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2020-2021 Student Catalog | Personnel Directory

2020-2021 Adjunct Faculty (Ministry Specialists)

Mr. Charles H. Canon III

M.L.S., SUNY Geneseo, 1994; B.S., Roberts Wesleyan College, 1970. Mr. Canon is a member of the Committee on History and Archives of the Free Methodist Church, USA. He has been a member of the Board of Administration at the local, conference, and denominational level within the Free Methodist Church. He has also been a delegate to each Free Methodist General Conference since 1985. He is currently a member of the Ministerial Education and Guidance Board and the Ministerial Appointments Committee of the Genesis Conference of the Free Methodist Church and the Board of Administration of the Northgate/Batavia (NY) Free Methodist Church.

Rev. Matthew Davis

M.S., Information and Library Science, SUNY at Buffalo, 2019; M.A., Theological Studies, Northeastern Seminary, 2016. Matthew serves as the Systems and Data Librarian at Davidson College. His research interests are theological librarianship, practical theology, missiology and the missio Dei, and scholarly communication.

Dr. Julie Durbin

Ph.D. Biola University (Intercultural Studies), 2016; M.A. Duquesne University (Rhetoric/Communication), 2000; B.A. Roberts Wesleyan College, (Communication), 1998. Dr. Durbin teaches humanities and English at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA, and the Community College of Beaver County in Monaca, PA. She serves as worship leader at the New Brighton Free Methodist Church in New Brighton, PA, and on a provisional directing board for the newly-formed Free Methodist Liturgical Network. From 2000-2010, she lived in Ukraine and worked with a FMWM church planting team.

Rev. Dr. Walter S. Fleming

D.Min., Northeastern Seminary, 2018; M.Div., Asbury Theological Seminary, 1980; B.A., Houghton College, 1976. Pastor Wally, as he is known around campus, served as the lead pastor at Pearce Memorial Church for 10 years, a congregation adjacent to the Northeastern Seminary campus. Pearce was Pastor Wally’s fourth appointment, having served three other congregations since he began full-time pastoral ministry in the summer of 1980. He currently serves as the director of chapel and adjunct faculty at Roberts Wesleyan College, teaching in the area of leadership.

Rev. Dr. Dana L. Goodnough

D.Min., Ministry Leadership, Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002; M.A., Counseling, Liberty University, 1992; Th.M., Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985; B.A., Pastoral Studies and Biblical Languages, Calvary Bible College, 1981; Diploma, Pastoral Studies, Moody Bible Institute, 1980. Dr. Goodnough is the pastor at Pittsford Community Church where he has served since 1985. He serves on the board of the Rochester Institute of Christian Education and has served as a visiting instructor at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Dr. Goodnough is the author of Three-Minute Theology: 66 Simple Lessons on Basic Bible Doctrines (Westbow Press).

Rev. Suzi Harriff

M.Div., Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity  School; B.A., English Literature and Psychology, SUNY Fredonia. Rev. Harriff’s bi-vocational work includes serving as a marketing and communications professional and as an ordained pastor, teacher, and minister of music with various churches in the United Methodist, American Baptist, and Presbyterian denominations. She and her husband, Rev. Jim Harriff travel regularly to Rwanda in east Africa, working with African  Evangelistic Enterprises, Le Rucher/Mercy Ministries, and Solid Marriage Ministry in the ongoing post-genocide work of reconciliation and restoration.

Dr. Harry J. Heintz

D. Min., Fuller Seminary, 1996; M. Div., Gordon-Conwell Seminary, 1974; B. A. Southern California College, 1968. Dr. Heintz served as lead pastor/head of staff at Brunswick Presbyterian Church, Troy, N.Y., from 1974-2012, and was board member of Presbyterians for Renewal, 2002-2008. Dr. Heintz is active in supply preaching in the greater Rochester area, to which he moved in October 2013.

Ms. Cristina Kerekes

M.Div., Northeastern Seminary, M.S.  Science Education, Purdue University/, Certificate in Spiritual Direction, Upper NY Conference, United Methodist Church. Certificate in Advanced Missional Spiritual Direction, New England Conference, United Methodist Church. Ms. Kerekes is a chaplain intern at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, and a small group supervisor for a two-year spiritual direction training program with the UNY United Methodist Church. 

