American Religion

• Kathy Pulley, Missouri State University, Emeritus, Chair, kathypulley@missouristate.edu
• Scott Billingsley, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
• Douglas A. Foster, Abilene Christian University, Emeritus
• James Gorman, Johnson University
• Richard T. Hughes, Lipscomb University
• Corey Markum, Freed-Hardeman University

The American Religion Section of the Christian Scholars' Conference is soliciting papers for the June 5-7 meeting in Houston, TX. Special consideration will be given to the following themes:

1. In conjunction with the conference theme, "Hope: Amidst Crises: Challenges, Opportunities, and Collaborations," we seek proposals that address the restoration movement’s churches. Do past challenges speak to hopeful opportunities for the future?
2. apocalyptic movements, utopian communities, or religious visions of hope.
3. Proposals related to societal issues that highlight religious views of human life, violence, and abuse.
4. Proposals related to relationships between gender and religion in the United States including but not limited to changing views on gender roles in religious communities, efforts related to gender justice, how gender and religion have interacted historically. 

Proposals need not be limited to historical methodologies. We also have an open call for papers not fitting under the previous themes. Especially encouraged are paper proposals related to the Stone-Campbell Movement.

Proposals should include an abstract of approximately 500 words. The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2023. Presentations should be approximately 15 minutes in length and will receive a formal response. All program participants must be registered for the conference. Please send proposals through the conference website at https://christianscholarsconference.org/submit-call-for-papers/. Questions may be directed to Scott Billingsley (American Religions section member) at scott.billingsley@uncp.edu. Participants will be notified by mid-February, 2024 of the status of their submission. For information about the CSC, please go to https://christianscholarsconference.org/. 

• Micki Pulleyking, Missouri State University, mpulleyking@missouristate.edu 
• Sara Barton, Pepperdine University

Click [here] for a description of this section.

Business and Economics

• Andy Borchers, Lipscomb University, Chair, andy.borchers@lipscomb.edu
• Rob Touchstone, Lipscomb University
• Allen W. Frazier, Harding University
• Orneita Burton, Abilene Christian University
• Russell Dabbs, Lubbock Christian University
• N. Lamar Reinsch, Georgetown University, Emeritus

This is a call for papers, panels, and posters for the Business and Economics section of the 2024 Christian Scholars Conference, to be held at the Lanier Theological Library and Learning Center in Houston, June 5-7, 2024. The theme for the 2024 Christian Scholars Conference is “Hope Amidst Crises: Challenges, Opportunities and Collaborations." We will have traditional 90-minute paper and panel sessions along with posters.  We also invite Pecha Kucha submissions. (A Pecha Kucha is a 6 min 40 sec presentation by a presenter who has 20 images automatically advancing at 20 second intervals behind them.)

Topics

We invite business & economics faculty and doctoral students to submit papers in any related field, including basic discovery, teaching and application work. We especially encourage submissions related to the conference theme, “Hope Amidst Crises: Challenges, Opportunities and Collaborations.''  This theme clearly speaks to interdisciplinary scholarship between business, economics, faith and other disciplines.

Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Liveable world - environmental sustainability and earth care
• Leadership
  • Women in leadership
  • Spirituality and leadership--including servant leadership
  • Leading social enterprises
  • Next generation leadership/Leadership development
  • Business skills for church leaders

• Business Ethics/Ethical perspectives and reasoning/Virtue ethics for business and economics
• Social responsibility of business
• Business, Christianity, and culture
• Economic development
• Purposeful Business and Business as Mission (BAM)
• Information systems/AI/Big data

We also seek submissions on the topic Teaching 2024: Content, Method, and Innovation

• What new issues are appearing in your courses? The gig economy? Lean start-ups? Multi-communication? Stewardship? Trade wars?
• What new methods are you using or refining? Hybrid teaching?  TED talks? Web-sites? Flipped classrooms? Student texting? Team projects?
• From what sources are you deriving ideas? Classical rhetoric? The visual arts? How are you innovating?

Business faculty face challenges in teaching at a Christian college.  We can better meet those challenges if we exchange ideas and information.  These sessions will allow you to share your perspectives, learn from your colleagues, and enrich your classroom.

