Reorganization of the 2008 ETS Annual Meeting From the Program-Units Committee (David Howard, chair; Greg Beale, Gerry Breshears) March 15, 2007 Introductory Remarks This document contains information for the Society regarding the restructuring of the Annual Meeting and its different program units, beginning with the November 2008 meeting. It supplements the letter mailed to the Society, dated today, that invites members to step forward as chairpersons and members of steering committees of new Sections in the Society. That letter is also posted nearby on the ETS Web site. The Executive Committee approved the reorganization of the Annual Meeting at its August 11, 2006 meeting, and it appointed a Program-Units Committee to implement it, consisting of David Howard, Gerry Breshears, and Gregory Beale, all former presidents of the Society. In approving the proposal, the Executive Committee directed that the Annual Meeting be reconfigured in the interest of fostering manageable growth in the Society. Specifically, the already-existing program-unit structure (consisting of plenary sessions, theme sessions, open sessions, Study-Group sessions) is to be changed somewhat, by converting the majority of open sessions into new program units called Sections, each with their own chairpersons and steering committees. This will relieve the burden of the Program Chair 1 of being the arbiter of the worthiness of hundreds of papers, most of which fall outside the purview of his (her) discipline. What follows, then, is (1) a history of the ETS s Annual Meeting and its program units (including Study Groups), (2) a description of the new structure of the Annual Meeting beginning in 2008, and (3) a call for Society members to participate in the process of restructuring. Important Note on Program Units: In this report, we introduce the hitherto-unused term program unit, which serves as an all-encompassing, umbrella term including within its meaning such diverse entities as discussed throughout the report: plenary sessions, theme sessions, open sessions, Study- Group sessions, and more. Of these, the Study-Group sessions have been the most formally identifiable in the past, falling under the purview of a chairperson and a steering committee. The term program unit includes Study Groups, which will continue, but also will include other units, as explained below. An understanding of this broader term is essential to a proper understanding of the Annual Meeting reorganization. 1 On who the Program Chair is, see below in Part One, Section A.
Part One: History of the ETS Annual Meeting A. The ETS Annual Meeting Prior to 1986 For close to 40 years, the ETS Annual Meeting was organized simply, with two types of sessions (or program units): 1. Plenary sessions, where addresses on the conference theme were presented by invited guests (ETS members or outside guests), and 2. Open sessions, where papers were read by ETS members on any topic, including but not limited to the conference theme. These were managed by the Program Chair of each Annual Meeting. The Program Chair was (and continues to be) a member of the Executive Committee, as the President-Elect. He had the entire responsibility for putting together the Annual Meeting, including recruiting plenary speakers to address the Annual Meeting s theme and approving (or not) all paper proposals submitted, as well as the mechanics of putting together the program book. B. The Rise of Study Groups In 1986, the first Study Group was formed, introducing a new paradigm into the program-unit model. The Study Groups have been an important factor in the ETS growth in recent years, and they all have arisen from an entrepreneurial spirit. Groups of scholars with similar interests have organized a rich array of such groups as forums where they can explore ideas in an intentional and collegial fashion. These have clearly met a need, since the structure of the Annual Meeting historically did not group papers of similar topics together, and their numerical growth is testament to this. They have become an important vehicle for pursuing the ETS goal of fostering conservative biblical scholarship. 1. History of Study Groups The first Study Group was the Dispensational Study Group, organized independently of the ETS in 1986 by a group that included Craig Blaising, Darrell Bock, and Gerry Breshears. The group met on Thursday morning, before the start of the ETS meeting on Thursday afternoon. Craig Blaising read a paper that was then discussed by the participants. This was followed a few years later by a similarly-styled group, which met at the same time: the Literature of the Bible Study Group, under the leadership of Dan Estes, Tremper Longman, Leland Ryken, and others. Other groups did not begin forming until the mid-1990s. At this time, the Executive Committee decided to encourage the formation of more Study Groups, organized around different areas of interest. As a result, the late 1990s and early 2000s saw a rapid increase in Study Groups, some broadly focused (e.g., Literature of the Bible, Biblical Theology, Synoptic Gospels, Old Testament Historical Literature), some more narrowly focused (e.g., Charismatic Themes in 2
