Dear Colleagues in the ETS

September 10, 2008

Dear Colleagues in the ETS,

In March 2007, we informed you of a change in the way the Annual Meeting would be run, beginning in November 2008. We are organizing most of the papers into discrete “program units,” each organized around specific topics or areas of study. This reorganization builds upon the study-group model that has been in place for some time, in which groups of scholars with similar interests gather and interact with each other, guided by steering committees steeped in those areas or disciplines.

If you look at the program book for the November 2008 meeting, you will see many new program units this year. Indeed, if you are reading a paper in one of the areas covered by any of the new program units, you will remember that you were asked to submit your proposal in March to the individual chairperson of that program unit (and not to Bruce Ware, the overall Program Chairman for the November meeting).

However, we still lack program units for a number of important areas or disciplines.

Thus, this letter comes as a call for groups of scholars to step forward in the remaining disciplines and take responsibility for handling the paper proposals and the disciplinary sessions in future years. Here is a listing of current, established program units. (See “ETS Program Units Defined” below for explanation of the different program units here.)

Established Sections / Established Study Groups / New Consultations (in 2008)
American Christianity / Dispensationalism / Asian/Asian-American Theology
Biblical Theology / Early Christianity in Asia Minor / Biblical Worship
Counseling, Psychology, and Pastoral Care / Evangelical Theology and Postmodernity / Christian Ethics
Evangelicals and Gender / God and God Incarnate / Christianity and Culture
Hebrews, Letter to the / Expository Preaching and Hermeneutics / Creation
Hermeneutics / Literature of the Bible / Discourse Grammar and Biblical Exegesis
Method in Systematic Theology / Other Voices in Biblical Interpretation / Israelite Religions
OT Narrative Literature / Study of Alternative Religions / Luke-Acts
Pastoral Theology / Wesleyan Studies / Missional Church, The
Patristics and Medieval History / Young Scholars / Models of God
Pauline Studies / NT Canon, Textual Criticism, and Apocryphal Literature
Pentateuch / NT Greek Language and Exegesis
Spiritual Formation/Sanctification / Philosophical Theology
Synoptic Gospels / Textual Strategies in the Hebrew Bible

As you can see, the variety of fields of study is broad and encouraging. But, many areas remain to be “taken.” Below is a minimal list of areas still needing steering committees:

Old Testament: / New Testament: / Theology:
Wisdom
Prophecy/Apocalyptic
Psalms/Poetry
Ancient Near East
Other:______/ Intertestamental/Qumran
Johannine Writings
General Epistles/Revelation
Greco-Roman World
Other:______/ Prolegomena/Apologetics
Scripture: Doctrine/Canon of
Pneumatology
Soteriology/Anthropology
Ecclesiology
Eschatology
Other:______
History of Christianity: / Other:
Reformation/Early Modern History
Modern History of Christianity
Other:______/ Bible Translation/Linguistics
Ethics
Evangelism/Missions
Other:______

We welcome any and all proposals for new program units, including areas not represented on the table above. But, we especially would like to see the above areas of study represented by steering committees who will help in organizing their area’s line-up in each annual meeting, since these are such “core” areas of study.

If you are interested in helping the Society move forward in this new endeavor, please gather a group of 4-6 scholars working in the discipline, and submit the “Application for Consultation Status.” Be sure to read all three documents below before applying:

(1) “ETS Program Units Defined”

(2) “Guidelines for New Consultations”

(3) “Application for New Consultation Status.”

The deadline for submission is November 1. Applications will be processed by the Program-Units Committee and then forwarded to the Executive Committee for approval at its November 18, 2008 meeting. If your proposal is approved, then your group will be listed as a Consultation in the 2009 Call for Papers, and your first public session would be in November 2009.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, in Him,

David Howard ()

For the Program-Units Committee:

David Howard (chair), Gerry Breshears, David Buschart, and Mark Strauss.

ETS Program Units Defined

“Program Unit” is the umbrella term for any of the following:

Section:

A Section is the program unit most broadly defined, representing areas of general interest, and it offers presenters the most access for unsolicited papers. Normally, a Section will have two sessions[1] at the Annual Meeting, one of which must be open. The other session may consist of invited papers, theme papers (related to the Annual-Meeting theme or a theme selected by the Section’s steering committee), or open papers, i.e., open to paper proposals from the Society’s members, from which the Section’s steering committee will choose its line-up.

A Section is normally granted status for a six-year term, and is renewable indefinitely, contingent on its demonstrating continued viability and compliance with the goals for all program units and the Society at large. Responsibility for Sections resides with each Section’s chairperson and steering committee, answerable to the Executive Committee (via the Program-Units Committee).

Study Group:

A Study Group is more narrowly defined. It consists of scholars working in a collaborative fashion on a more narrowly defined topic, requiring active participation. Normally, a Study Group is assigned one session in the Annual Meeting, consisting of invited papers.

A Study Group is normally granted status for a six-year term, and is renewable once. If a particular Study Group wishes to continue longer than this, it must take a two-year hiatus, and apply for new status as a Consultation in the third year. Study Groups are strongly encouraged to work toward publication of the results of their work. Responsibility for Study Groups resides with each Study Group’s chairperson and steering committee, answerable to the Executive Committee (via the Program-Units Committee).

