Communicating for Life: Christian Stewardship in Community and Media (Updated and Expanded Edition)
Available Now (Amazon Associates Link)
Author: Quentin J. Schultze
Foreword by Martin E. Marty
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-959685-09-8
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-959685-10-4
LCCN: 2023949050
Total Pages: 332
[Return to Integratio Press]DESCRIPTION
In this updated and expanded edition, the author invites professors of communication and media to reflect on each chapter in light of our current cultural challenges and technological advancements over the past two decades. The collection of voices and conversations offer a discerning introduction to communication theory that guides readers through an interesting, creative, and biblical study of communication. Thoroughly grounded in a Christian worldview, Communicating for Life explores the implications of individual human communication and the influence of communication on community.
ENDORSEMENTS
“Easily the best presentation I know of a Christian perspective on communication and the media. It raises questions where most of us just take things for granted, and issues challenges where most of us just go along. Though deeply informed by both the Christian tradition and contemporary discussions on the media, it nonetheless wears its learning with extraordinary grace and vividness of rhetoric.”—Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale Divinity School
“This high-torque book engages your mind and invigorates your spirit. The theory of symbolic action is a splendid achievement. It catches hold of Augustine, Burke, Ellul, and contemporary cultural studies but is distinctive with shalom. The problems and stories are stunning in themselves—from across history and around the globe. Quentin J. Schultze sets the standard for all work henceforth in the theology of communication.”—Clifford G. Christians, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
“Now there is a book written from an explicitly Christian perspective, and one thing is clear: Never again can religious beliefs and values be relegated to the intellectual sidelines. To study human communication is to be immersed in questions of the most profound religious significance.”—Martin J. Medhurst, Baylor University
“Few scholars communicate as clearly and vivaciously about life as Schultze. His acute insights on communication and media merge with his zest for relationships and his commitment to the Christian faith, hope, grace, and shalom. One feeds, learns, and delights in this learned letter to a fresh generation of readers.”—Terry Lindvall, PhD, C. S. Lewis Chair of Communication and Christian Thought, Virginia Wesleyan University
“A new generation of young scholars will benefit from this updated volume. Engaging and full of clarity, this expanded work enjoys the benefit of Schultze’s wisdom along with rich insights from a wide range of scholars.”—Stephanie Bennett, PhD, Professor of Communication and Media Ecology, Palm Beach Atlantic University
“Using foundational Christian beliefs such as stewardship, grace, service, and shalom, Schultze masterfully addresses what is missing in many books on communication. He presents a powerful vision for Christian communication, and he puts into practice what he teaches by providing space for others to respond genuinely and thoughtfully.”—Brian Mattson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Communication, Lee University
“Since the turn of the century, Schultze’s Communicating for Life has become a trusted resource that provides readers with a provocative theory of human communication from a Christian perspective. This updated volume plumbs the depths of what it means to be a person engaged in the conversations that matter.”—Rev. Robert Stephen Reid, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Communication, University of Dubuque
“Schultze’s thoughtful weaving of shalom throughout this volume provides a God-centered cohesiveness. The inclusion of responses from contemporary scholars underscores the continued relevance of the material and adds a much-appreciated dialogical element.”—Matt Fuss, PhD, Associate Professor of Business, Geneva College
“This is a beautifully comprehensive book that will move readers to imagine ways they can affect positive change in the world. Schultze has a gift for inspiring us to steward ‘the gift of communication to care for the world’ with compelling stories and tangible wisdom. Schultze’s work has inspired my students for years and I am particularly excited for how this new edition of Communicating for Life can be used in various venues, personally and professionally.”—Mary Albert Darling, Associate Professor of Communication, Spring Arbor University
“Only a few times in a generation does a book come along that so completely integrates our Christian faith with the academic discipline of communication through a timely analysis of the media. Schultze helps readers delve deeper into the complexity of communication grounded in community.”—Thomas J. Carmody, PhD, Professor of Communication Studies, Vanguard University
“For more than two decades, this book has claimed a unique position at the top of Christian communication texts. This uplifting edition puts emphasis on servant communication and storytelling—important aspects of faithful communication in the age of social media.”—Terry Lynn Cornwell, PhD, Professor of Communication Studies, Virginia University of Lynchburg
“This updated edition extends the more than two-decades legacy of this volume’s insights about human communication. New contributions add to the original insights and encourage us even more to be responsible stewards of God’s gift of communication.”—Denise Edwards-Neff, PhD, Affiliate Faculty, LCC International University
“For nearly five decades, Schultze has led the field of communication studies in scholarship, faculty mentoring, and servant teaching. His stories are legendary, his observations insightful and precise. He continues to set the agenda for decades more.”—Mark Fackler, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Communication, Calvin University
“I first encountered Communicating for Life early in my graduate studies, which deeply informed my understanding of how communication can cultivate a shalom community. I am eager for a new generation of readers to glean fresh insights from its updated contributions.”
