Volume 10 Issue 2

Ten years. That's right. Ten years. Who would have believed that the fledgling effort to launch this journal in the Spring of 1998 could have survived, much less develop into the growing enterprise that constitutes SCJ today.

I do remember the night the idea that was percolating in my mind to start an academic journal to represent Christian Churches (independent) in particular but the wider Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement in general came out into the open. Chris DeWelt, then president of College Press, had swung through St. Louis to meet with me in my office at Saint Louis Christian College on a Sunday night in 1997 to talk about the status of my 2 Corinthians commentary for the NIV College Press Commentary Series. After talking briefly about that, I asked him about other efforts I had heard about to launch a journal. When he said they had not come to fruition, I asked the burning question, "Do you still want to start one? Because if you do, I think I can put together a team to pull it off." When he said, "Yea, I think so," that was all I needed to hear. I quickly contacted the young, ambitious scholars from Christian churches (independent) that I had been thinking about—Paul Kissling (Old Testament), Jon Weatherly (New Testament), and Richard Knopp (philosophy)—and those from Churches of Christ (a cappella) I had in mind—Doug Foster (history) and Paul Pollard (NT)—and we became the editorial board for the first three years.

Since then others have come on to the editorial board and a consulting board of 16 was added in 2005 and currently numbers 17. SCJ also left the nest of College Press in 2005 to form Stone-Campbell International, a non-profit entity established to promote and preserve scholarship in the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. SCJ Conference at which hundreds of scholars, students, and ministers gather annually for mutual support and stimulation since 2001, has becoming bigger and better every year. SCJ has sponsored an annual lecture at the North American Christian Convention since 2001.The stone-campbelljournal.com website, begun  in 2002 and scheduled for a breathtaking re-launch any moment, has had thousands of visitors from all over the world.

Four people who deserve public recognition for their crucial part in SCJ over the years should be mentioned in this edition that celebrates ten years of SCJ. Two people whose names always appear in the fine print of the inside front cover but probably go unnoticed are Shy and Dan Rees. Shy has copyedited all twenty issues of SCJ and Dan has typeset them. They continue to be a great team to work with. Two other people do not appear anywhere on the journal, Jeff Derico and Joni Sullivan Baker (my wife). Both have been invaluable consultants especially in the last few years of transition and development. Also deserving of recognition is Cincinnati Christian University, which has been highly supportive of this enterprise, both personally and institutionally.

Finally, warm thanks goes to subscribers, especially the 130 or so
original subscribers who have stood by SCJ through our many stages of growth. Thanks also to our new group of financial supporters we call Millennial Scholars (yes, a nod to Millennial Harbinger) who have become initial donors to our annual fundraising effort to support the services of Stone-Campbell International that go beyond the printing and mailing of two issues a year to subscribers.

Fittingly, this volume features an article that evaluates the scholarship in Christian Churches (independent) since the separation from Disciples began in 1923. This article is the last in a series on this topic, the first concerning scholarship in Churches of Christ (a cappella) by Mark Hamilton in 9.2, the second concerning scholarship in the Disciples of Christ by Eugene Boring in 10.1. This article, written by Paul Kissling, Tony Springer, and myself, documents the encouraging signs of resurging scholarship in Christian churches, with over 65 Ph.D.'s accounted for in biblical and related studies. The work of most of them is probably unknown to SCJ readers, but we have tried very hard to publish this information throughout the article. If we have missed accounting for someone, please let me know and we will publish an addendum in the future. They deserve this recognition for the sacrifices they and their families have made to complete their various dissertations and writing projects, and SCJ is pleased to be able to provide it.

That's what SCJ is in this to do. Hopefully, many more articles will appear from these scholars and others for SCJ readers to profit from in future issues.

Also appearing in this issue is one of the fine lectures given by
Eckhard Schnabel at the 2007 SCJ Conference. Jam-packed with data
on Paul's travels, it challenges the notion of referring to Paul as conducting just three missionary journeys, when in fact he was conducting missionary work throughout all phases of his life after his conversion. Shawn Smith and Ross Moret provide two more articles in SCJ's growing collection on open theism. Smith challenges the claims of some open theists who wish to link their views to Justin Martyr. Moret astutely observes that, however biblical based open theism might or might not be, this understanding of God is inextricably linked to current North American trends in other related fields.

Finally, the seventh annual SCJ Conference, again hosted by Cincinnati Bible Seminary -- Graduate Division of Cincinnati Christian University, will be April 11-12, 2008 (8:30 AM, Fri - Noon, Sat). The theme is Back to the Future: Searching for Theology in the Stone-Campbell Movement. Guest lecturers include: Richard Hughes (Senior Fellow, Ernest L. Boyer Center, Distinguished Professor of Religion Messiah College) who will present "Converted Anew to Christ by Barton W. Stone," James Duke (Professor of Christianity and History of Christian Thought, Brite Divinity School) who will present Theology and Hermeneutics of the Early Stone-Campbell Movement," and Richard Cherok (Professor of Church History, Cincinnati Christian University) who will present, "The Apologetics of Alexander Campbell."

Other related papers or papers on other biblical, theological, or
historical topics are sought for parallel sessions from experienced and student scholars. Send your paper title (no abstract required) to me by December 1, 2007, to scjeditor@aol.com. Further information and online registration is available on the SCJ website (stone-campbelljournal.com) or from conference registrar, Sue Fisher (susanfisher@wanax.com; phone: 513-284-5853). A formal student paper competition will occur at undergraduate and graduate levels. Contact Rick Cherok (rick.cherok@ccuniversity.edu) no later than December 1, 2007, for the details.

William R. Baker, Editor