Dr. Kristina LaCelle-Peterson

Ph.D., Theological and Religious Studies, Drew University, 2001; M.Div., Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 1987; B.A., Biblical Studies, Houghton College 1982.  Dr. LaCelle-Peterson is currently a Professor of Religion at Houghton College though she has taught courses in Bible, church history and social justice at a number of institutions including Roberts Wesleyan College, Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School, Northwest Nazarene and John Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan.  She has authored the book Liberating Tradition: Women’s Vocation and Identity in Christian Perspective (2008) as well as articles and book chapters on various ministry-related topics. She is an ordained Elder in the Free Methodist Church.

Dr. Mike Lastoria

Ed.D. Loyola University of Chicago in Counseling Education, School Counseling and Guidance. Dr. Lastoria served as associate professor of family studies at Houghton College, Faculty/Director of Counseling at Houghton College, and Interim Associate Professor of Psychology at Roberts Wesleyan College.

Mr. Bryan McMullen

Mr. McMullen earned an M.A. in Religion from Westminster Theological Seminary, and is both a board-certified chaplain, and an associate certified educator by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education. He is a staff chaplain at  Rochester General Hospital. 

Dr. Charles Meeks

Ph.D., Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, 2019; M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary, 2009; B.A. Houghton College, 2005. Dr. Meeks recently completed his Ph.D. dissertation at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, and was supervised by Drs. Ephraim Radner and Joseph Mangina. His research is in the areas of patristic theology, sacramental theology, and systematic theology. His dissertation will be published by Fortress Press in 2020. His work at Asbury Theological Seminary focused primarily on New Testament and Biblical Archaeology. He is an active member of the North American Patristics Society, has published in the area of patristic exegesis, and has contributed extensively to the Lexham Bible Dictionary. Dr. Meeks has also pastored in Melbourne, Sydney, and Coffs Harbour, Australia.

Dr. Cherith Fee Nordling

Ph.D. - Systematic Theology, University of St. Andrews, Scotland 2003; M.C.S., Regent College, Vancouver, BC, Canada 1997,  M.A.C.P., Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, CA, 1995; B.A. Speech Communications/Spanish, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL 1981. Dr. Nordling is a theologian, writer, and mentor in Christian formation. She was Associate Professor of Theology at Northern Seminary (Lisle, IL) and taught theology at Calvin College and Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. She currently serves as a lecturer in the Masters in Leadership, Theology & Society program at Regent College and the Doctor of Worship Studies program at the Robert E.  Webber Institute for Worship Studies. Her research interests include Christology, theological anthropology, Trinitarian theology, and Pneumatology. 

Dr. Dan Sheffield

Dr. Sheffield received his Master of Religious Education from McMaster University, and post graduate certificates from the University of British Columbia in Intercultural Studies and from the University of Toronto in Adult Learning and Development. He currently serves as the Principal/Consultant of Culture Shift, an organization providing tools in the areas of Intercultural Competence in the workplace. 

Rev. Dr. William Turner

Rev. Dr. Turner received his B.A. in Sociology from Nazareth College, his M.A. in Theology Studies from Northeastern Seminary, and his Ph.D. in Human Development in Educational Contexts from the University of Rochester Warner School of Education.  He is the Senior Pastor of Living Word Temple of Restoration in Rochester, NY, and the presiding Bishop of Temple Restoration Ministries International. He also serves as Assistant Professor of African and African-American Studies at SUNY Brockport. 

Dr. Gregory VanDussen

D.Min., Church History, Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School, 1986; M.A., American History, SUNY College at Brockport, 1983; M.Div., Church History, Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School, 1972; B.A., Philosophy, SUNY College at Brockport, 1969. Dr. VanDussen retired in 2011 after 39 years of full-time ministry in the United Methodist Church. He pastored several churches in Western New York, and for six years served as Batavia district superintendent.

Dr. Norman Wettereau

M.D., Duke University Medical School, 1967; B.S., Wheaton College, 1963. Dr. Wetterau is a physician at Tricounty Family Medicine in Dansville, NY, and clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. One area of his many professional interests includes applying the theology of social justice to real-life community issues.

Dr. Christopher Zoccali 

Dr. Zoccali holds the following degrees: Ph.D., New Testament Studies, University of Wales, Trinity St. David, 2009; M.A., Religious Studies, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, 2002; B.S., Biblical and Pastoral Studies, Baptist Bible College, 2000. Dr Zoccali is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian-American Theological Review and has taught Biblical and Religious Studies at several institutions, including Roberts Wesleyan, Nazareth, and Empire State Colleges. He is the author of two books, including Reading Philippians After Supersessionism: Jews, Gentiles, and Covenant Identity (2017), as well as a number of other publications on the New Testament.