ARticle Review
On this page, you will find details concerning details about the peer-review process used for the Teleioteti Journal. This page will also help you start finding peers to review your papers.
Unlike many traditional journals, we do not rely on blind reviews. We believe that theological discourse is an intensely personal and moral endeavour, so it best done in a personal way with attention to the character of those involved in such discourse. We encourage reviewers and authors to build relationships, network with others who will contribute to their theological development, and tp seek to develop and display godly character in their writing and reviewing.
Why should you review a paper—or why should you seek to have a paper reviewed?
Seeking peer review is not only necessary if you want to have your paper published in the Journal, it is also a good discipline to cultivate. Having others read your work will give you an opportunity to test your writing, argument, and research before offering it to a broader audience. Reviewers will be able to catch things you missed and help strength your writing skills and the overall persuasiveness of your paper. If you hope to convince others of an important insight into God, his world, or his word, seeking peer review can only help you. A peer reviewer can also help sort the wheat from the chaff, identifying what papers are worth developing and which are best left on the shelf.
Similarly, reviewing is a way to develop writing skills through critical reflection on another work. Paying careful attention to another’s work will help develop your own understanding of a good argument, of appropriate style, and the best ways to persuade. Reviewing a paper will not only contribute to the development of rigorous, biblical literature for the health of the church but also develop your own abilities to make such a contribution.
Who Is Eligible to Review Papers for the Journal?
You don’t need a degree or have professional credentials to review a paper for the journal, but you do need to be engaged in theological discourse. You may be a scholar who has published in academic journals and written monographs; you may be a student of theology who has written papers for college; you may be pastor who writes sermons and the occasional blog post; or you may be a lay theologian, someone who has not formally studied theology nor is paid to do theological writing but reads the Bible and Christian literature and writes theological work in some medium, perhaps book reviews, blogs, sermons, or something similar.
How do you review a Paper?
The job of a reviewer is, first, to evaluate whether the paper is fit for publication in the Journal or not and, second, to offer constructive feedback to the author so that they may improve the paper, develop their writing skills, and grow in their understanding. If a paper is judged to be unfit for the Journal, clear direction should be given to the paper’s author. Few papers will be fit for publication as they are, so the reviewer should seek to offer feedback that relates how the paper might be improved so that it is fit.
Each paper will need its particular sort of attention—some papers will need significant stylistic improvement, improvement in clarity, others will need help with argument, still others will have serious content problems. Because its paper and author is unique, we do not offer rigid or fast criteria for reviwing a paper. However, the Journal is looking for papers accessible, accurate, clear, and which make a contribution. Thus, in addition to basic feedback on grammar and syntax–ways to improve the communicability of the paper–reviewers should ask if the paper is accesible to a broad range of Christians, is accurate in the claims it makes and deals with its sources in a fair, charitable manner, if it is clear in its argument, and if it makes a contribution. We define contribution in a broad sense, but we are interested in papers that will edify and build Christ’s Church, so the reviewer should pay close attention to both what is said and how it is said. Will this paper encourage fellow believers or tear them down? Does it demonise its opponents, or does it point towards a more clear understanding of God and his Word? Does the paper bring glory to Christ, or does it, perhaps, build up some private agenda? Reviewers may find the following rubric helpful for evaluating a paper and communicating feedback to the author (you can download it in xlsx format here).
are your a reviewer or do you need something reviewed?
Do you have a paper you would like reviewed or are you open to reviewing papers? If you are on Facebook, join our review group Teleioteti Journal for Christian Ministry – Reviewers | Facebook. If you would like a paper reviewed, leave a comment below with a short bio and abstract or summary of the paper (see the submission guidelines). If you are open to reviewing papers, please leave a comment with a short bio and indicate your areas of interest and experience.