Doubtless all who have read the pages of this journal have echoed at one time or another the words of Qohelet when he concluded that "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body" (Eccl 12:12; NIV). However, study and books are not evils to be avoided in principle; indeed, two apostles had much more positive views of these than did Qohelet (Luke 1:3-4; John 20:31). Study of The Book points the way to a life-changing encounter with the one true, living, eternal God.
JETS is the journal of an academic society whose members value such study and The Book. Its articles provide outlets for evangelical authors to explore biblical truths and for readers to learn from them. It is a proper forum for exploring deep and oftentimes difficult matters, and I am encouraged to see the quality of these articles improving year by year.
Yet, JETS also has a book review ministry, and it has been my privilege to serve as its Book Review Editor for Bible since May 1994. This review ministry is equally (or, for some readers, more) important. As often as not, readers turn to the book reviews of a journal first, and then read a few of its articles later.
Here, the ministry of JETS is multi-faceted. By listing all books received from publishers and by reviewing as many of these as possible and are worthy, JETS allows authors and publishers to receive valuable publicity and feedback about their books. Furthermore, and more importantly, the book reviews in JETS allow the busy scholar, pastor, and student to keep up somewhat in their own areas of interest and to see what is going on in other areas, as well. Good reviews often are the catalysts for people's decisions as to whether or not to buy or read particular books.
There are several ways in which I hope to contribute to JETS's ministry. First, I shall be selective concerning books for review. Not all books published about the Bible deserve a review in JETS. This is the academic publishing organ of an academic society, and my intent is to focus on high-quality academic books of all types in the broad areas of biblical studies. JETS will review both evangelical and non-evangelical works. It should reflect back to scholars outside its own theological circles what is good and what is chaff in their work, and it should be a vehicle taken seriously outside these circles. Yet, it will also highlight works by evangelical scholars (which are often ignored by non-evangelical journals), and do the same reflecting for them. The focus will be primarily on books relating broadly to the Old and New Testaments from a rigorous scholarly and theological stance. Books aimed primarily at laypeople or pastors will not ordinarily receive a review.
Second, I shall be as judicious as possible in selecting reviewers. The best reviews are written by scholars who have some expertise in the areas about which they are writing, of course. Here, I hope to make the best match possible between book and reviewer. I have worked hard already at expanding the pool of reviewers, and I invite evangelical biblical scholars with whom I have not had contact to volunteer their services. I hope to have bright, young scholars in (or freshly graduated from) doctoral programs, along with seasoned, mature scholars, and those in between, all reviewing for JETS. My plea especially to the mature scholars is that they not leave the book reviewing ministry of this journal only to younger scholars.
Third, I shall exercise a moderately heavy editorial hand in editing the reviews themselves. For one thing, I am usually asking now for shorter reviews, to allow more reviews to appear. For another, I am returning reviews to their authors for improvements when these are called for. I want to work with reviewers to produce the best possible reviews, which will be informative, evaluative, and fair.
Finally, let me emphasize that JETS has two book review editors. Michael Bauman handles church history, theology, and philosophy, and his address is on the inside cover of this issue. Potential reviewers and publishers with these interests should correspond directly with him. He assures me that he too welcomes such communication.
I thank those who have cooperated with me already in reviewing books or promising to do so, and I look forward, by God's grace, to many productive years in this ministry. As we write books and reviews -- and read them -- may we do so, not in an academic vacuum, but always with an eye toward furthering the cause of Christ's kingdom. Soli Deo Gloria.
(This article originally appeared in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 38.1 (March 1995): 1-2.)