In a previous post, I mentioned the forthcoming book Quo Vadis, Evangelicalism? which will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. The work will feature nine selected presidential addresses delivered by past ETS presidents plus an introduction and epilogue by the editor and appendices listing all the past ETS presidential addresses and names and years of tenure of Journal editors. As JETS editor and as general editor of the volume, allow me to whet your appetite for the volume, which will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, by sharing a couple endorsements that have come in for the book.
Timothy George, the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and a senior editor of Christianity Today, says, “John Stott once defined evangelicals as Bible people and Gospel people. This anthology of ETS presidential addresses shows how these two lodestars—an unswerving commitment to the totally truthful Word of God written and the transforming message through the living Word of God, Jesus Christ—has guided the evangelical academy for the past half-century. This book has both historic importance and contemporary relevance for the issues evangelicals face today.”
David Wells, Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, endorses the book with these words: “This book gives us a snapshot of evangelical scholars engaging their world over the last fifty years. It is a valuable history. But more than that, it also shows just how difficult it is to preserve Christian orthodoxy, constantly beset as it is by questions, challenges, and perplexities. This calls for both fidelity and wisdom and these presidents showed that they had what was needed.”
I believe the book will make an important contribution to the future of the evangelical movement. Quoting from the Introduction, “Speaking personally, reading and digesting these presidential addresses … has given me, a third-generation scholars in the ETS, a much fuller and deeper appreciation for the history of the evangelical movement and my place within it. No one reading these addresses can fail to benefit from the tremendous collective wisdom offered by these guiding visions.” I look forward to see many of you at the November Annual Meeting and at the ETS Banquet on Thursday night.
NOTE: The program of the upcoming ETS Annual Meeting has now been posted here.
