(Courtesy of the University of Chicago Divinity School)

Scholar Joel Brown has been selected as the next president of  the Disciples of Christ Historical Society.

Brown, a recent PhD graduate of the University of Chica­go Divinity School, was previously the managing editor for the school’s Martin Marty Center for the Public Under­standing of Religion as well as for its Religion and Culture Forum.

In a statement, Brown said he was “incredibly honored and deeply humbled” to serve in his new role.

“As we find ourselves in a particular moment when ‘history’ is being wea­ponized to narrow minds and hearts, I look forward to working with our churches, ministries, schools, and partners in other streams of the Stone-Campbell movement to realize that criti­cal and faithful study of our history can be a source for liberation, justice, and wholeness as we move forward into the future,” he said.