Editors’ Newsletter
Believers Church Bible Commentary
Vols. 12–13, No. 1, 2008

Contents (click on title to go directly to topic)

Isaiah Volume Nears Completion
Johns Begins Role as New Testament Editor
In Memoriam
BCBC Council Highlights from San Diego (2007)
BCBC Council Highlights from Washington, D.C. (2006)
Writers Workshop, Washington, D.C. (2006)
New BCBC Writers Handbook
BCBC Writers Activity
BCBC Progress
Sales Report
Promotion by Herald Press
Reviews
Members of the Editorial Council
Address Changes

The editors’ newsletter serves to communicate matters of interest and importance with BCBC writers. This issue reflects the calendar years 2006 and 2007.

Isaiah Volume Nears Completion (to top)

The Isaiah volume, begun by Ivan Friesen a dozen years ago, is nearing completion. This past November, the Council approved the manuscript, subject to review of several recommendations. Herald Press is hopeful the volume can appear sometime in 2008.

Johns Begins Role as New Testament Editor (to top)



In April 2006, Loren L. Johns was affirmed in the role of New Testament editor for the series. Johns recently served as academic dean for Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana, where he is now Associate Professor of New Testament. In the late 1980s Johns served as Theology Book Editor for Herald Press. Johns is the author or editor of several books, including The Lamb Christology of the Apocalypse of John: An Investigation into Its Origins and Rhetorical Force (Mohr/Siebeck, 2003), and Apocalypticism and Millennialism: Shaping a Believers Church Eschatology for the Twenty-First Century (Pandora Press, 2000).

In Memoriam (to top)





It is with sadness that we learned of the passing of BCBC writer and Mennonite pastor James Waltner on December 18, 2007, in Goshen, Indiana, at the age of 76. We are very grateful that, after some twenty years of work, his BCBC volume on the Psalms was published in 2006. His obituary is in Mennonite Weekly Review, Jan. 7, 2008, p. 7.

 

 

 

We also mourn with Estella Horning (past member of the BCBC Editorial Council) the passing on December 26, 2007, of her husband, Dr. John S. Horning.

 

 

 

 

BCBC Council Highlights from San Diego (2007) (to top)

The Editorial Council held its annual meeting in San Diego on November 16, 2007. Highlights follow:

  • Ivan Friesen’s Isaiah manuscript was approved toward publication (see above).
  • Writers’ progress was reported on Isaiah, Joshua, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Chronicles, Luke, Galatians, and Pastoral Epistles.
  • Willard Swartley’s sample for the Gospel of John was approved.
  • Because the membership of the Editorial Council is currently all male, denominations will be encouraged to choose future representatives among women and/or someone with a different cultural perspective from that of most of the current members.
  • It was clarified and recommended that each Council member send a report and the min­utes after each year’s Council meetings to their denominational offices.
  • Some brainstorming is being done on possible supplemental volumes to the commentary series.

BCBC Council Highlights from Washington, D.C. (2006) (to top)

The Editorial Council held its annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on November 16–17, 2006. Highlights follow:

  • Richard Gardner was welcomed as Church of the Brethren representative to the Editorial Council.
  • Writers’ progress was reported for Joshua, Isaiah, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, 1 Corinthians, and Galatians.
  • The Council expressed appreciation for the work of Gordon Zerbe, outgoing NT editor, for his service to the commentary series over the past several years.
  • The Council prepared and participated in a Writers Workshop following their meetings (see below).

Writers Workshop, Washington, D.C. (November 17, 2006) (to top)

• A workshop was held for BCBC writers in Washington, D.C., just prior to the beginning of the AAR/SBL convention in November 2006. Eighteen scholars converged to review the origin, history, and purposes of the BCBC series and to identify common challenges in writing.

• A dinner for BCBC writers and Editorial Council members was held that evening to celebrate the publication of 20 volumes in the series over the past twenty years (from Jeremiah to Psalms). Past editors Elmer Martens and Willard Swartley reflected on their experiences and urged the group to press on to the completion of the series.

New BCBC Writers Handbook (to top)

  • A BCBC handbook for writers was distributed in Washington, D.C., November 2006, at the writers workshop. It is a compilation and slight revision of documents used to guide authors, editors, and Editorial Council members in the process of developing volumes in the series.
  • In addition to matters of style and explanations of various parts of the BCBC commentaries, the handbook includes a brief history of the project, the visionary document (1983) which guided the process for many years, and a response guide for reader-consultants.
  • If any writers do not have a copy, they may request one from their editor.
  • It is expected that the handbook will be updated and expanded in the years ahead.

BCBC Writers Activity (a sample) (to top)

BCBC Progress (to top)

Two years ago, BCBC celebrated the publication of twenty volumes of the series in twenty years (10 OT and 10 NT). Thus, on average, one OT or one NT volume was produced every year. Since that landmark celebration, no new volumes have reached the publisher. That is about to change. With the anticipation that Ivan Friesen’s Isaiah volume will be out sometime in 2008, the editors expect that at least one OT volume will be published per year for the next several years. Several NT volumes are also expected to reach the publication stage during that time. Volumes nearing completion include Joshua, Ecclesiastes/Song of Songs/Lamentations, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Luke, Galatians, and the Pastoral Epistles.