For all proposals, please e-mail abstracts (maximum 300 words) by February 28, 2024 to Andy Borchers at Lipscomb University (andy.borchers@lipscomb.edu). All abstracts will undergo blind review.  Notification of acceptance will be given by March 15.

Church and Academy

• Garrett Best, York University, Chair, gbest@york.edu
• Heather Gorman, Johnson University
• Tiffany Dahlman, Abilene Christian University
• Peter Cariaga, Emory University

The theme of this year's Church and Academy section is Beginning in the Present: Genesis 1-2 in the Lab, Classroom, and Sanctuary.

Click [here] for information on this section's purpose

Civil Rights

• Wes Crawford, Abilene Christian University, Chair, twc99a@acu.edu
• Tanya Smith Brice, Council on Social Work Education
• Joel Anderson, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Chancellor Emeritus
• Raymond Carr, Harvard University
• Joi Carr, Pepperdine University
• Claire Davidson Frederick, Lipscomb University
• William Lofton Turner, Lipscomb University

Certainly, the story of civil rights within United States history belongs in the genre of tragedy. The legacies of the Middle Passage, chattel slavery, Jim Crow segregation, the Ku Klux Klan, lynching, racially-motivated assassinations, George Floyd, and mass incarceration cast long shadows upon the landscape of a nation so tied to the principles of freedom and liberty for all. Countless chapters of this tragic tale have already been told, and many more demand a hearing. Nevertheless, in keeping with the theme of this year’s Christian Scholars' Conference, we seek papers and panels that address stories of hope within this tragedy. Where are the stories of “Hope Amidst Crises” (past and present) in the realm of civil rights? Are there accounts of unsung heroes or untold events that might provide courage for civil rights activists today? All papers centering on the topic of civil rights will be considered, but special preference will be given to those studies and sessions that address stories of hope related to the struggle for civil rights. Please send your proposals to civilrightschristianscholars@gmail.com no later than January 21, 2024. You will be notified by the committee no later than February 15, 2024. 

Congregational Science

• Chris Gonzalez, Lipscomb University, Co-Chair, chris.gonzalez@lipscomb.edu
• Marsha Vaughn, Adler University, Co-Chair, mvaughn@adler.edu

The purpose of the Congregational Science section is to provide a scholarly forum to explore congregational processes through theoretical imagination and empirical inquiry. With an aim toward the
topic of “Hope Amidst Crises: Challenges, Opportunities and Collaborations.” the Congregational Science Section calls for proposals on the topic of “Hope Amidst Crises in Congregations.”

Proposals for papers may be theoretical, empirical, or practical works using the theories, tools, and practices of social science. Theoretical imagination includes the use of theories of social science (e.g. family science, psychology, sociology etc.) to better understand congregational process. Empirical inquiry includes the use of the quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods of social science to learn congregational processes. Practices include reports of implementation. This section invites papers by social scientists, church thinkersl and church practitioners examining congregations with the intended audience being ministers in congregations, congregational leaders, theologians, and social scientists with an interest in religious congregations.

Send proposals (250-500 words) to section co-chairs Chris Gonzalez (chris.gonzalez@lipscomb.edu) and Marsha Vaughn (mvaughn@adler.edu).

Creative Writing

Nancy Posey, Lipscomb University, Chair, nancy.posey@lipscomb.edu

This section reflects the avenue of creative writing to explore possibilities and to make sense of the world around us. While often considered a lonely endeavor, writing offers unique opportunities to connect through collaboration. We invite readings of poetry and prose that exemplifies the search for hope from a Christian perspective, as well as papers examining the role of creative writing, both individual and collaborative, to face challenges and crises.

In addition to sharing your own creative writing, consider those writers to whose words you turn in your own search for hope.

Early Careers Scholars in the Theological Disciplines

• Hannah Sutton-Adams, Boston College, Chair, suttonah@bc.edu
• Chance Juliano, Southern Methodist University
• Isaac Borbon, Vanderbilt University

The primary session within the Early Careers Scholars in the Theological Disciplines Section in 2024 is entitled, "Hope in Peril: The Power of Hope as a Virtue in addressing an Uncertain Future."

