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Center for Biblical and Theological Education Staff

The Rev. Celeste Cranston
Director

Ordained a Free Methodist minister in 2001, the Rev. Celeste Cranston received her elder’s orders from the Pacific Northwest Conference of the Free Methodist Church in 2005. From 1993 to 2009, the Rev. Cranston served Lakeview Free Methodist Church as director of adult ministries and music, director of the women’s shelter, and, beginning in 2001, associate pastor.

From 1986 to 1993, she was employed by Seattle Pacific University, where she worked in three departments: the Division of Continuing Studies, the School of Business and Economics, and the School of Religion. Before coming to SPU, she taught high school at Asuncion Christian Academy, serving as a VISA missionary to Paraguay for the Free Methodist Church. She also directed Greenville College’s Academic Enrichment Center.

The Rev. Cranston received her undergraduate degree in English education summa cum laude from Greenville College, and a master of arts degree in biblical studies from Seattle Pacific University.



The Rev. Dr. Doug Strong, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor of the History of Christianity, School of Theology

In addition to his role as dean of Seattle Pacific University’s School of Theology, Dr. Doug Strong teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in the School. His field of study is American religious history, particularly the history of 19th-century revivalism, social reform, and the Wesleyan/Holiness movement in America. He is a past president of the Wesleyan Theological Society, a co-convener of the History of Methodism Working Group of the Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies, and is on the Steering Committee of the Wesleyan Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion.

Dr. Strong is an ordained clergyman in the United Methodist Church and served for eight years as a pastor in East Brunswick, New Jersey. He is particularly interested in reviving the Wesleyan practice of small-group accountable discipleship among today’s Christians.