The writer’s names are listed in the front few pages of Lifeway’s ongoing resources. The names belong to real people. They have families and interests just like the rest of us. The writers are a diverse group with different backgrounds and skill sets. They represent every region of the United States. You will find professors, teachers, stay at home moms, researchers, pastors, and a variety of other occupations represented. They are also involved in different kinds of churches; some in rural areas, some in urban areas. They also use Lifeway resources. They may lead their church to use the resources, or they may be a teacher using the resources to lead their class or group. We want writers who believe in the resource they write and one way of showing that is by using the resources. Each of the writers listed affirm the Baptist Faith and Message, 2000. This should not be a surprise since our resources reflect the doctrines found within that doctrinal statement. Affirming this doctrinal statement is part of the process of being added to the writer pool.
The writer pool is made up of a list of people who have submitted specific samples for review, been recommended by a pastor or leader, and affirm the doctrinal statement. We provide potential writers with directions for submitting a sample and expect those directions to be followed. Editorial teams review the submitted sample and comments are shared with the potential writer. The sample is also specific to the type of writing a person wants to do. A person wanting to write commentary will be asked to submit a different kind of sample than a person interested in writing group plans.
When we begin to select writers, we review the names of the people in the writer pool paying particular attention to their expertise. Our goal is to match the writer with the assignment, so we select people from the pool based on their skills and expertise. For example, in the Winter 21-22 quarter, Janice Meier was enlisted to write the Explore the Bible Adult Commentary. Dr. Meier was on the CSB translation team with a background in Hebrew. It would make sense for someone with her expertise to write the Adult Commentary for Ezekiel and Daniel.
All our writers work by contract meaning we enlist them for a specific assignment. They receive instructions with word counts, deadlines, and outlines. We create outlines for the writers to follow. This helps us coordinate the resources (in adult Explore the Bible, seven to eight different writers will be working on different elements at the same time so you can see why everyone working from the same outline is important).
How does a person get into the writer pool? The first step is to contact the editor of the resource for which you want to write. In all Lifeway ongoing resources, the editor’s name and email is listed on the page with all the copyright information. Send them an email and tell them of your interest. It always helps to give a little background about yourself as well. They will then tell you the next steps (it is a little different by age-group). Expect them to ask you to complete a form and submit a sample.
Writers have always been the backbone of Lifeway’s resources. We continue to look for people who are willing to partner with us as writers. We count on qualified writers so we can continue to provide the trustworthy content people have come to expect.