From Zero to 86 in 4.67: JCS Is Turning 5
- Keith Stanglin
- 54 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Keith D. Stanglin
As I reflect on the nearly five years of the Center for Christian Studies, the Journal of Christian Studies has been, from our very beginning, such a prominent aspect of our ministry to Christian leaders. When the idea for CCS was still taking shape, it was clear that publishing a journal was near the top of the wish list for some potential supporters.
What many readers wanted was something like the voice of the old Christian Studies, the journal that was published by Austin Graduate School of Theology and that Todd Hall and I edited in its final years. Elsewhere, I described four approaches that, taken together, characterized the voice of that school and its journal: 1) a balance of academic and ecclesial, 2) value for the tradition and the traditional, 3) ecumenical, and 4) fiercely independent.
For various reasons, that old journal would not be continued. It was already killed before Covid, when the theme issue on sexual ethics was originally approved but then shut down (that issue was later published as JCS 1/2). Also, the journal’s name, Christian Studies, was retained by the school with the promise that it would never be published again. I do not wish to rehearse the drama our little start-up ministry was put through, but let’s just say that our plan to publish a journal was intentionally made much more difficult than it needed to be.
Nevertheless, with prayer, effort, and the support of many, CCS began a new journal, with a brand new name and ISSN: the Journal of Christian Studies. We had big plans. We knew the kind of thing we wanted to do—roughly defined by the four characteristics I mentioned above. And we wanted more—not just one issue a year, but three every year. Each issue would address, from the various perspectives of its authors, a specific theme of theological importance and practical relevance to the church. The new Journal of Christian Studies would host the kinds of conversations that churches need to be having.
If we could pull this off, we knew we could have the best journal in Churches of Christ for the equipping and continuing enrichment of church leaders.
But starting something new also meant starting from zero. Zero articles. Zero contributors. Zero issues. Zero subscribers. Zero database or online presence. And so on.
By God’s grace, in four and two-thirds years, we have now published 86 articles in 14 issues. These issues have addressed such topics as—to name a few at random—lessons from the pandemic, politics, suffering, the Sermon on the Mount, and (our most recent one) sin. Each of these 14 issues is like a little 100-page book on its own, and it is no small feat to produce three of these annually, year in and year out.
We editors could not do it without the generous support and excellent contributions of our authors. Counting the interviewees who have contributed in a few issues, we have had 91 different authors—including Carl Trueman, Mary Eberstadt, Matt Crawford, Ephraim Radner, Karen Westerfield Tucker, Ben Witherington, Brad East, and so many other top-notch writers.
It is no wonder that Mark Powell, lead minister at Donelson Church of Christ and former dean of Harding School of Theology (a man who knows his stuff), said, “JCS has become my favorite journal. The themes and articles are thoughtful, relevant, and unabashedly rooted in Scripture and the historic Christian faith. This is scholarship for the church at its finest.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.