, co-chair of the Wesley Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion, and general editor of the Kingswood Books Imprint of Abingdon Press.
Maddox is an ordained elder in the Dakotas Conference of The United Methodist Church, and has served as a theological consultant to the Council of Bishops on several projects.
Recent Books
News and Stories
Randy Maddox Receives Special GCAH Recognition
Maddox, William Kellon Quick Professor Emeritus of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies, was selected as the 2023 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the General Commission on Archives and History.
The Tables Are Turned: John Wesley on the Retirement of Randy Maddox
Randy Maddox, the William Kellon Quick Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies, retires, bringing to a close the Duke Divinity career of a scholar, teacher, and mentor.
Randy Maddox Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
The Wesleyan Theological Society honored Professor Maddox for his many contributions to Wesleyan theology.
Selected Publications
Full List of Publications (pdf)
Select Essays in Wesley Studies
- ‘Anticipate Our Heaven Below’: The Emphatic Hope and Abiding Tone of Charles Wesley’s Eschatology (pdf) Proceedings of the Charles Wesley Society 17 (2013): 11–34.
- Anticipating the New Creation: Wesleyan Foundations for Holistic Mission (pdf) Asbury Journal 62 (2007): 49–66.
- Celebrating the Whole Wesley: A Legacy for Contemporary Wesleyans (pdf) Methodist History 43.2 (2005): 74–89.
- A Change of Affections: The Development, Dynamics, and Dethronement of John Wesley’s ‘Heart Religion’ (pdf) In Heart Religion” in the Methodist Tradition and Related Movements, 3–31. Edited by Richard Steele. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 2001.
- “Digging Deep into the Mine: Charles Wesley and the Bible” (pdf) Proceedings of the Charles Wesley Society 15 (2011): 15–40.
- The Enriching Role of Experience (pdf) In Wesley and the Quadrilateral, 107–27. Stephen Gunter et al. Nashville: Abingdon, 1997.
- Honoring Conference: Wesleyan Reflection on the Dynamics of Theological Reflection (pdf) In The Renewal of United Methodism: Mission, Ministry, and Connectionalism, 55–97. Edited by Rex D. Matthews. Nashville: GBHEM, The United Methodist Church, 2012.
- John Wesley – ‘A Man of One Book’ (pdf) In Wesley, Wesleyans, and Reading Bible as Scripture, 3–18, 277–80. Edited by Joel B. Green and David F. Watson. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2012.
- John Wesley and Eastern Orthodoxy: Influences, Convergences, and Differences (pdf) Asbury Theological Journal 45.2 (1990): 29–53.
- John Wesley on Holistic Health and Healing (pdf) Methodist History 46 (2007): 4–33.
- John Wesley – Practical Theologian (pdf) Wesleyan Theological Journal 23 (1988): 122–47.
- John Wesley’s Precedent for Theological Engagement with the Natural Sciences (pdf) Wesleyan Theological Journal 44.1 (Spring 2009): 23–54. [Also appears in Divine Grace and Emerging Creation: Wesleyan Forays in Science and Creation, 1–36. Edited by Thomas Jay Oord. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2009.]
- Karl Rahner’s Supernatural Existential: A Wesleyan Parallel?” (pdf) Evangelical Journal 5 (1987): 3–14.
- Nurturing the New Creation: Reflections on a Wesleyan Trajectory (pdf) In Wesleyan Perspectives on the New Creation, 21–52. Edited by M. Douglas Meeks. Nashville, TN: Kingswood Books, 2004.
- Opinion, Religion, and ‘Catholic Spirit’: John Wesley on Theological Integrity (pdf) Asbury Theological Journal 47.1 (1992): 63–87.
- Reading Wesley as Theologian (pdf) Wesleyan Theological Journal 30.1 (1995): 7–54.
- Reclaiming the Eccentric Parent: Methodist Reception of John Wesley’s Interest in Medicine (pdf) In Inward and Outward Health: John Wesley’s Holistic Concept of Medical Science, the Environment, and Holy Living, 15–50. Edited by Deborah Madden. Peterborough: Epworth, 2008.
- Reclaiming Holistic Salvation: A Continuing Wesleyan Agenda (pdf).” In Holy Imagination: Thinking About Social Holiness, 41–54. Edited by Nathan Crawford, Jonathan Dodrill, and David Wilson. Lexington, KY: Emeth Press, 2015.
- Responsible Grace: The Systematic Perspective of Wesleyan Theology (pdf) Wesleyan Theological Journal 19.2 (1984): 7–22.
- The Rule of Christian Faith, Practice, and Hope: John Wesley on the Bible (pdf) Methodist Review 3 (2011): 1–35.
- Salvation as Flourishing for the Whole Creation: A Wesleyan Trajectory (pdf) Wesleyan Perspectives on Human Flourishing (2021): 1–23.