Consultation:

“Consultation” is the designation for all newly-proposed program units. A Consultation will be approved for a three-year term, after which it must apply for renewed status as a Section or Study Group, or else disband. Normally, Consultations are granted one session in the Annual Meeting, consisting of invited papers. Responsibility for Consultations resides with each Consultation’s chairperson and steering committee, answerable to the Executive Committee (via the Program-Units Committee).

2/08

Guidelines for New Consultations

Introduction

New Consultations should be distinct from existing program units. Topics should reflect a range of opinion for discussion rather than a particular position to be promoted. Steering committees must be broadly representative of the range of viewpoints or methodologies found within the Society, as well as broadly represented across institutional and denominational lines. The tone established in all Consultations should be irenic, scholarly, critical-thinking, and Christ-like in papers and discussion. Consultations will not be approved that are highly partisan. Opposing views must not be silenced or ridiculed within the Consultation, either in papers or discussions.

Consultations are approved for initial three-year terms. Normally, Consultations are granted one session in the Annual Meeting, consisting of three or four invited papers. Responsibility for Consultations resides with each Consultation’s chairperson and steering committee, answerable to the Executive Committee (via the Program-Units Committee).

Upon Approval

Once approved, the Consultation’s leadership should keep accurate records of its meetings each year, including a list of all presenters and paper titles, an accurate count of attendees at each session, and a general note about the degree of success of each year’s session. These are required elements for the Consultation’s application for renewal as a Section or a Study Group in its third year. At that time, a plan for the next two years’ sessions must also be presented.

Consultations are responsible for putting together their line-up of papers. The completed line-up must be submitted by the announced deadline (usually in March) to the Executive Committee’s Program Chairperson, for inclusion in the Annual Meeting program book.

Normally, presenters and respondents at the Annual Meeting must be ETS members. Exceptions are granted on a limited basis. Each program unit is allowed to invite one outside presenter or respondent for whom the conference registration fee will be waived.

Responsibilities

A Consultation must have a steering committee of four to six ETS full members in good standing, including its designated chairperson.

Chairpersons’ responsibilities will include the following:

· Soliciting papers for the Consultation’s session.

· Attending the annual chairpersons’ breakfast.

· Reporting room needs and lineups of papers to the Program Chair.

· Reporting session information to the Program-Units Committee

· Setting general direction and collegial tone for the Consultation.

Steering committee members’ responsibilities are to aid and support their chairperson in the above tasks.

Renewal

Consultations are approved for an initial three-year term, during the last year of which they must choose one of three options:

(1) Apply for status as a Study Group.

(2) Apply for status as a Section.

(3) Disband.

For descriptions of what Study Groups and Sections are, see the document entitled “ETS Program Units Defined.”

If you wish to apply for renewal, you must submit your group’s application to the Program-Units Committee by June 1 of the third year of its term, c/o its chair, David Howard ().

Consultations applying for renewal are required to provide full records of their sessions in the first two years, including all papers and presenters, and an accurate count of attendees at each session. In addition, they must include the proposed slate for the third year, as well as an outline of plans for the two years following that.

Revised 9/08

Application for New Consultation Status

“Consultation” is the designation for all newly-proposed program units in the ETS. A Consultation will be approved for a three-year term, after which it must apply for renewed status as a Section or a Study Group, or else disband. Normally, Consultations will be granted one session in the Annual Meeting, consisting of three or four invited papers. Responsibility for Consultations resides with each Consultation’s chairperson and steering committee, answerable to the Executive Committee (via the Program-Units Committee).

A written application normally must be submitted to the ETS Program-Units Committee by June 1 of a given year. This Committee will forward its recommendations to the ETS Executive Committee, which will normally make its decisions about approval at its August meeting (and sometimes at its November meeting). This will allow the newly-formed Consultation to be included in the Call for Papers in December, and to have its first session in November of the following year.

The application must consist of the following items (all in one MS Word document):

· the proposed Consultation’s title

· a synopsis of the Consultation’s theme (40-50 words)

· a rationale for the Consultation’s existence (50-100 words)

· the names and a short vita (no more than one page) for each steering committee member, including phone numbers, and postal and e-mail addresses for each. The steering committee must have four to six full members of the Society in good standing, including chairperson.

· preferred program slot, if any (e.g., Wed. morning, Thurs. afternoon); no guarantees can be offered, but requests will be taken seriously.

· estimated size of the Consultation.

Applications should be submitted to David Howard, Program-Units Committee Chair, at . (Other members of this committee are Gerry Breshears, David Buschart, and Mark Strauss.) Applications will be judged on the basis of the quality and level of interest in the topic and the quality and commitment of the leadership.

Revised 9/08

[1] A session is a block of time (e.g., Wednesday morning or Thursday afternoon), in which 3-5 slots for papers are normally assigned. Section chairpersons should consult with the Executive Committee’s Program Chairperson concerning the specific number of slots in the session(s) being requesting.