Luke-Acts, Hebrews and the Canon of Scripture, Jonathan Edwards, Stone-Campbell Adherents). Guidelines for the formation of the Study Groups were adopted by the Executive Committee in November 1997 and slightly revised in November 2003. The guidelines stimulated the formation of close to 20 new Study Groups in 5-6 years. However, because of their very nature as entrepreneurial endeavors among scholars with similar interests, the Study Groups do not cover all the areas of interest in the Society; they are ad hoc groupings around specific interest areas. This led to the Annual Meeting s being organized around three types of sessions (or program units): 1. Plenary sessions 2. Open sessions 3. Study-Group sessions The Program Chair continued to be responsible for the first two categories of sessions, whereas the Study-Group chairpersons (and steering committees) have had responsibility for putting together the Study-Group sessions, which are then submitted to the Program Chair. 2. Existing Study Groups (2006) Alternative Voices in Interpretation Asia Minor Asian American Biblical Law Biblical Theology Charismatic Themes in Luke-Acts Counseling, Psychology, and Pastoral Care Dispensationalism Evangelical Theology and Postmodernity Evangelicals and Gender God and God Incarnate Hebrews and the Canon of Scripture Hermeneutics Hermeneutics and Expository Preaching Jonathan Edwards Literature of the Bible New Projects in Systematic Theology Old Testament Historical Literature Pastoral Theology Patristics and Early Christianity Paul Society for the Study of Alternative Religions Spiritual Formation Stone-Campbell Adherents Synoptic Gospels Wesleyan Studies Young Scholars 3. Challenges related to Study Groups The very success of the Study Groups has created a new challenge for the Executive Committee: the Study Groups are placing a severe strain on meeting-room space. If left unchecked, the expansion of Study Groups will overwhelm the existing space, crowding out theme sessions and open sessions. Thus, in 2003 or 2004, the Executive Committee decided to put the approval of any new Study Groups on hold, pending a review the overall plan. In recent deliberations, the Executive Committee has noted a number of factors related to the Study Groups: 3
a. Some groups have an exceedingly narrow focus perhaps too narrow. b. Some groups might have run their course of useful life. c. Some groups have not met every year. Why this is so is not clear, but poor communications between Study Group chairpersons and Program Chairs are sometimes to blame. d. Some groups have cooperated well with the Executive Committee (e.g., by clear communication, timely submission of line-ups, etc.), while others have not. e. No mechanism has been set up for requiring and reviewing renewal requests, despite the guidelines requirement of renewals every four years. f. No mechanism has been set up for monitoring groups attendance and overall viability. C. The Annual Meeting Today 1. The Program Chair s Role When the Society was smaller, its Annual Meeting attendance was in the few hundreds, and the number of papers read was a few dozen, the task of the Program Chair was relatively manageable: it was to recruit plenary speakers, receive and assess paper proposals, and assemble the program for the Annual Meeting. In recent years, however, as the Annual Meeting has grown, the sheer number of paper proposals has imposed an ever-growing burden on the Program Chair (the 2006 line-up had more than 500 papers). This spiraling burden has caused more than one excellent candidate for nomination to the Executive Committee to decline the honor in recent years. Beyond the sheer labor intensity required by the job in recent years, we must also emphasize that the exponential growth of paper proposals has exceeded the competence of any one Program Chair to make informed judgments about the worthiness or acceptability of hundreds of individual proposals. This is now an issue of quality control. So, here we identify two further challenges, to be considered along with the challenges identified above: (1) The job now expected of Program Chairs is simply too time-intensive reasonably to expect from a volunteer, even factoring in the help provided in the form of stipends in recent years. (2) The task of assessing hundreds of paper proposals in a wide variety of disciplines simply is beyond the expertise of any one person to perform adequately. B. The Annual-Meeting Structure Throughout most of its history, the Annual Meeting was organized by time slots, i.e., all papers at a given time were listed together in the program book. When the number of papers was several dozen, rather than several hundred, this was manageable for all concerned. In the late 1990s, Program Chairs began a rudimentary labeling system for papers in open sessions, by 4
subject matter, such as OT, NT, CH, TH, etc., so that participants could more easily track their own specific interests. The 2002 Annual Meeting represented a major change authorized by the Executive Committee in 2001 in that the program book for that year listed open sessions and theme sessions 2 according to subject matter and larger time blocks (morning, afternoon, evening), not individual time slots. Also in 2002, a labeling option was provided on the paper-proposal form, so that individual presenters decided under which larger subject-matter grouping their papers belonged, rather than the Program Chair having to make such decisions. This has been the pattern of all Annual Meetings since then, although each Program Chair has refined the categories in the open sessions somewhat. In addition, several affiliated societies have been meeting in conjunction with the ETS at its Annual Meeting, including the Evangelical Missiological Society (for a time), the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the Near East Archaeological Society, and the Adventist Theological Society. The Annual Meeting in recent years has thus included five different types of sessions (or program units): 1. Plenary sessions 2. Theme sessions (related to the Annual-Meeting theme) 3. Open sessions (organized by subject matter by the Program Chair) 4. Study-Group sessions 5. Affiliated-society sessions (EPS, NEAS, ATS) The Program Chair has been responsible for recruiting speakers for the first category, and for vetting the proposals in the second and third categories. Study-Group chairpersons have been responsible for presenting their line-ups of papers, and affiliated societies have put together their own programs. 