—Elizabeth B. Jones, PhD, Associate Professor of Communication, Asbury University
“This volume continues to pave the way for a new generation. The expansions are from scholars directly influenced by Schultze’s earlier work. This updated edition shows Schultze’s continued influence and acts as a clarion call for others to join.”—Brandon Knight, PhD, Assistant Professor of Communication, William Carey University
“The community of scholars providing thoughtful and compelling responses in this updated version clearly demonstrate how vital Schultze’s insights are to this cultural moment and how foundational his work is to Christian scholarship on communication. This is a book worth reading.”—Kevin Schut, PhD, Professor of Media + Communication, Trinity Western University
“This volume signals what robust scholarship should be, a conversation. Thank you, Quin, for sparking the dialogue. As a contributor, I relished the opportunity to seek God’s thoughts and heart on meaning and covenantal shalom. My hope is that students, professors, pastors, and seekers will find ways to share their voices as well.”—Bill Strom, PhD, Professor of Media + Communication, Trinity Western University
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
Diane M. Badzinski (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication at Colorado Christian University. She recently co-authored two books, Family Communication and the Christian Faith: An Introduction and Exploration and An Essential Guide to Interpersonal Communication: Building Great Relationships with Skill, Faith, and Virtue in the Age of Social Media. She is also part of a team developing a parenting intervention program in Nicaragua. Diane teaches courses in communication research, interpersonal communication, cross-cultural communication, family communication, and persuasion, among others. She has received awards for her research and teaching.
Thomas J. Carmody (PhD, Regent University) is Professor of Communication Studies at Vanguard University where he has taught for more than 30 years. His research interests span the spectrum from eighteenth to nineteenth-century sermonic rhetoric, Anglican Studies, comic books, graphic novels, film criticism. When he is not in the classroom you will find him searching the stacks of used bookstores or working in his small garden. He is also an ordained Anglican priest with the Anglican Church in North America where he ministers in a variety of ways at his local church.
Terri Lynn Cornwell (PhD, University of Maryland) has more than 40 years of experience teaching in public and private institutions. She currently teaches at Virginia University of Lynchburg. She has served as Legislative Director for the Congressional Arts Caucus in Washington, D.C., Director of Communications for Cleveland State University’s urban college, and Executive Director of the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge. She is the author of Democracy and the Arts: The Role of Participation, and a variety of book chapters and articles on communication and the arts, quality of life, and Christianity and communication. She is an ordained Presbyterian (USA) pastor and recently completed Compassion Consortium’s Animal Chaplaincy training. She and her husband live in Forest, Virginia, with their rescued Ragdoll cat.
Denise Edwards-Neff (PhD, Purdue University) is Affiliate Faculty and Expatriate Recruiter at LCC International University. She has held administrative and faculty positions at Azusa Pacific University, Pepperdine University, Indiana Wesleyan University, and the University of Indianapolis. She writes about the intersection of faith and the public sphere, media, activism, and crisis communication. Her research has been published in Public Relations Review, Journal of Public Relations Research, and Journal of Communication and Religion. She has contributed chapters and essays to several books including Evangelical Christians and Popular Culture, Handbook of Organizational Rhetoric and Communication, Handbook of Strategic Communication, Handbook of Public Relations, and Oxford Handbook of Religion and the News.
Mark Fackler (PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) is Professor Emeritus of Communication at Calvin University. He is co-author of Media Ethics, Cases and Moral Reasoning, Ethics of Public Communication, Ethics and Evil in the Public Sphere, Good News: Social Ethics and the Press, and other volumes. He is co-editor of The Handbook of Global Communication and Media Ethics, and other volumes. He is a contributor to The Handbook on Communication and Religion.
