Several months ago, right here on EdwardsStudies.com, we put out a call for papers to participate in a collaborative publishing project alongside our friends at the JESociety. We asked our fellow readers and Edwards devotees to send us their best unpublished works focusing on the life, thought and ministry of Jonathan Edwards. It has been our shared desire to put together a publishing effort that utilizes the writing skills of various Edwards scholars around the world, with an open opportunity for rising talent in our field. Today, we would like to update our readers on the progress of this work.

Contributors

First of all, we were able to secure the contributions of a rather stunning array of writers. Our contributors include pastors, theologians, and students – including both men and women. Here is a brief rundown of our contributors for this project:

Robert Boss (Publisher, Contributor, Layout and Design) 

Rob has his PhD from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has served as a pastor in Oklahoma and taught at the seminary and college level at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has presented papers at Jonathan Edwards conferences in Northampton, MA and is the author of the monograph God-Haunted World: The Elemental Theology of Jonathan Edwards. His long-term project is a visual theology which explores the doctrinal intersections between general and special revelation recognized by Jonathan Edwards and other early Evangelicals. He makes his home in Fort Worth, TX with his wife Stephanie. They have two wonderful daughters—one a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the other a recent graduate of Wheaton College. His personal website is http://robboss.com.

Sarah Boss (Contributor, Design)

Sarah Boss graduated from Wheaton College in May 2016 with an English major and history minor. Her interest in Jonathan Edwards dates back to early high school, when she first read Edwards’s Images notebook. She presented a paper at the 2010 Jonathan Edwards conference in Northampton, MA. She also presented a version of the essay printed here at the Midwest Conference on Literature, Language, and Media hosted by the graduate English department at Northern Illinois University in April 2016. Sarah currently teaches part time in Fort Worth, TX, and plans to pursue grad school in Fall 2017, where she hopes to explore her interests in typology and natural theology.

Toby Easley (Contributor) 

Toby K. Easley (D.Min., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After completing his education, he has taught and preached through every New Testament book at least once and others multiple times in the last twenty-five years. He has a love for New Testament Greek and enjoys analyzing gifted exegetes both past and present. During his doctoral studies, he had the opportunity to research at Yale University’s Beinecke Library, where he examined the original manuscripts and sermon outlines of Jonathan Edwards. He has authored numerous research presentations delivered at the Evangelical Theological Society, Evangelical Homiletics Society, and Church meetings relative to the life and works of Edwards. Easley also enjoys road and trail cycling, kayaking, golfing, fishing, and watching sports. In the study and library, he has a passion for research, writing, and publishing. His future goals include authoring additional books, podcasting, and expanding his Feder Ink publishing company. Furthermore, he is praying that during his lifetime the Spirit of God will move in another Transatlantic “Great Awakening,” like the one He orchestrated in the eighteenth- century! Toby Easley and his wife Kimberly live in Fort Worth, Texas, and love spending time with their four grown children and four grandchildren, who are all a blessing from the Lord (Psalm 127:1-5)!

Matthew Everhard (Contributor, Editor)

Matthew is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. He has been married to his beautiful wife, Kelly, for sixteen years and has three children, Soriah (14), Elijah (12), and Simone (7). Matthew received his undergraduate degree in Bible and Theology from Malone University in Canton Ohio; his Master of Arts in Practical Theology from Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio; and his Doctorate in Ministry from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. While at RTS, Matthew wrote his dissertation on Jonathan Edwards entitled, A Theology of Joy: Jonathan Edwards and Joy in the Holy Trinity. He is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), and the General Editor of EdwardsStudies.com. Matthew is also the author of several books including Hold Fast the Faith: A Devotional Commentary on the Westminster Confession of 1647 (Reformation Press, 2012).

J.T. Holderman (Contributor)

 J.T. Holderman serves as Senior Pastor of Bellevue Presbyterian Church in Gap, PA. He received a Th.M. in Homiletics from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (2013), a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary (2012), and a BA in Theology from Whitworth University (2007). His passions in ministry are preaching and seriously heeding the call to shepherd the flock of God. J.T. became interested in Jonathan Edwards while studying in Princeton, NJ, a one-time home for Edwards and place of his death. His favorite works of Edwards are his written sermons, particularly his sermon “The Excellency of Christ.” JT is married to his camp sweetheart Kimberly and they both have one daughter Sophia who is a delight and gift from God. They reside in Lancaster, PA.

David Luke (Contributor) 

David is Director of Postgraduate Studies at the Irish Baptist College (Moira, Co. Down, Northern Ireland) where he teaches Historical Theology and Church History. He previously served as Pastor of Gilnahirk Baptist Church, on the outskirts of Belfast, for almost sixteen years. He is married to Elizabeth and has three children Jill, Emma and Calum.

Zachary A. Hopkins (Contributor)

Zachary has been Pastor/Teaching Elder of the historic Edgington Evangelical Presbyterian Church since June 2012. Zach was born in Milford, Delaware, and raised in St. Louis, MO. He attended Illinois College (BA Religion & Sociology – Jacksonville, IL) where he was converted as a freshman, and later pursued a call to prepare for ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div – South Hamilton, MA). His reading and research emphases include the historical theology and ecclesiastical traditions of the English and American Puritans, particularly in the stream of the 17th century Westminster Assembly. His lovely wife, Mackenzie, is the crowing jewel of God’s earthly grace to him. Together they enjoy: working out, gardening, and woodworking/DIY projects.

Jonathan S. Marko (Contributor) 

Jonathan S. Marko holds a Ph.D. from Calvin Theological Seminary, and is assistant professor of philosophical and systematic theology at Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids, MI, where he instructs undergraduate and seminary students. His recent research is focused upon Enlightenment philosophers and has resulted in various articles and a forthcoming book comparing the religious epistemologies of John Locke and John Toland. Jonathan is also an elder at his church.

Obbie Tyler Todd (Contributor) 

Obbie is the Associate Pastor of Students at Zoar Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Kentucky. He also holds a Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. As a doctoral candidate in Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Obbie is exploring the influence of Jonathan Edwards on the thinking of Baptist Richard Furman. Obbie and his wife Kelly are the parents of twins, Roman Tyler and Ruby June. Obbie is the author of two self-published works:Mountain Man (2014) and Wilderness (2015).

Christopher Woznicki (Contributor) 

Chris is a PhD student in Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He received a MA in Theology from Fuller and a BA in Philosophy from UCLA. He recently received a four-year scholarship made possible by the John Templeton Foundation to study the metaphysics of human nature as a part of Fuller’s Analytic Theology project. Christopher has published essays on Jonathan Edwards’s Trinitarian theology and has several entries in the forthcoming A Jonathan Edwards Encyclopedia (Eerdmans, 2016). In addition to his research on theological anthropology he teaches undergraduate courses in Biblical studies, trains pastors in Latin America, and is the college ministry director at a church in Los Angeles. He and his wife just had their first child, a beautiful baby girl.

Design and Layout

Secondly, we have just recently received some of the proofs of the project, and they look amazing! Our layout includes a wide, single column format which has been embellished by broad marginalia rather than the standard-formatted bottom notes. This includes beautiful space for note-taking as well as the inclusion of graphics and images. Overall we are extremely pleased with the look of the results.

Take a look:

Here is another: