The Society expresses its profound sadness at the passing of Ted Lewis, IJES board member (2013–2017) and executive director (from 2017).

Ted entered our world some fifteen years ago as a result of his work as acquisitions editor for Wipf & Stock Publishers. What had been a trickle became nothing less than a flood of reprints and new editions of Ellul books. Ted led many projects to translate and publish Ellul's works in English, laboring ceaselessly to acquire permissions from French and American publishers, negotiating with translators and authors of new introductions, and raising funds for these projects. To all of this he added important secondary literature about Ellul. As many of Ellul’s books were falling out of print by the late 1990s, Ted’s contribution cannot be overstated. All Ellul readers and scholars owe him a massive debt.

In 2013, Ted Lewis was elected to serve on the IJES board of directors and in 2017 was appointed as executive director. In this role he improved our website and the content available on it. He composed regular newsletters for the Society's members. He initiated and led a series of online discussions and always played an important part in conference organizing. He provided invaluable assistance to the IJES president in overall leadership and to Ellul Forum editors.

Apart from his work in the Society, Ted was a restorative-justice practitioner, trainer, and consultant at the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking at the University of Minnesota. He served on the executive committee of the National Association for Community and Restorative Justice. His MA in Religious Studies (University of Minnesota) focused on the sociology of religious-based conflicts and iconoclasm. In 2020, Ted founded the Restorative Church project (restorativechurch.org). His favorite Ellul book was The Humiliation of the Word.

Our Society officially recognized Ted at our 2016 Berkeley conference for what was already a major contribution. In all of his time of leadership from 2013 onward, Ted was not just an effective, tireless, creative worker and leader. He was also an engaging, joyful, universally beloved community builder, colleague, and friend. He was truly a gift of God.