2 Open sessions are open to any Society member, on any topic; the papers in each session tend to be grouped by the program chair into related topics. Theme sessions are similar, but are grouped around the announced conference theme. 5
Part Two: Structure of the ETS Annual Meeting (2008) A. Program Units The following program units (or sessions) are to be implemented in the ETS starting with the 2008 Annual Meeting: (1) Sections: 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 or more sessions at the Annual Meeting, one of which may consist of invited papers. The remaining sessions(s) must be open, i.e., open to paper proposals from the Society s members, from which the Sections 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). A list of Sections is found below. (2) Study Groups: 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, which consists of invited papers. A Study Group is 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). (3) Consultations: Consultation will be the designation for newly-proposed program units after 2008. 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 will be granted one session in the Annual Meeting, consisting of three or four papers. Responsibility for Consultations resides with each Consultation s chairperson and steering committee, answerable to the Executive Committee (via the Program-Units Committee). (4) Plenary Sessions: Centered around the Annual Meeting theme. Typically, there are to be no more than four plenary sessions. Responsibility for these resides with the Society s Program Chair, answerable to the Executive Committee. (5) Open, Theme, or Special Sessions: These will be sessions under the purview of the Program Chair, consisting of papers that do not fit naturally into one of the existing Sections, Study Groups, or Consultations. In other words, members may propose papers whose topics might be at the margins and which therefore would not fit into any 6
existing program unit. These proposals would go directly to the Program Chair, not to individual program-unit chairpersons. This will be clearly explained on the Call for Papers. (a) Open Sessions: These will consist of papers on topics not covered by any of the existing program units. (b) Theme Sessions: These will consist of papers on the conference theme that do not fit into any of the existing program units. (c) Special Sessions: These are special, one-time sessions, such as the 2002 Special Panel on Gender Language and Related Issues in Bible Translation. Responsibility for all of these types of sessions resides with the Program Chair, answerable to the Executive Committee. (6) Affiliated Societies: Like-minded societies (NEAS, EPS, ATS) will continue their association with the ETS. We encourage the affiliated societies and the program units above to consider ways in which to collaborate more than they have in the past (e.g., joint sessions or publication projects). Responsibility for these affiliated societies sessions resides solely with the steering committees of each society. In this scheme, there will be six types of program units: 1. Sections 2. Study Groups 3. Consultations 4. Plenary sessions 5. Open, theme, or special sessions 6. Affiliated societies (EPS, NEAS, ATS) Responsibility for the first three types of program units lies with their respective chairpersons and steering committees, answerable to the Executive Committee. Responsibility for plenary sessions, along with the limited open, theme, or special sessions, lies with the Program Chair. Responsibility for the affiliated societies continues to reside with their presidents and boards. See the next page for a flow-chart representing the new configuration of the Annual Meeting. 7
Annual Meeting Structure (2008) Executive Committee Program-Units Committee Program Chair Program-Units Chairs Affiliated Societies Consultations Sections Study Groups Plenary Sessions Open Sessions Theme Sessions Special Sessions Affiliated Society Sessions Indicates a line of direct responsibility Indicates the submission of program information to the Program Chair 8