John B. Hatch (PhD, Regent University) recently retired as Professor and Chair of Communication Studies at Eastern University. He currently serves as Senior Fellow with the Christianity and Communication Studies Network. He has published extensively on race relations, public apology, reconciliation, religious discourse, and popular music. His articles appear in Rhetoric and Public Affairs, Quarterly Journal of Speech, Journal of Communication and Religion, and other scholarly journals and books. His book Race and Reconciliation: Redressing Wounds of Injustice received the Top Single-Author Book Award from the Communication Ethics Division of the National Communication Association. He is also the author/editor of an anthology of speeches titled Speaking to Reconciliation: Voices of Faith Addressing Racial and Cultural Divides.
Elizabeth B. Jones (PhD, The Ohio State University) is Associate Professor at Asbury University in the School of Communication Arts. Her research occurs at the intersection of digital media, interpersonal communication, and lifespan communication. She examines how media narratives and interpersonal messages support or thwart human flourishing and spiritual well-being. Elizabeth is particularly interested in how persons in the later portions of the lifespan can be supported communicatively as they embrace aging and resist ageism. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and four children where she enjoys fitness activities and good coffee along with her academic pursuits.
G. Brandon Knight (PhD, University of Southern Mississippi) is Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication and Leadership and Director of Forensics at William Carey University. His research appears in the Journal of Communication and Religion, Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Christian Teaching Practice (in Communication Studies), and Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. He writes a monthly column for the Christianity and Communication Studies Network on St. Augustine and preaching.
Elizabeth W. McLaughlin (PhD, Regent University) is Chair and Associate Professor of Communication at Bethel University, Indiana, where she teaches writing, interpersonal communication, speech, mass media, and public relations. She completed her dissertation on how Mennonite quilt making rhetorically expresses the image of God. She is active in the United Methodist Church.
Chase Mitchell (PhD, Texas Tech University) is Assistant Professor of Media and Communication at East Tennessee State University where he teaches courses in media ecology, multimedia production, and digital research and writing, among others. He contributes a monthly online column, “Image to Image,” to the Christianity and Communication Studies Network. He has written for FaithTech and Christian Scholar’s Review. He lives in Bristol, Tennessee, with his wife Mott and their two dogs, Bigfoot and Fuzzle. He enjoys baseball, books, and British comedy. And when it is nice out he and Mott love traipsin’ around the hills and rivers of southern Appalachia.
Kevin Schut (PhD, University of Iowa) is a Game Studies scholar. He is a graduate of Calvin College and the University of Iowa. He wrote the book Of Games & God: A Christian Exploration of Video Games. He writes about the intersection of communication, culture, media, technology and faith, primarily by talking about computer and video games. He has published articles or chapters on fantasy-role-playing computer games and masculinity, on computer games and myth, on the presentation of history in computer games, and on evangelicals and games. He is currently researching moral and ethical decisions in video games. Kevin served as the Chair of the Department of Media + Communication, and he is the Lead for the Game Development program he founded in June 2019. He has also served as Associate Dean of the School of the Arts, Media + Culture. He teaches a range of courses on media and culture. Kevin grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, and still cheers for the Oilers. After graduating from Calvin College, he married and taught overseas in schools for missionary kids in the Cote d’Ivoire and Hungary for three and a half years. He has three daughters who love playing board games, adventure games, Mario Kart, and Vive Virtual Reality with him. His favorite game series is Sid Meier’s Civilization.
Bill Strom (PhD, University of Iowa) serves as Professor of Media and Communication at Trinity Western University in British Columbia, Canada. His experiences at Wheaton College created a love for thinking creatively about God’s big message for the world. Workshops led by Quentin Schultze with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities led him to consider shalom as a governing ideal and sparked the idea that covenantal communication nurtures shalom. Strom is author of More Than Talk: Covenantal Communication in Everyday Life and The Relationship Project on five virtues that motivate redeeming interaction.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Quentin J. Schultze is Professor Emeritus at Calvin University, Department of Communication, where he received the Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching. He has written many articles and books, including Communicating with Grace and Virtue, An Essential Guide to Public Speaking, An Essential Guide to Interpersonal Communication, and Communicate Like a True Leader. Dr. Schultze was one of the founders of the Gospel Communications Network, which created the online Bible Gateway. He serves on the Board of Directors of Baker Publishing Group. He is a Senior Fellow at the Christianity and Communication Studies Network (theccsn.com). He leads teaching, publishing, and faith-integration seminars at universities and seminaries.