Fuller Seminary Professor Awarded Historic Lifetime Honor Award

Cecil (Mel) Robeck Jr., a senior professor of church history and ecumenics at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, has received the inaugural Assemblies of God Lifetime Scholar Award, honoring his decades-long contributions to scholarship and ecumenical engagement. The award was presented at the first Assemblies of God Scholars Forum, held in June at Vanguard University.

The two-day forum convened scholars from across the Assemblies of God community to foster dialogue between academic theology and church practice. Robeck, an ordained Assemblies of God minister for more than 50 years, was praised for mentoring generations of theologians and advancing Pentecostal thought in global Christian settings.

“As both a scholar and ecumenical pioneer, Robeck sets an incredibly high standard,” said Allen Tennison, theological counsel to the General Council of the Assemblies of God. “He was the unanimous choice for our first Lifetime Scholar Award.”

Robeck joined Fuller Seminary in 1974, becoming assistant professor of church history in 1985 and professor of church history and ecumenics in 1997. He held multiple administrative posts and now serves as special assistant to the president for ecumenical relations.

His four-decade ecumenical career includes work with the World Council of Churches, the Vatican, and the Communion of Reformed Churches. Robeck has consulted for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and participated in annual meetings of the Secretaries of Christian World Communions for 18 years. He is also a regular panelist on the American Religious Town Hall program.

Robeck’s research on the Azusa Street Mission and its pastor, William Seymour, has received national recognition. A 1999 grant from the John Randolf Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation supported his study of the revival’s influence on Los Angeles. His book The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement earned the Pneuma Award and a Grawmeyer Award nomination.

Throughout his career, Robeck has authored more than 300 articles and numerous edited volumes. He served nine years as editor of Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies.

“Professor Robeck is an exemplar of scholarship and leadership,” said Fuller Seminary President David Emmanuel Goatley. “His contributions have enriched both the academy and the church.”

Founded in 1947, Fuller Seminary offers graduate programs and online certificates to prepare Christ-centered leaders for service around the world.