B. Timeline for Implementation of Reorganized 2008 Annual Meeting August 2006: Executive Committee authorizes Annual-Meeting reorganization. September 2006: Announcement of new program-unit model to Study-Group chairpersons November 15, 2006: Announcement of program-unit model to the Society. [Details also to be posted on the ETS Web site; published in the ETS Newsletter and in the Annual Meeting minutes (JETS, March 2007); and in a general mailing on March 15, 2007.] November 16, 2006: Study-Group chairpersons breakfast March 1, 2007: Study-Groups leadership communicate their intentions to Program- Units Committee: 1. Become a Section (broader; general interest) 2. Remain a Study Group (narrower; focus on specialized topic) 3. Disband March 15, 2007: General call to the Society for applications for new program units July 1, 2007: All applications for new or ongoing program units due August 1, 2007: Program-Units Committee acts on applications and forwards its recommendations to the Executive Committee August 10-11, 2007: Executive Committee acts on the Program-Units Committee s recommendations December 2007: Call for papers for the 2008 Annual Meeting (incorporating the new program-units model) March 1, 2008: Individual paper proposals submitted to program-unit chairpersons April 1, 2008: Program-unit chairpersons submit finalized slate of papers to Program Chair for the 2008 Annual Meeting November 19-21, 2008: First Annual Meeting with the new program-unit system in place. 9
Part Three: An Invitation I. The Need The Society needs dozens of volunteers to step forward as chairpersons and steering-committee members of our newly proposed Sections. This will help alleviate the overwork of the Program Chair, and it will help in vetting the paper proposals. This should contribute to an improvement in the overall quality of the papers read, as specialists in each discipline will now be evaluating all paper proposals, not just one person, as in the past. The range of Sections is found below in the table entitled Proposed Program Units (Sections). Interested full members should fill out the application below and submit it to David Howard at dhoward@bethel.edu by July 1, 2007. II. Responsibilities of Section Chairpersons and steering committees Section chairpersons responsibilities will include the following: Soliciting papers for the Section s invited-paper session. Receiving and deciding upon papers for the Section s open session(s). 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 Section. Steering committee members responsibilities are to aid and support their chairpersons in the above tasks. A typical Section will have two or more sessions at the Annual Meeting, one of which may consist of invited papers. The remaining session(s) must be open, i.e., open to paper proposals from the Society s members, from which the Section s steering committee will choose its lineup. A Section is normally granted status for a six-year term, although initially, new Sections will be granted a four-year term. A Section s status 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). III. How to Volunteer Any full member of the Society may volunteer to chair a Section or serve on its steering committee. Interested individuals should contact other scholars with similar disciplinary interests about forming a steering committee, and fill out the application below. Applications will only be received from groups as outlined below, not from single individuals acting on their own. For further information, contact David Howard at dhoward@bethel.edu. 10
Proposed Program Units (Sections) This list represents the major Sections needed in order to cover the broad disciplines represented by the ETS. It is not intended to be exhaustive; Society members are free to propose additional Sections, provided they can demonstrate that such are justified. However, first priority will be given to the Sections listed below in the reorganization. Note: Sections that are in bold italics need chairpersons and steering committees. The others represent existing Study Groups that intend to morph into Sections. Old Testament: Pentateuch Narrative Literature Wisdom Prophecy/Apocalyptic Psalms/Poetry Other: Church History: Patristic & Medieval History Reformation/Early Modern Church History Modern Church History American Christianity Other: New Testament: Intertestamental/Qumran Synoptic Gospels Johannine Writings Luke-Acts Pauline Studies Hebrews General Epistles/Revelation Other: Other: Biblical Theology Pastoral Theology Spiritual Formation/ Sanctification Evangelicals and Gender Ethics Evangelism/Missions Hermeneutics Expository Preaching/ Hermeneutics Counseling, Psychology, Pastoral Care Other: Theology: Prolegomena/Apologetics Doctrine/Canon of Scripture Doctrine of God Christology Pneumatology Soteriology/Anthropology Ecclesiology Eschatology Christianity and Culture Systematic Theology: Issues and Method Asian/Asian American Theology Other: 11
Application for New Section A written application must be submitted to the ETS Program-Units Committee by July 1, 2007. This Committee will forward its recommendations to the ETS Executive Committee, which will make its decisions about approval at its August meeting. This will allow the newly-formed Section to be included in the Call for Papers in December 2007, and to have its first session in November 2008. The application must consist of the following items: the proposed Section s name a synopsis of the Section s theme (40-50 words) rationale for the Section s existence (50-100 words) the names and a short vita for each of the steering-committee members (four to six full members of the Society in good standing, including chairperson), including postal and e-mail addresses for each preferred program slots, if any (e.g., Wednesday morning, Thursday afternoon) estimated size of the Section (if unknown, please indicate this) Applications should be submitted to David Howard, Program-Units Committee Chair, at dhoward@bethel.edu. 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. Applications are due July 1, 2007. Initial approval will be for a term of four years. In the fourth year, a renewal application must be submitted. Subsequent terms will be for six years. 12