This is a call for papers, panels, and posters for the Business and Economics section of the 2023 Christian Scholars' Conference, to be held in Houston, Texas, at the Lanier Theological Library and Learning Center, June 7-9, 2023. The theme for the 2023 conference is "What Will Be Our Future?" 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, "What Will Be Our Future?" What does the future hold for higher education? For Christian higher education? For business/economics educators? For Christian business/economics educators?

Other possible topics may include, but are not limited to:

• 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
• Business as Mission (BAM) - including missional entrepreneurship
• Information systems/AI/Big data
• The post-COVID economy
• Teaching: Context, Method, Innovation
  • Generational challenges
  • Preparing students for the "gig" economy
  • Teaching in the post-COVID world
  • Online/hybrid teaching...and beyond (What will be the Next Big Thing?)
  • Introducing high inflation/high interest rate environment to a generation that has never seen it before.

For all proposals, please submit abstracts (maximum 300 words) by March 15, 2023 via the form below. All abstracts will undergo blind review. Notification of acceptance will be given by March 20, 2023.

Two sections of the Christian Scholars Conference focus on writing and writers, ideas and books, art and argument each year. One focuses on writing, creative work, and similar themes. The Christianity, Literature and Language section in 2022 included sessions with scholars from many universities including Wayland Baptist University, Texas Tech, ACU, Lipscomb, Oklahoma Christian, Lubbock Christian, Texas Christian University, Missouri Baptist University, and more.

Topics vary widely in these complimentary and intertwined areas of humanities and arts endeavors. Section committees are especially interested in literature of immigration, mentoring roundtables, public humanities efforts, STEM-H initiatives, and artists in MFA programs.

• Literature related to the theme
• Language issues related to the theme, particularly in the context of immigration
• Urgency to Lead and Build Cultural frameworks for Faith, Literature, and Linguistics
• Crisis and Opportunity in a STEM-crazed Academy
• Mentoring: A Hidden Strength or a Perilous Ghetto?
• Literary Criticism of Prose
• Literature and the Disciplines (eg., Psychology, Medicine, History)

A. Peer-Reviewed Sessions

B. Generative Sessions

C. Working Group Sessions

D. Poster or Performance Sessions

E. Book Review Sessions

F. Roundtable Sessions

For all proposals, please submit abstracts (85-100 words) by February 28, 2023 via the form below. Notification of acceptance will be given by March 20, 2023.

Though the term “civil rights” conjures images of black teenagers sitting at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960 or of Martin Luther King, Jr. leading a parade of marchers from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, one should not ignore those who advocate and strive for civil rights in the opening decades of the twenty-first century. The struggle for civil rights on behalf of the poor and marginalized of society is a timeless endeavor. In keeping with the theme for this year’s Christian Scholars Conference, we invite individual papers, generative sessions, or round table discussions centering on the on-going efforts for civil rights in our world. Sessions and papers could address, but are not limited to, those advocating for the rights often denied to individuals or groups based upon the color of their skin, the nation of their birth, the religion of their choice, the orientation of their sexuality, or the identity of their gender. 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 the current state and future trajectories of these civil rights movements.

Please submit your proposals via the form below no later than January 30, 2023. You will be notified by the committee no later than February 15, 2023.

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 Christian Scholars' Conference 2023 topic of "What Will Be Our Future?", the Congregational Science section calls for proposals on the topic of "The Future of Congregations." Proposals for papers may be theoretical or empirical works using the social sciences (e.g. family science, psychology, sociology, etc.) to better understand congregational processes. Empirical inquiry includes the use of the quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods of social sciences to learn congregational processes.l This section invites papers by social scientists examining congregations with the intended audience being ministers in congregations, congregational leaders, theologians, and social scientists with an interest in religious congregations.

Please submit proposals (250-500 words) via the form below no later than March 1, 2023.

We invite creative writing faculty, graduate students, and authors to submit proposals in any related field, including the teaching of writing in creative forms (poetry, fiction, memoir, etc), thematic analysis of creative works, or creative writing. We especially encourage submissions related to the conference theme, "What Will Be Our Future?" What does the future hold for writing?

