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Event recognizes 10 faculty authors who have published books in past year

Kim Chaudoin | 

Guests at the faculty signing event purchase books.

The Lipscomb community celebrated its first-ever faculty author book signing event on Thursday, Oct. 7. 

Though faculty have published books throughout the years, an unusual large number have seen their projects come to fruition in recent months. In the last 12 months ten Lipscomb faculty authors have released new books. 

Leonard Allen, dean of the College of Bible & Ministry, wanted to celebrate the accomplishments of his colleagues by organizing the university’s first group faculty book signing. As director of the Abilene Christian University Press for a decade, faculty publishing is near and dear to Allen’s heart.

“Serving as the director of a university press, I know well what the writing and publication of a serious book involves. It's a long journey, and a signal accomplishment. It's a big deal,” explains Allen. “And because we are primarily an academic community, we should be celebrating the books written by our faculty. That was the purpose of this event. And it was the beginning, I hope, of a tradition recognizing and celebrating the literary work of the Lipscomb faculty.”

John Mark Hicks signing books.

Faculty, staff and students gathered for the celebration held in the Ezell Center Lobby. Authors discussed their works and signed books and attendees could register to win free books. 

Featured authors and their books included:

Holly Allen (College of Bible & Ministry, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences), Forming Resilient Children: The Role of Spiritual Formation for Healthy Development (IVP Academic). 

Lee Camp (College of Bible & Ministry), Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians (Eerdmans) 

Caleb Clanton & Richard Goode (College of Liberal Arts & Sciences), Great Ideas in History, Politics, and Philosophy (Baylor University Press) 

J. P. Conway (College of Bible & Ministry), Broken But Beautiful: Why Church Is Still Worth It (Wipf & Stock)  

John Mark Hicks (College of Bible & Ministry), Women Serving God: My Journey in Understanding Their Story in the Bible (Amazon) 

Collage of photos from faculty book signing.

Scott Sager (Church Services), Jesus in Isolation: Lazarus, Viruses, and Us (Wipf & Stock) 

Hannah Stolze (College of Business), Wisdom-Based Business: Applying Biblical Principles and Evidence-Based Research for a Purposeful and Profitable Business (Zondervan Academic)

Leanne Smith (College of Business), Alone in a Cabin: A Novel (available through Ingram) 

Joshua Strahan (College of Bible & Ministry), The Basics of Christian Belief: Bible, Theology, and Life's Big Questions (Baker Academic)

“We had a stimulating array of titles. We had a novel, we had an anthology of great ideas, we had a Christ-informed guide to business; we had a guide to forming resilient children, we had a political manifesto; we had a guide to basic Christian beliefs, and we had several edifying works of theology. And we had drawings for free books. What's not to like if you care much about books?,” says Allen.

Writing and research are signs of a strong academic community, Allen believes. 

“Teaching and writing are deeply intertwined. Each feeds and enriches the other. As faculty members, writing enriches teaching, and teaching motivates and shapes our writing. A strong academic community will be marked by the research and writing of its faculty as well as a strong commitment to the classroom,” he says. “The kind of productivity we celebrated at this event is a sign of a mature and committed faculty at Lipscomb.” 

In addition to leading the College of Bible & Ministry, Allen is also the author or co-author of ten books, including The Cruciform Church: Becoming a Cross-Shaped People in a Secular World; The Contemporaries Meet the Classics on Prayer; Distant Voices: Discovering a Forgotten Past for a Changing Church; and Things Unseen: Churches of Christ in (and after) the Modern Age.