Sales Report (2007) (to top)

  • Over 1500 units of BCBC commentaries were sold in 2007. The top sellers in 2007 were Psalms, Revelation, Ephesians, and Mark.
  • Since 1986, when the first BCBC commentary appeared, nearly 42,000 units of the BCBC commentaries have been sold (through Nov. 2007).

Promotion by Herald Press (2007) (to top)

  • As in previous years, Herald Press displayed the BCBC series this past November at the Evangelical Theological Association convention and at the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature convention.
  • This year we featured the BCBC Series in Adult Bible Study, Canadian Mennonite, Leader, Equipping, Messenger, and Purpose. This past year we concentrate our advertising on magazines directed toward the Anabaptist market, but with new titles, we will also aim at ministers and other professionals in the religious field.
  • Ministers Book Club continues to be one of the best promotional venues for us. Over 860 ministers are now members of this club. The BCBC volumes are consistently one of the top sellers to this market.
  • In 2007 we sent two mailings to book buyers and owners of bookstores. Whenever one volume is mentioned we try to include information on the complete series.
  • We have included information in Sunday school mailings. In December 2007 we sent out 14,000 copies of our Christmas Flyer (includes Psalms). Early in January we sent 22,000 copies of our 2008 Herald Press catalog to ministers, bookstores, professors, libraries, and individuals.
  • During the year we sent two mailings to over 3,600 professors.
  • In electronic form, the Believers Church Bible Commentary Series is available through Logos Bible Software, and NetLibrary.

Reviews (excerpts) (to top)

Proverbs, by John W. Miller
Ultimately, when it comes to a commentary, I respond as a pastor and teacher. Utility is very important. Can I refer to this volume piecemeal, studying portions for sermons and Bible study lessons, always under the pressure of time constraints which the pastorate brings? The answer is yes. … There are plenty of sermons and lessons to be mined from this book. The topics jump from Bible to life and back again. Wisdom literature itself is grounded in hard headed reality, and Miller insists that any division between revealed and natural religion (and some would say that Wisdom is part of the latter) is artificial and alien to the text. (Franz Ramirez, Brethren Life and Thought, summer 2006)

Miller is strongest in following through with his thesis and demonstrating that he can consistently support it through much of the book. … The book is a bit dense for one directed to lay people, but, taken a chapter or two at a time, it uncovers a fresh way to understand the biblical book and reveals helpful insights. There is wisdom here, both in the biblical book and in the comments of the author. This book will be helpful to pastors and teachers as they prepare lessons and sermons from Proverbs. (Wilma Ann Bailey)

Psalms, by James Waltner
Anyone who aspires to write a commentary on Psalms must be both bold and disciplined. James Waltner rises to the task in his recent contribution of Psalms to the Believers Church Bible Commentary Series. … As well (and as might be expected in an Anabaptist commentary series), Waltner offers several essays focusing on themes relating to peace: Enemies, Imprecation (curse), Vengeance, War and War Images, Wrath of God. These themes are rarely treated with such consistency in other commentaries, making this one of the BCBC’s key offerings. … James Waltner has provided a solid and thoughtful volume to prod us …, guiding readers on a spiritual tour through one hundred and fifty “sites” of ancient biblical worship. Congregations will certainly be enriched if pastors, teachers, and worship leaders spend time exploring both the liturgical and practical applications Waltner suggests. (Randy Klassen, Mennonite Brethren Herald, Sept. 2007)

Mark, by Timothy J. Geddert
Despite its brevity, … Mark is anything but a mere condensed version of its canonical counterparts. It has its own story of Jesus to tell, a story that is both moving and engaging. Those same dynamic qualities pervade the recent commentary on Mark by Timothy J. Geddert. … Eminently readable, Geddert’s well-crafted work was prepared for the Believers Church Commentary Series. … The choices that Geddert made have resulted in a commentary that will be immensely helpful to a broad range of users, including pastors, teachers, and students. To put it another way, Mark achieves the goal of the Believers Church Commentary Series in an admirable manner. (Richard B. Gardner, Brethren Life and Thought, July 2007)

Ruth, Jonah, Esther, by Eugene F. Roop
Roop’s work on the books of Ruth, Jonah, and Esther succeeds admirably in achieving the aims of the series. … Roop gives commendable attention to the roles of women. … Roop provides a masterful narrative analysis of Ruth, Jonah, and Esther. … He assists readers in seeing the nuances of particular words, and explores the author’s use of the techniques of Hebrew narrative. Roop discusses the most significant positions that current scholarship has proposed on each passage that arouses any controversy, allowing readers to make their own decisions—a helpful approach for a book that may be used in Bible study groups. … Roop shows a particular sensitivity to the challenge of applying Anabaptist ethics to today’s world, and a laudable awareness of feminist and racist issues. … Roop frequently draws upon recent scholarship, as he does when pointing out the negotiation over gender roles demanded of women who have been displaced from the security promised them in the ideals of the patriarchal social structure. … The text is accessible to all readers, and is highly recommended as a resource for Sunday school teachers and Bible study groups. (Pauline Nigh Hogan, Brethren in Christ History and Life)

Members of the Editorial Council (to top)

Address Changes (to top)

Sincerely,

Douglas B. Miller and Loren L. Johns



MennoMedia Herald Press Third Way Media Faith & Life Resources Job Openings Donate
Contact Us Staff Directory