Dedicated editor helps Majority World writers find their voice
WINDSOR, ON - Isobel Stevenson's husband calls her desk a compost heap. It has a busy and well-enjoyed appearance. But it also hints at the significance of what grows there.
Stevenson, 59, may not be a household name, but her influence as an editor extends far beyond Canada. She is an editor of creative programs for Langham Literature, a branch of Langham Partnership International (LPI), founded by the late John Stott to build up the growing church in the Majority World. (The Majority World has also been called the Third World).
Langham Canada is a partner in the ministry, enabling theological students to pursue PhDs in theology, nurturing indigenous preaching movements - and Stevenson's role is addressing the lack of evangelical books available to Majority World pastors. Langham Literature provides grants so evangelical scholars in the Majority World can write books to strengthen the Church, and grants to help indigenous Christian publishers produce books in local languages like Sinhalese, Tagalog, Nepalese and Amharic.
Stevenson is chief editor of major projects, like the Africa Bible Commentary published in 2006, and the South Asia Bible Commentary, her current project. She also leads writing workshops for scholars and local pastors around the world.
"I love the fact that the books I'm working on will make an impact," Stevenson says, "that I am contributing to God's work in some way.
"It's my job to misunderstand everything before the reader does. The writer writes for the fire inside, it's the editor's job to clear away the smoke so others can see the flames. Neither of those ideas are original to me, but they help describe my role as an editor."
Stephen Andrews is an Anglican Bishop based in Sault Ste. Marie and chair of Langham Partnership Canada.
"Langham Literature, and the work that Isobel does, serves the educational needs of the local church, and gives Langham Scholars a global voice," he says. "I know lots of people in Canada who read the Africa Bible Commentary. Many in the West are very interested in Majority World perspectives on Scripture and theology."
Stevenson recently returned from a writer's workshop in Malaysia.
"There was such a variety of topics that the writers were working on," she says, "with several writers concerned with women's issues in Asia. I learn something from every writer I work with. It's a great honour that they are prepared to trust me."
The South Asia Bible Commentary, explains Stevenson, "is a commentary being published into a multi-faceted religious landscape. The publication of a seminal work like this could attract very unfavourable attention. There will be people going through looking for negative comments about other religions. It makes editing it particularly nerve-wracking."
For Stevenson and the rest of her Langham team, projects like these are an "awesome responsibility."
"People believe what they see in print," she says. "So the way we put things in the commentaries will shape the thinking of a generation of believers. The authors carry the responsibility for the content, but we, as editors, are responsible for communicating it in way that is accurate and faithful to God's word, the author's intention and the reader's probable interpretation."
Editors do not dare work without praying, she says, or fall into editing mechanically.
Her love for language energizes her work.
"You have to have an ear for the rhythm of the language. The rhythm of African English is different from Canadian. I learned poetry from my father. He would quote me Tennyson and Keats. I enjoy the sound of language in the mouth, of writing to the rhythm, of knowing 'That is a good sentence'."
A black and white Maria Gabankova painting called "Ezekiel's Vision" hangs above the landing of the staircase in Stevenson's home. It is expansive in size and vision.
"It shows vertebrae starting to come together, there is light coming up behind," she explains. "God is taking some very dry bones. Every time I go upstairs I think 'this manuscript is so dry, God, can these bones live?' And I leave it to the Holy Spirit to bring it together."
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