Specific topics may include, but are not limited to:

-- Poetry and/or prose readings related to the conference theme

-- Writing and technology (the challenges or possibilities)

-- Writing mentorship experiences (including prison education)

-- Writing in the medical humanities

-- Creative Writing teachers and the future of Creative Writing

-- The future of publishing

For all proposals, please submit abstracts (85-100 words) by February 28, 2023 via the form below. Notification of acceptance will be given by March 20, 2023.

Insularity occurs when various communities or groups seem incapable of effectively communicating with one another. Sociologists, political scientists, philosophers, and theologians have observed various facets of this issue. We will refer to this phenomenon as “the problem of insularity.” Differing sources of knowledge and norms of adjudication, among other things, buttress the insularity problem. Some examples of insularity's impact within the U.S. include the polarized response to COVID-19, the increasingly vocal debate over climate change, and the argument for and against criminal justice reform. No matter the topic, it seems possible that the Christian tradition has a wealth of resources to address various facets of the problem of insularity. If so, how might resources from the Christian tradition help dissolve our silos and echo chambers for the sake of our shared future?

This session invites scholars in the fields of Biblical studies, Christian education, ethics, history, philosophy/sociology of religion, practical and systematic theology, as well as religious studies to join this conversation. We are seeking submissions that draw upon witnesses from the Christian tradition, broadly conceived, and apply the thought of such witnesses to the problem of insularity and related issues. 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.

A 250-word abstract should be submitted through the form below by February 20.

Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Colloquium

A colloquium for current Ph.D. students and candidates working in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament to present research and to engage with scholars affiliated with the Christian Scholars' Conference and each other. The colloquium aims to help Ph.D. students and candidates refine research for potential high-level publication and to gain experience interacting with other scholars in the field. This colloquium is to be a joint session between the Old Testament and Early Career Scholars in Theological Disciplines sections.

The colloquium session will use a similar format to the colloquium in 2019 and 2022 to encourage wide participation. The colloquium will invite current Ph.D. students and candidates working in Hebrew Bible who are affiliated with the Stone-Campbell Movement to submit paper proposals. Two proposals will be selected. The "Call for Papers" reads as follows:

• The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Colloquium at the Christian Scholars' Conference invites paper proposals from current Ph.D. students and candidates affiliated with the Stone-Campbell Movement. The colloquium will accept two papers this year for presentation and discussion on topics relating to the Hebrew Bible, and/or ancient Western Asian religions/cultures/history in the first and second millennia BCE. Papers that interact with the theme of the conference (environmental concerns, ecological criticism, sustainability, etc.) are especially welcome. Presenting within the colloquium requires submitting a full draft of the presented paper at least four weeks in advance of the conference (June 7-9, 2023). An experienced scholar will receive each paper in advance and will respond.

Proposals should be 300-500 words and are due by February 20, 2023. Please submit proposals via the form below under the Early Career Scholars in Theological Disciplines section. You can direct questions to clay_smith1@baylor.edu. To generate the highest quality session, the colloquium encourages submitting proposals for existing and developing projects.

If three or more students submit proposals, the colloquium will form a selection committee, including one senior scholar evaluating the proposals blindly.

Proposed Format: Early Career Scholars in the Theological Disciplines and Old Testament Colloquium

Convener: TBD

Presenter 1: TBD (20 mins)

Respondent 1: TBD (10 mins)

Open Discussion (15 mins)

Presenter 2: TBD (20 mins)

Respondent 2: TBD (10 mins)

Open discussion (15 mins)

We welcome proposals (approx. 300 words) for the sessions listed below.

All proposals are due by February 19. Papers presented in this section will be considered for publication in an upcoming issue of Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional Theology and Praxis.

Contemporary Missiology

This session welcomes submissions related to the diverse dimensions of mission studies, such as missiological anthropology, missions theories and practices, theology of mission, and interfaith dialogue.

Please submit proposals through the form below to the section Mission and World Christianity: Contemporary Missiology

Mission History and World Christianity

This session welcomes submissions related to the history of mission and world Christianity.

