As an imprint of B&H Publishing Group, the trade publishing division of LifeWay Christian Resources, CrossBooks is dedicated to upholding the Christian faith and values our readers have come to expect. In order to maintain its high standards, biblical scholars perform a theological review on every manuscript we receive. Included in each publishing package, the Theological Review ensures the book’s material is theologically sound and adheres to our Statement of Faith.
You can rest assured that the theological reviewers who assess your book (and all books published by CrossBooks) are knowledgeable and trustworthy. Dr. Stephen Drake, the director of corporate relations for LifeWay Christian Resources, evaluates and approves all theological reviewers.
"CrossBooks is a company owned by B&H Publishing Group, the trade publishing division of LifeWay Christian Resources, and is therefore linked to believers who hold a high view of the Scriptures,” explains Dr. Drake. “Throughout the eras since Jesus walked the roads of the Holy Land, believers have sought to remain faithful to their theological traditions by forming statements of faith. The CrossBooks Statement of Faith is the rule used by our theological reviewers to insure that all our published books meet the biblical standards held by LifeWay.”
As the only self-publishing company to have a prerequisite like the Theological Review, CrossBooks is proud of this significant distinction our authors and their books carry over other self-published titles.
What happens next?
After it is determined your manuscript holds high biblical standards, you are ready to move forward with your publishing journey. You can choose to display the official seal on your book's cover, and you will receive a certificate proclaiming that your book’s material is in accordance with the CrossBooks Statement of Faith.
Once you pass the Theological Review, you will receive a Theological Review Certificate.
You can also choose to display the official seal on the cover of your book, deeming it theologically sound.
What happens if a book does not pass the Theological Review?
Throughout the entire Theological Review process we work closely with each author to ensure that he or she has a smooth and satisfying publishing journey. In the case that a reviewer thinks part of a manuscript is in conflict with our Statement of Faith, the reviewer notes the area of concern and provides suggestions to resolve any conflicts. The author then has the option to either adjust the manuscript to bring it into accordance with the Statement of Faith, discuss other clarifying possibilities with Dr. Drake personally or choose another publisher.
We hope authors will understand that the Theological Review is not meant to deny authors from publishing with CrossBooks – on the contrary! This service provides each and every CrossBooks author with the confidence that his or her book maintains the high view of Scripture and biblical hermeneutic that is associated with a dedicated Christian publisher readers can trust. The entire Theological Review process is designed to serve our authors and guarantee that their publishing journeys are successful. We do regret turning authors away, but since CrossBooks is a division of LifeWay Christian Resources, we are committed to maintaining an established standard that meets both literary expertise and Christian values.
Dr. Drake elaborates on this point: “St. Augustine said, ‘In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty in all things charity.’ While we do not want the theological review to be a hindrance to free expression of thought, we do want to maintain a biblical standard regarding issues we believe to be essential to sound teaching.”
Spreading God’s message one book at a time
In addition to the moral and literary standards that our experienced staff enforce, the professional services we provide to our published writers and our thriving Christian community, our mission is to help our authors spread God's messages as well as achieve their own personal goals of success time and time again.
Please note: CrossBooks accepts a very low margin of error in each completed edit – no more than three percent of the total errors found. Our professional in-house editorial staff reviews each editorial service for quality assurance. Upon reviewing your edited manuscript, if you believe that an unsatisfactory number of errors remain, please create a list of the errors and the page numbers on which they appear and email it to editorial@crossbooks.org. We will review the list with you and address your concern.
For more information on our Theological Review please visit our FAQ.