The crumbling ecological, ecclesial, and social aspects of our world imperils the very possibility of hope. Year after year, the dwindling Christian population in the U.S. leaves the future of the American Church far from certain. The presence of significant insularity between social groups leaves the prospects of adequately addressing systemic social ills quite dim. And if that were not bad enough, life on this planet as we know it hangs in the balance in the face of climate change. Such compounding uncertainty may tempt us to abandon hope. There may seem to be little use for hope when faced with such circumstances.

However, there is a longstanding tradition within Christian history of viewing hope as a virtue. More specifically, hope is not traditionally understood to be just any virtue but one of three infused virtues: faith, hope, and love. That is, such virtues are not acquired by mere human effort, but graciously given by God to heal the beleaguered soul. Thus, when we see the tension between the esteemed role that hope has played within Christian spirituality, on the one hand, and a very unhopeful future, on the other hand, an interesting question arises: What role does the virtue of hope play in addressing a perilous future? Or, more specifically, What unique role does hope play in addressing one (or more) of the three imperiled futures mentioned here (ecclesial, social, and ecological)?

This session, therefore, invites those scholars in the fields of Biblical studies, Christian education, ethics, history, philosophy of religion, practical theology, religious studies, sociology of religion, as well as theology to explore the role of hope in addressing the problem of an uncertain future. While submissions over any topic will be considered, we especially encourage those submissions which focus on the role of the theological virtue of hope in addressing some aspect of our uncertain futures (ecological, ecclesial, social). Preference will be given to students currently enrolled in doctoral programs. Co-authored papers are also welcome. Financial assistance to defray the cost of attending the conference may be available to selected presenters. Abstracts should be submitted no later than February 12, 2024. Applicants with accepted abstracts will be notified by February 28, 2024. A 250-word abstract should be emailed to Chance Juliano at cjuliano@smu.edu.

Sponsored Session

Ordinary Language, Stanley Cavell, and Theology

In addition we are pleased to offer a special session featuring Daniel Crouch, a Ph.D. student in theology at Baylor University — "Ordinary Language, Stanley Cavell, and Theology."

Ordinary language philosophy has maintained a steady influence within academic theology from figures like Alastair MacIntyre and Stanley Hauerwas. However, the influence of one of its proponents, Stanley Cavell, has increased dramatically in recent years. Though Cavell was not a theologian, Christian scholars have utilized his work on skepticism and our lives in community in creative ways. This session would invite early career scholars to reflect on the influence Cavell has had on theology and explore potential for new directions.

• Joi Carr, Pepperdine University, Chair joi.carr@pepperdine.edu

The Hermeneutics of Unity in and after Scripture

• David Stark, Faulkner University, dstark@faulkner.edu
• Daniel Oden, Harding University, doden@harding.edu

2024: Genesis 11:10–25:11 

Website Section Abstract 

The Hermeneutics of Unity in and after Scripture section explores the hermeneutics of unity involved in the reception of earlier texts by later ones within the biblical corpus, as well as by other authors and communities in Second Temple Judaism, early and medieval Christianity, and more contemporary periods. Across this literature, focused attention is given to the nature of the hermeneutic employed to foster and protect continued unity within each respective interpreting community. 

The section conceives of "hermeneutics" in a general sense that includes specific exegetical techniques but also directs attention to the presuppositions or worldviews that direct the applications of these techniques. Because "unity" has various conflicting definitions, the section welcomes explorations of these various kinds of unity, their promises, and their problems. The section further welcomes explorations of the hermeneutics of unity, whether that unity moves toward positive ends (e.g., orthodoxy, orthopraxy) or negative ones (e.g., slavery, segregation, anti-Semitism). 

Additional Section Details This year's papers treat the reception of Gen 11:10–25:11. Having addressed Gen 16 in 2023, this year's sessions will particularly focus on Gen 12–15, 17–19, and 22. 

The conveners are working to publish a volume of essays collected from this year's sessions and those from 2024, as well as a volume from previous years' sessions on Gen 1:1–11:9. So, the paper drafts delivered at the conference should be of (nearly) publishable quality. Final essays will likely be of 7500 words (+/- 10%). In addition, although the section is addressing issues that have long been central to the Stone-Campbell tradition, participants should address their essays to a more general audience. 

