The Baptist Bulletin was grateful to have a team of three experienced judges evaluate all of the entries for the recent essay contest. The judge worked “blind,” not knowing the names of the entrants until the contest was decided. They eventually awarded first place to Michael Osborne (in a split decision!) and selected three other essays for publication online.
One of the judges, Mark Ward Sr, has written a fascinating response about the challenge of “Communicating to a Postmodern World.”
Meet the Essay Contest Judges
Joan Alexander is an editor for Regular Baptist Press, where she oversees take-home papers for children and edits the adult Horizons paper. She has also written and edited curriculum for VBS (adults and teens) and edited Bible studies. Joan teaches a “Writing for Publication” workshop for Regular Baptist Press, contributed a chapter to the anthology Writing So Heaven Will Be Different, and is a frequent presenter at Write to Publish, an annual conference for Christian writers. She earned a BS in education, Taylor University (Upland, Ind.), did post-baccalaureate study at Baptist Bible College (Clarks Summit, Pa.), and holds an MA in English from Illinois State University (Normal, Ill.). While a graduate student, she helped establish the Writing Center of Illinois State University and in 1978 established the Writing Center of Baptist Bible College. Joan taught high school and college English in public and private schools before joining the editorial staff of RBP in 1979. A member of Grace Baptist Church (Lombard, Ill.), Joan anticipates joining a church-planting ministry in the Chicago area later in 2009.
Mark Ward Sr. teaches professional writing and communication studies at Clemson University, where he is currently pursuing the PhD in rhetorics, communication, and information design. His scholarly articles have appeared in the Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, and Journal of Media and Religion, among others. Mark formerly taught communication at Bob Jones University and Spring Arbor University. Over a career of more than 30 years Mark has been communications/publications director for four international nonprofits and Christian ministries, edited six national publications, and published seven Christian books, including two histories of religious broadcasting. As an active freelance writer and president of Message Media Group, he has published more than 2,000 feature articles for 50 national business magazines and been a frequent speaker at Christian writers’ conferences nationwide. As a broadcaster, Mark has served on the staff of National Religious Broadcasters, been an announcer for a Top Ten Market station, provided voiceover talent for several nationally syndicated Christian radio features, and appeared on dozens of Christian radio and TV talk programs.
Dennis E. Hensley is director of the professional writing major at Taylor University (Upland, Ind.), where he is a full professor. He holds four university degrees in literature and linguistics, including a PhD in English from Ball State University. Dennis is a member of Wallen Baptist Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he has been a Sunday School teacher for 14 years. He has written more than 3,000 published articles for such periodicals as the Baptist Bulletin, Horizons, Reader’s Digest, The Writer, Christian Communicator, People, The Detroit Free Press, Evangel, and The Pacific Historian, among dozens more. His 51 books include How to Write What You Love and Make a Living at It (Random House), Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 Hours (Macmillan), The Gift (Harvest House), and More Than Meets the Eye: Encountering God Where We Least Expect to Find Him (Kregel). He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Jerry B. Jenkins’ Christian Writers Guild and is a member of the planning committee of the Midwest Writers Workshop.
