Dear Society members and friends,
I am grateful to God for bringing us safely into 2023. Let us thank him for what he has done with the Society of Christian Scholars in just a few years. What began as a little dream is now touching hundreds of scholars in at least 85 countries. We have every reason to celebrate.
Some highlights of 2022:
We now have a regional representative for Asia.
Our group in Argentina is growing steadily, and we are looking forward to a Christian Study Center in that region.
The Society of Christian Scholars, The Gambia held its second national conference (in a country where over 90 percent of the population is Muslim).
The Society of Christian Scholars, Nigeria was formally registered with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission.
The Society was given an opportunity to address Chinese Christian scholars in a virtual seminar.
New relationships are blossoming with Christians at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica.
The Society in Africa has been invited to conduct leadership training for Christian academics in Burundi. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed.
A small group of Middle East Christian Scholars has started meeting. Already, transformational experiences and testimonies are coming from the Middle East.
In Europe, we are developing strategies to create new partnerships with key organizations and build a small leadership team.
The Africa region is preparing to launch its Academy of Faith and Science.
Francophone scholars are developing French resources for the Society Library .
The Society is developing a series of Faith and Learning study guides.
The Society of Christian Scholars, Nigeria concluded plans to hold its second national conference at the University of Jos in May 2023.
The Society of Christian Scholars, Kenya agreed to host the second All Africa Conference of Christian Scholars in August 2023.
Thank you, brothers and sisters, for being part of this journey. Thanks to our numerous volunteers, men and women from around the globe, who are investing their time, talents, and energies in this project. Thanks to the donors who continue to invest their financial resources. Thanks to the board and leadership team of Global Scholars, the Executive Committee of the Society, Society regional representatives, national leaders, and our partners such as INCHE, Global Scholars Canada, and Crossworld.
I wish you all a Happy New year!
Prof. Osam Temple
Society Executive Chair
Society Opportunities
2023 Christian Scholars Foundation Legacy Grant
Available to scholars in the U.S. and Canada
We are thrilled to announce that Global Scholars, one of the principal partners of the Society of Christian Scholars, will provide an annual Christian Scholars Foundation Legacy Grant beginning in 2023. The grant will be awarded to a junior faculty member in the U.S. or Canada. The purpose of this grant is to advance Christian scholarship, encourage Christian scholars seeking to integrate Christian faith with their academic endeavors, and nurture Christian faculty as they strive for wider recognition in and beyond the academy.
Applicants are required to be members of the Society of Christian Scholars and the Emerging Scholars Network. The 2023 Christian Scholars Foundation Legacy Grant will be $10,000. More details and the grant application are available at the Society of Christian Scholars member site.
Questions concerning the grant may be sent to Dr. Hannah Eagleson, Christian Scholars Foundation Legacy Grant Director, here. You may read testimonials from past recipients here and interviews with several of the recent recipients on the Emerging Scholars Network Blog: Carrie Bredow (2016), Jill Ellenbarger (2017), Eleanor McGlinchey (2017), Jennifer Hawk (2018), and Derek Thompson (2019).
Reminder: Annual Global Scholars Grant will close 1 February 2023!
The Annual Global Scholars Grant (2023) is now open at our Member Site. The application can be submitted until 1 February 2023. The Grant Evaluation Committee will administer several grants between $500 and $2,000 USD! The purpose of these grants is to help Society members become better equipped to fulfill their calling in academia.
Society’s Bi-Monthly Reading Group
Our next meeting will be on Friday, 3 February 2023 at 1400 UTC. (Check www.worldtimebuddy.com for your local time.) We will continue our discussion of Lesslie Newbigin’s ‘The Gospel and the Cultures’, available in the Society’s Library. If you have a chance, read the selection prior to attending. Join this informal conversation as we seek to grow together in our understanding of what it means for Christian academics to have redemptive influence in the pluralistic university setting! Be sure to register today!
EBSCO Databases for 2023
Many thanks again for all who participated in the annual EBSCO survey. Based on those results, usage data from EBSCO, and budgetary constraints, EBSCO databases for 2023 will be as follows: 1. Religion and Philosophy, 2. Humanities Source, and 3. Education Source. The possibility does exist to add SocINDEX, pending end-of-year revenue.
We can’t stress enough the frequent use of these databases for research and teaching. The more people use these databases, the more likely it is that they will continue to be available. Thank you!
Calling All Authors! The Society is looking for interested authors who would like to write a 6,000- to 8,000-word study guide related to one of the following topics:
(1) Integration of Faith and Scholarship
(2) Spiritual Formation
(3) Interacting with Cultures
(4) Pursuing Vocational Excellence
(5) Relational and Leader Development.
