Abstract
Greetings from the mountains of North Carolina! My name is Alex Sosler, and I serve as Assistant Professor of Bible and Ministry at Montreat College near Asheville, NC, as well as Assisting Priest at Redeemer Anglican Church. In this time of transition from the great leadership tenure under Kevin Lawson to the new leadership of John David Trentham, I will step into the role as Book Review Editor of the Christian Education Journal.
It's an honor to serve under my friend (and dissertation advisor!) Dr. John David Trentham. Not only have I witnessed his administrative gifts and benefitted from his scholarly knowledge, but I have seen John David's personal faithfulness to God and his devotion to the work of Christian education. I’m sure that in the weeks and years ahead, these passions and pursuits of his will benefit all CEJ readers and contributors through his editorial decisions, feedback, and leadership.
The task of Christian Education is the great passion of my life. The local church is the most important institution in the history of the world, and Jesus promises that the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt 16.18). At the center of the local church is education. Jesus gives the church a specific mission: to teach the world to observe all that Jesus command them (Matt 28.20). That's a tall task. Furthermore, Paul gives instructions to the leaders of the church to “equip the saints for the work of ministry until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph 4.13-14). Maturity in Christ depends on Christian education.
And I think the second most important institution in the modern age are Christian schools and Christian colleges—not as replacements to the local church but as arms and assistants to what the local church is doing. The preserving and cultivating effects that Christian schools have on young people result in generational impact—and this generational impact includes my own story. It's a joy to partner with you to contend for and pass on the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). As such, I can't think of a better way to spend our time than on the topic of Christian Education.
As Book Review Editor, I want to cement this foundation and expand upon it. The process of Christian formation is not one directional—as if we have the right theological ideas, then we’ve accomplished the task. There is a holism and complexity needed in Christian education, so the books we review will help us think carefully on the task before us. What follows are the current guidelines for submitting Book Reviews to the Christian Education Journal:
Submission and Deadlines
The Christian Education Journal is published three times each year (in April, August and December). Book reviews should preferably be submitted to the appropriate Area Book Review Editor, although submissions may also be made online through the CEJ article submission portal. Deadlines are: for the
Each publication issue typically contains ten book reviews. Once ten book reviews have been received all subsequent submissions are held for the following publication issue. Early submission is encouraged as we often receive ten reviews months prior to the issue deadlines noted above. Late submissions will be considered for the next issue. Occasionally additional editing of your review may be requested which would then delay publication for a particular issue.
Reviewers are requested to submit reviews in electronic format as an e-mail attachment. Please use one of the latest versions of Word (preferred) (12 pt. Font, Times New Roman single spaced, with no page numbers). Please list your name and the book reviewed in the message line itself.
Each book review submission must be accompanied by a signed publishing agreement form.
Content
A review should accomplish two things. First, it should give readers the central thesis of the book and a description of its main structure to help readers understand the flow of the book's content. A reviewer may spend more space on parts of the book he or she takes to be more central to the reviewer's concerns. Second, the review should offer an evaluation of the book. At least half of the review should be evaluative. The review should relate the book to the concerns of the Protestant evangelical Christian community. The reviewer should keep in mind that Christian Education Journal is a journal with two primary audiences: professors of Christian Education and related disciplines, and practitioners in various Christian ministries.
Book reviews should be well-written, thoughtful, fair, and written with Christian grace. Major questions that could guide the reviewing process appear on the 3rd page. Please keep these in mind in doing the review. Make your review purposeful; get right to the point with a good opening sentence and paragraph. Write with grace. Please do not be preachy or cute.
Form
Book reviews will normally be between 1,000 and 2,000 words; specific words limits may be assigned to the reviewer for a certain book. Note: Give us the word count for your review.
Style should follow the APA style, 6th ed. The text should be single-spaced and include one-inch margins. Minimize software codes embedded in the text (i.e., use left margin justification only, do not use headers/footers or page numbers). Footnote and endnote references should not be used in book reviews. Citations to literature other than the book under review, when necessary, should be inserted parenthetically into the review text as follows (See Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, How to read a book, rev., NY: Simon and Schuster, 1972). When quoting directly from the book under review, provide page-number citations in parentheses after the quotation mark and before the period [e.g., “that is ridiculous” (17)]. Do not include “p.” or “pp.” in the page number citation. Be sure to use your spell-checker and grammar checker, but do not rely on these to be the only kind of proof-reading done.
The headline bibliographical data for the review should follow these examples (book title first in italics, author's name [first, middle initial/name, last name; no titles], place of publication and publisher, year, number of pages, and price, followed by “paper” if a paperback [otherwise hardback will be assumed]. It is important to include number of pages and the retail price of the book. For example:
A history of Christian education. By James E. Reed and Ronnie F. Prevost. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman. 1993. 386pp. $34.99. paper.
Evangelical dictionary of Christian education. Edited by Michael J. Anthony. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker. 2001. 747pp. $50.00.
Foundational issues in Christian education. 2d ed. By Robert Pazmino. Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker. 1997. 167pp. $ 21.99. paper.
4. On a new line, following the information about the book and before the review begins, list the reviewer's name, department, institutional affiliation, and location; or position title, name of local church or parachurch organization, and location, as follows:
Review by Stephanie R. Smith
Christian Ministries, ABC College, Chicago, IL
Review by Jack Johnson
Pastor for Families, First Community Church, Des Moines, IA
Final Notes
For general questions about these matters, please contact Dr. Alex Sosler, the General Book Review Editor (alexander.sosler@montreat.edu).
I look forward to working and reading and striving with you.
Christ is All,