Each session consists of three 15-minute paper readings or summaries and one 15-minute response. Thereafter, discussion is invited among the panel and, time permitting, other session attendees. 

The conveners will both invite participants and welcome unsolicited proposals by email (david@jdavidstark.com, doden@harding.edu). Unsolicited proposals submitted by email should include a title and 85–100-word abstract.

Click [here] for a description of this section.

• Gary S. Selby, Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan College, Chair, GSSelby@milligan.edu

Practical Theology Section Call for Papers

The Practical Theology section invites submissions of individual scholarly papers and abstracts as well as proposals for Generative Sessions, on topics and questions related to intersections of theology, ministry, and Christian practice and experience. Session proposals can be for traditional papers, roundtables, or book review panels. Previous topics have included worship, liturgy, and the arts; spiritual formation; missiology; ecclesiology; pedagogy; pastoral care; church leadership; and faith and trauma. Papers and proposals that address the conference theme are particularly encouraged, as well as session proposals that include diverse voices and interdisciplinary representation.

In order to receive full consideration, papers and proposals should be submitted by December 1, 2023.

Papers and proposals undergo a peer review process and are accepted based on appropriateness to the conference theme and purpose, as well as on the availability of space in the overall conference program. 

Click [here] for information on this section's purpose.

Sciences

• John Lewis, Lipscomb University, Chair, john.lewis@lipscomb.edu
•  Helen Holmlund, Pepperdine University
• Amanda Nichols, Oklahoma Christian University

Theology & Philosophy

• David Mahfood, Johnson University, Chair, dmahfood@johnsonu.edu
• Derek Estes, Pepperdine University
• J. Caleb Clanton, Samford University
• Brad East, Abilene Christian University

Philosophy Section

The philosophy section of the CSC invites proposals for individual papers or for themed panels for the 2024 Christian Scholars’ Conference: Hope Amidst Crises. Papers or panels on any topic in philosophy are welcome, but special consideration will be given to topics within philosophy of religion or on philosophical topics related to the Stone-Campbell Movement.

Submission guidelines: Interested applicants should submit (i) a 500-word abstract and presentation title (the name of your file should be the title of your presentation) and (ii) a cover letter including your name, institutional affiliation, position at your institution, email address, and the title of your paper.

For a pre-arranged panel, please submit (i) a 500-word abstract with a title for the session (the name of your file should be the title of your session); (ii) a 500-word abstract for each paper in the session along with the title; and (iii) a cover letter including the name, institutional affiliation, position at the institution, and email address of each presenter.

These should be emailed to derek.estes@pepperdine.edu. To be eligible for consideration, abstracts should be .doc or .pdf format and should be prepared for blind review by removing any personally identifying information. Accepted presenters will be given at least 15-20 minutes to present their papers to be followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. The submission deadline is January 21, 2024 (11:59 pm EST).

Authors of accepted papers or panels will be notified by February 21, 2024. Any relevant questions should be directed to Derek Estes at derek.estes@pepperdine.edu.

Theology Section

The theology section of the CSC invites proposals for papers and/or themed panels for the 2024 Christian Scholars’ Conference: Hope Amidst Crises. Papers or panels on any topic in theology are welcome, but special consideration will be given to theological topics related to the Stone-Campbell Movement and/or to the conference theme (broadly construed).

Submission guidelines: Interested applicants should submit (i) a 500-word abstract and presentation title (the name of your file should be the title of your presentation) and (ii) a cover letter including your name, institutional affiliation, position at your institution, email address, and the title of your paper.

For a pre-arranged panel, please submit (i) a 500-word abstract with a title for the session (the name of your file should be the title of your session); (ii) a 500-word abstract for each paper in the session along with the title; and (iii) a cover letter including the name, institutional affiliation, position at the institution, and email address of each presenter.

These should be emailed to dmahfood@johnsonu.edu. To be eligible for consideration, abstracts should be .doc or .pdf format and should be prepared for blind review by removing any personally identifying information. Accepted presenters will be given at least 15-20 minutes to present their papers to be followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. The submission deadline is January 21, 2024 (11:59 pm EST).

Authors of accepted papers will be notified by February 21, 2024. Any relevant questions should be directed to David Mahfood at dmahfood@johnsonu.edu.

Click [here] for information on this section's purpose.