Relaunch of The Expository Times

Alison Jack, the executive editor of the Expository Times, has sent me this information about the relaunch of the journal. I asked if I might also make it available on the blog and she was happy to agree:

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Relaunch of The Expository Times

For over a century The Expository Times has enjoyed a reputation for its thought-provoking articles, helpful sermons and stimulating book reviews.

The Journal has large and dedicated following all over the world and many of our readers subscribe to The Expository Times throughout their working life.

With its roots in biblical scholarship, The Expository Times provides a valuable service in the continuing education of the ministry and over the years has evolved to reflect this.

In the Spring of 2005 The Expository Times will be re-launched to meet the demands of a 21st century readership. The re-launch will be accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign to thousands of ministers, colleges and seminaries worldwide.

We are therefore now inviting friends and colleagues to contribute articles to the new look Expository Times.

The ingredients which have made The Expository Times popular and successful over the years will still be very much in evidence in the new journal and The Expository Times’ principal focus will remain biblical. However, we are looking to expand the remit of the journal to cover other areas of interest to our readership. Our readers have indicated to us that they are interested in a wide range of scholarly issues covering aspects of current debate in academic circles but written in a clear and accessible way.

Expository Times’ readers are highly educated and informed and we want at all costs to maintain the academic credibility of the journal but we also need to adapt to appeal to the demands of a minister working in a busy environment. Therefore we are looking for stimulating and informative articles of 3-4000 words in length, on the bible and theology, in particular, relating to the ministry and avoiding any unnecessary academic jargon.

The format of the journal, which will be familiar to many of you, will remain relatively unchanged. Roughly divided into three sections the journal will feature articles, a worship resources section (including commentaries and sermons) and book reviews.

The journal appeals to an international, interdenominational audience, with a wide range of theological viewpoints, and articles should reflect this. The following offers a rough guide to the themes we are looking for but is by no means exhaustive:

· The bible and contemporary society
· Apocryphal writings
· New and Old Testament history and background
· Social issues including gender and race
· Ethical dilemmas
· Liturgy and worship including history and liturgical change
· Pastoral matters
· Practical Theology
· Contemporary issues affecting the Church
· Surveys of literature in the field
· Hymns and hymn writers
· Using multimedia in sermons
· Practical preaching tips
· Preaching on themes
· Preparing sermons for various audiences, eg children, teenagers, racially mixed audience etc
· Using the internet
· Interfaith issues
· Biography
· Autobiographical articles, charting the evolution of the thinking of a theologian or biblical scholar

We very much hope that you will want to contribute an article and would like to invite you to contact us to let us know what you would be willing to offer.

In particular, we are looking for contributions to be published in April, May and June 2005 for which copy will be needed by the beginning of November, December 2004 and January 2005.
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You can contact the editor on a.jack@ed.ac.uk.