- Shaping the Virtuous Heart: The Abiding Mission of the Wesleys (pdf) Circuit Rider 29.4 (July/August 2005): 27–28.
- Theology of John and Charles Wesley (pdf) in T&T Clark Companion to Methodism, 20–35. Edited by Charles Yrigoyen, Jr. New York: T&T Clark, 2010.
- ‘Visit the Poor’: John Wesley, the Poor, and the Sanctification of Believers (pdf) In The Wesleys and the Poor: The Legacy and Development of Methodist Attitudes to Poverty, 1729–1999, 59–81. Edited by Richard Heitzenrater. Nashville, TN: Kingswood Books, 2002.
- Wesley and Inclusive Grammar: A Note for Reflection (pdf) Sacramental Life 4.4 (1991): 40–43.
- Wesley as Theological Mentor: The Question of Truth or Salvation Through Other Religions (pdf) Wesleyan Theological Journal 27 (1992): 7–29.
- Wesleyan Resources for a Theology of the Poor (pdf) Asbury Theological Journal 49.1 (1994): 35–47.
- Wesleyan Theology and the Christian Feminist Critique (pdf) Wesleyan Theological Journal 22 (1987): 101–11.
- Wesley’s Prescription for ‘Making Disciples of Jesus Christ’: Insights for the Twenty-First-Century Church (pdf) Quarterly Review 23.1 (2003): 15–28.
- Wesley’s Prescription for Making Disciples of Jesus Christ: Insights for the 21st Century Church (pdf) Pulpit and Pew Website, Duke Divinity School
- Wesley’s Understanding of Christian Perfection: In What Sense Pentecostal? (pdf) Wesleyan Theological Journal 34.2 (1999): 78–110.
Select Articles in Methodist Studies
- Aldersgate: A Tradition History (pdf) In Aldersgate Reconsidered, 133–46. Edited by Randy L. Maddox. Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1990.
- Celebrating Wesley – When? (pdf) Methodist History 29 (1991): 63–75.
- Holiness of Heart and Life: Lessons from North American Methodism (pdf) Asbury Theological Journal 51.1 (1996): 151–72.
- ‘Letter from America.’ A United Methodist Perspective (pdf) In Unmasking Methodist Theology, 179–84. Edited by Clive Marsh, et al. New York: Continuum, 2004.
- “Methodist Theology” (pdf) In The Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology, 311–13. Edited by Ian A. McFarland et al. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
- Psychology and Wesleyan Theology: Precedents and Prospects for a Renewed Engagement (pdf) Journal of Psychology and Christianity 23 (2004): 101–9.
- Reclaiming an Inheritance: Wesley as Theologian in the History of Methodist Theology (pdf) In Rethinking Wesley’s Theology for Contemporary Methodism, 213–26.
- Reconnecting the Means to the End: A Wesleyan Prescription for the Holiness Movement (pdf) Wesleyan Theological Journal 33.2 (1998): 29–66.
- Respected Founder / Neglected Guide: The Role of Wesley in American Methodist Theology (pdf) Methodist History 37 (1999): 71–88.
- Seeking a Response-able God: The Wesleyan Tradition and Process Theology? (pdf) In Thy Nature and Thy Name is Love: Process and Wesleyan Theologies in Dialogue, 111–42. Edited by Bryan Stone & Tom Oord. Nashville, TN: Kingswood Books, 2001.
- Social Grace: The Eclipse of the Church as a Means of Grace in American Methodism (pdf) In Methodism in its Cultural Milieu, 131–60. Edited by Tim Macquiban. Oxford: Applied Theology Press, 1994.
- Theology in the Twenty-First Century: Some Wesleyan Agendas (pdf) In Methodism Across the Pond, 45–60. Edited by Richard Sykes. Oxford: Applied Theology Press, 2005.
- An Untapped Inheritance: American Methodism and Wesley’s Practical Theology (pdf) In Doctrines and Disciplines: Methodist Theology and Practice, 19–52, 292–309. Edited by Dennis Campbell, et al. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1999.
- ‘Vital Orthodoxy’: A Wesleyan Dynamic for 21st Century Christian Life and Thought (pdf) Methodist History 42.1 (2003): 3–19.
Select Essays on Practical Theology
- Formation and Reflection: The Dynamics of Theology in Christian Life (pdf) Quarterly Review 21.1 (Spring 2001): 20–32.
- Practical Theology: A Discipline in Search of a Definition (pdf) Perspectives in Religious Studies 18 (1991): 159–69.
- Recovery of Theology as a Practical Discipline: A Contemporary Agenda (pdf) Theological Studies 51 (1990): 650–72.
- Spirituality and Practical Theology: Trajectories toward Reengagement (pdf) Association of Practical Theology Occasional Papers 3 (Spring 1999): 10–16.