One of Rev. Dr. Laceye Warner’s favorite stories to tell these days is not from her years studying at the University of Bristol in England, or her 20 plus year tenure teaching Methodist studies and evangelism at Duke University Divinity School. It is the story of a bible study in the middle of rural Texas, that started in a bar.

“I led a Bible study that started in a bar,” Warner said. “We lived out in the middle of nowhere in rural Texas. My child’s teacher and our neighbor bought a small sports bar in a nearby town. I was there one December afternoon to check on her following the pandemic, and people kept gathering around us, then sitting down, while asking questions about God and the church. Before long the impromptu conversation shifted into a Bible study about forgiveness, who is saved, and how. As the afternoon turned into evening folks asked, ‘Can we do this again?’ Real people with real challenges and real pain, raising money [for Uvalde victims] and praying together…in a bar. I tried to get them to meet in a coffee shop, but that did not work since people felt most comfortable in the bar. In that small gritty space with old country music on the juke box we prayed and read the Bible together.”

Warner was born in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Her family moved to The Woodlands, Texas during her middle school years where they resided for the remainder of her childhood. She grew up and was confirmed in the United Methodist Church. Warner said she fully embraced her faith during a U.M. Army mission trip at sixteen years old.

“To experience an internal, personal relationship with Jesus Christ in the midst of loving neighbors was very powerful,” Warner said.

After high school, Warner enrolled at Trinity University, San Antonio as a political science and speech communication/rhetoric student, with an interest in law school. Warner worked for several summers as an intern with Houston law firms during her college years. However, during a financial downturn, Warner found herself without an internship until an opportunity arose at her church.

“I received a phone call from the new associate pastor, Rev. Lee Allen,” according to Warner. “He said, ‘I hear you're out of a job. I need a youth intern. What do you think?’ I said, ‘you haven't even met me.’ But he insisted. I worked at the church for three summers. By the end of my first summer, I knew something powerful was occurring. Seeing people's lives change, facilitating those experiences, studying Scripture and teaching was amazing. I was sensing a call to ordained ministry.”

At the time, Warner had questions about her calling, since she had never met an ordained woman. Growing up in The Woodlands and later working as a youth intern, Dr. Edmond Robb, provided guidance and encouragement, even introducing Warner to her husband, Gaston, by setting them up on a blind date. With gratitude for the guidance of Robb and trusted mentors, Warner eventually found her path.

Warner was accepted into the Divinity School at Duke University where she completed the MDIV. After graduation she and her husband relocated to Bristol, England to serve congregations in the Methodist Church of Great Britain. While serving churches she was invited to consider doctoral work at the University of Bristol where she completed her dissertation on Methodist Deaconess Work in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries. According to Warner, this was an opportunity not only to experience a new culture but also to be immersed in Methodist history.

“Doing my Ph.D in England was wonderful,” Warner said. “It was as if we were living and worshipping in the midst of Methodism’s history. When I studied in the libraries, primary sources, some written by John Wesley and other early Methodists, were immediately accessible. I also served churches in the Kingswood circuit, where John Wesley visited and preached.”

After studying in England, Warner was invited back to Duke as a teaching assistant and adjunct professor. Then, after a year at her alma mater, Warner accepted an assistant professor position at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University, teaching evangelism.

“After a year at Duke, I was invited by a John Wesley fellow, Rev. Dr. Steve Long, to apply for an evangelism opening at Garrett Evangelical,” Warner said. “Steve thought it would be good practice for me to interview and experience a search process. I was surprised to receive an invitation to join the faculty there.”

According to Warner, Garrett Evangelical Seminary is an important location for Deaconess archives, in the heart of a very Methodist town, in Evanston, IL. After teaching at Garrett, Warner was invited to join the Duke Divinity faculty in 2001 where she continues to serve.

“Duke has become home,” Warner said. “There are so many different perspectives [at Duke], yet we agree that we love Jesus. This contributes to a distinctive culture that continually prioritizes serving the Triune God and Christ’s body, the Church, in the midst of a research university.”

Warner first became involved with the John Wesley Fellows program as a scholarship recipient. During her education, she learned from mentors in the JWF program. One of the highlights of her involvement in the program was the annual Christmas conference. Since her time as a scholar, Warner served for many years on the scholarship committee and eventually the board of trustees.

“I appreciate the community and commitment to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Warner said. “At the beginning of every Christmas conference, we go around the circle and we share news with each other and then pray for each other. It is not merely to present papers. At our best we are a community of friends praying for one another.”

Not only has the JWF program given Warner a community, but it has imparted wisdom and even the courage to lead the bible study in the rural Texas bar.

“Without the John Welsey Fellowship, I may not have had the vision and courage,” Warner said. “Seeing the Holy Spirit working outside of institutions is remarkable. There were so many stories of addiction, recovery, trauma, some with the church. Because some had felt pushed out of churches, for many in the Bible study, the bar was their church. It was really beautiful. It was very Wesleyan.”

Warner enjoys residing on a small farm in North Carolina with her family and continuing to teach, now as a newly promoted full professor. In addition, she wants to continue to write for the church. With the next chapter of her life starting, Warner is ready for whatever God has planned.

“We have several animals and a flower farm,” Warner said. “We are preparing to plant in early Spring. I see this time as a garden metaphor. It is a new season, a new season for the Wesleyan movement and the Church. I’m looking forward to planting seeds and seeing what God will grow.”