Please submit proposals through the form below to the section Mission and World Christianity: Mission History and World Christianity

Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Colloquium

A colloquium for current Ph.D. students and candidates working in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament to present research and to engage with scholars affiliated with the Christian Scholars' Conference and each other. The colloquium aims to help Ph.D. students and candidates refine research for potential high-level publication and to gain experience interacting with other scholars in the field. This colloquium is to be a joint session between the Old Testament and Early Career Scholars in Theological Disciplines sections.

The colloquium session will use a similar format to the colloquium in 2019 and 2022 to encourage wide participation. The colloquium will invite current Ph.D. students and candidates working in Hebrew Bible who are affiliated with the Stone-Campbell Movement to submit paper proposals. Two proposals will be selected. The "Call for Papers" reads as follows:

• The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Colloquium at the Christian Scholars' Conference invites paper proposals from current Ph.D. students and candidates affiliated with the Stone-Campbell Movement. The colloquium will accept two papers this year for presentation and discussion on topics relating to the Hebrew Bible, and/or ancient Western Asian religions/cultures/history in the first and second millennia BCE. Papers that interact with the theme of the conference (environmental concerns, ecological criticism, sustainability, etc.) are especially welcome. Presenting within the colloquium requires submitting a full draft of the presented paper at least four weeks in advance of the conference (June 7-9, 2023). An experienced scholar will receive each paper in advance and will respond.

Proposals should be 300-500 words and are due by February 20, 2023. Please submit proposals via the form below under the Early Career Scholars in Theological Disciplines section. You can direct questions to clay_smith1@baylor.edu. To generate the highest quality session, the colloquium encourages submitting proposals for existing and developing projects.

If three or more students submit proposals, the colloquium will form a selection committee, including one senior scholar evaluating the proposals blindly.

Proposed Format: Early Career Scholars in the Theological Disciplines and Old Testament Colloquium

Convener: TBD

Presenter 1: TBD (20 mins)

Respondent 1: TBD (10 mins)

Open Discussion (15 mins)

Presenter 2: TBD (20 mins)

Respondent 2: TBD (10 mins)

Open discussion (15 mins)

"Doctor of ministry Research: Connecting Theology and Practice in Ministerial Contexts"

Ron Bruner, Editor, Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry - Convener

Each year Doctor of Ministry programs graduate scholar-practitioners prepared to serve the church with their experience and skill in contextual analysis, theological reflection, and ministry competencies. This session at the Christian Scholars' Conference on June 7-9, 2023, will offer a sample of the research projects completed by recent Doctor of Ministry graduates, demonstrating the vitality of congregational and ministerial contexts for research and learning. The session will further conversations about their research among scholars, ministers, and congregational leaders and through the potential publication of synopses of their doctoral work in the online journal, Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry.

Recent DMin graduates should prepare proposals that include an abstract of approximately 500 words and a brief bio. The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2023. All proposals will be considered by a peer-review panel comprised of editorial board members of Discernment. Conference presentations should be 20 minutes in length and will receive a formal response. All selected program participants must register for the Conference and will have their Conference registration fee reimbursed by the Siburt Institute for Church Ministry. Please submit proposals through the form below. Participants will be notified by March 22, 2023 of the status of their submission. Questions may be directed to Ron Bruner at rkb01a@acu.edu.

This is a call for papers for oral presentation in the Sciences section of the 2023 Christian Scholars' Conference, to be held in Houston, Texas, at the Lanier Theological Library and Learning Center, June 7-9.

The Sciences section committee welcomes abstract submissions for oral presentations from scientists working in the natural sciences and mathematics. Presentations of 10 – 12 minutes in length on current or recently completed work will be followed by 3 – 5 minutes for questions. PhD and Masters candidates with substantial, in-progress work completed are encouraged to submit as well. Abstracts should be 250 – 300 words and should explicitly state how your topic contributes something new to science or mathematics. Because this section encompasses several scientific disciplines, make sure you use language that will be intelligible to non-scientists and scientists outside of your specific discipline. Preference will be given to papers connecting their work with the 2020 conference theme "What Will Be Our Future?"  For all proposals, please submit abstracts by February 28, 2023 via the form below. Notification of acceptance will be given by March 20, 2023.