These study guides are designed to facilitate personal growth, for small-group conversations, or even as the basis for a workshop. They’re oriented to Christian academics who desire to have a redemptive influence among students, colleagues, and disciplines in pluralistic universities.
If you’re interested in writing a study guide for the Society, contact Dr. Stephen Garrett (sgarrett@global-scholars.org) and he will provide you with the study guide prospectus and an author proposal guide. If the proposal is accepted by the editorial team, remuneration between $600 and $800 USD is available.
Call for Book Reviewers
If you would like to write a 1,000-word review on the following book, please contact Dr. Stephen Garrett at sgarrett@global-scholars.org for further details. Reviews will be highlighted and published in a special section of our Society member site.
Upcoming Conference
Asia-Oceania Conference 2023 (by INCHE)
INCHE, a partner of the Society of Christian Scholars, is holding a conference in partnership with Handong Global University in Pohang, South Korea, on 20–22 June 2023. INCHE is pleased to announce the call for papers and presentations for the INCHE Asia-Oceania Conference.
Call for Presentations
This English language conference will be hosted by: Handong Global University in Pohang, Republic of Korea (South Korea) on the theme: Christian Scholars: Forming Identity, Building Community.
Paper and presentation proposals should demonstrate how Christian scholarship is actualized or executed in a field of research/education. Papers and presentations should have an emphasis on how the identity of Christian scholars is formed and nurtured in a field of study or an educational institution. Be sure to consider ideas about how Christian scholarship is strengthened by communities within a variety of scholarly areas (interdisciplinary). Proposal information, including a description of 300-500 words‚ should be completed and submitted no later than January 31, 2023.
Paper and Presentation Proposals must be submitted in the English Language Presentations may be presented in the English or Korean Language, with live translations available.
To find more details and register, visit INCHE.
Upcoming Webinars
Does it feel as if you are pushing water uphill? That your institution (parish, university, committee, or community) will never budge? You may see that institutional change is needed, whether due to inequities, ineffectiveness, or ineptitude, but you are not sure where to begin or how to assess what needs to be done to bring about such change.
On Thursday, 19 January 2023 at 1400 UTC, Dr Elizabeth Liebert will illustrate how systems work to preserve the status quo and will demonstrate how the ‘Social Discernment Cycle’ can assist in overcoming this resistance and discerning the steps to institutional change. Dr Liebert, Professor Emerita of San Francisco Theological Seminary, member of the Doctoral Faculty at Graduate Theological Union, and a member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, has taught for over three decades on topics such as culture and mission, spiritual practices, and discernment. Her current research centers on aspects of the academic discipline of Christian spirituality, and in particular on the practice of discernment, both personally and in institutional settings.
In preparation for the webinar, be sure to review the introduction to Dr Liebert’s book, The Soul of Discernment: A Spiritual Practice for Communities and Institutions (Westminster John Knox, 2015).
Don’t miss this insightful and practical webinar. Register today!
*This webinar is a precursor to a possible workshop under consideration for summer 2023, depending upon how many Society members are interested. A survey of interest will be taken during the webinar.
Immediately following the webinar, you will have the opportunity to connect and catch up with colleagues from around the world. So plan to stay on the call for another 30 minutes or so if possible.
Learning, Liberation, and Consolation by Zena Hitz – Thursday, 16 February 2023 at 1400 UTC
C. S. Lewis offers poignant observations in his essay ‘Learning in War Time’ about why learning under duress is of immense value, even indispensable. Human life has been and always will be under duress. If we pursued truth, goodness, and beauty only when times were pleasant or secure, then the search would never have begun in the first place.
On Thursday, 16 February 2023 at 1400 UTC, Prof Zena Hitz, tutor at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD and author of the book Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life, will discuss why we have many stories of people who turned to learning in times of great difficulty or systematic diminishment, such as prisoners or those living in poverty or under totalitarianism. In doing so, Prof Hitz maintains that learning is revealed as a source of dignity, which is the root of liberation (when liberation is possible) and consolation when it is not.
We hope you will be inspired, encouraged, and challenged in your academic vocation! Register today!
Immediately following the webinar, you will have the opportunity to connect and catch up with colleagues from around the world. Plan to stay on the call for another 30 minutes or so if possible.
Note: Be sure to check the Society’s Webinars Page for third-party webinars that are often added with short notice and for updated presenters and topics that may be helpful in equipping you to bring the gospel to bear in your university context.
