AUTHOR GUIDELINES

1. Scope of Manuscripts

SEJATI accepts original scholarly manuscripts in Christian theology and related disciplines. Manuscripts should contribute to one or more of the following areas:

1. Biblical studies, Old Testament studies, and New Testament studies;
2. Biblical theology and theological interpretation of Scripture;
3. Hermeneutics and exegetical studies;
4. Systematic theology and doctrinal studies;
5. Historical theology and church history;
6. Practical theology, pastoral theology, and ministry studies;
7. Christian education and theological education;
8. Missiology, evangelism, and church mission;
9. Contextual theology, Indonesian theology, and Asian theological reflection;
10. Christian ethics, public theology, and religious studies related to Christian theological interpretation.

Manuscripts must clearly align with the Focus and Scope of SEJATI. Articles that are purely devotional, sermonic, popular, or opinion-based without scholarly method and academic references will not be considered for peer review.

2. Scholarly Quality Requirements

To strengthen the academic quality of published articles, SEJATI requires every manuscript to demonstrate the following elements:

1. Clear research problem: the manuscript must identify a specific academic, theological, biblical, educational, pastoral, or contextual problem.
2. State of the art: the manuscript must engage relevant previous studies and show the current scholarly discussion on the topic.
3. Research gap: the manuscript must clearly explain what has not been sufficiently addressed by previous studies.
4. Novelty: the manuscript must show its new contribution, whether conceptual, exegetical, theological, methodological, contextual, or practical.
5. Explicit method: the manuscript must explain the method or analytical approach used to answer the research problem.
6. Critical discussion: the manuscript must analyze, compare, interpret, and evaluate findings rather than merely describe the topic.
7. Strong scholarly references: the manuscript must use credible, relevant, recent, and reputable academic sources.
8. Ethical integrity: the manuscript must be original, properly cited, free from plagiarism, and compliant with publication ethics.
9. Contribution to scholarship: the manuscript must explain its contribution to theological studies, Christian education, church ministry, mission, or contextual theology.

3. Language and Academic Style

Manuscripts may be written in Indonesian or English. Authors must use formal, clear, precise, and scholarly language.

1. If the manuscript is written in Indonesian, the abstract must be provided in English and Indonesian.
2. If the manuscript is written in English, the abstract may be written in English only.
3. The English title, abstract, and keywords must be written in clear academic English.
4. Authors are responsible for grammar, spelling, clarity, and academic style.
5. Manuscripts with serious language problems may be returned before peer review.
6. Authors are encouraged to use professional proofreading or language editing when necessary.

4. General Manuscript Format

Authors must use the official SEJATI manuscript template. Manuscripts should follow the formatting requirements below:

1. The title must be concise, specific, and no more than 15 words.
2. The title should reflect the main issue, method, object, or contribution of the article.
3. The manuscript should include complete author names, affiliations, and email addresses.
4. The main body of the manuscript should follow the official SEJATI template format.
5. Main headings should follow the template style.
6. Tables and figures must be numbered and titled clearly.
7. Manuscripts must use APA Style for citation and references.
8. Authors must use Mendeley or another reliable reference management tool.

5. Article Structure

Manuscripts submitted to SEJATI should generally contain the following components:

1. Title;
2. Author name(s), affiliation(s), and email address(es);
3. Article history;
4. Article description;
5. Recommended citation;
6. Abstract;
7. Keywords;
8. Introduction;
9. Method;
10. Results and Discussion;
11. Conclusion;
12. References.

6. Abstract and Keywords

The abstract must be written as a concise summary of the manuscript and must clearly present the background, research gap, objective, method, findings, and contribution.

1. The abstract should contain 150–200 words.
2. The abstract must be written in one paragraph.
3. The abstract must not contain citations, tables, or figures.
4. The abstract must clearly state the research objective and method.
5. The abstract must mention the main findings and contribution of the article.
6. If the article is written in Indonesian, the abstract must be provided in English and Indonesian.
7. If the article is written in English, the abstract may be written in English only.
8. Keywords must consist of 3–5 words or phrases.
9. Keywords must be specific, searchable, and separated by semicolons.

7. Introduction

The Introduction is one of the most important parts of the manuscript. It must not merely describe the general background of the topic. It must build a strong academic foundation for the study.

The Introduction must include:

1. Academic background: explanation of the issue, problem, debate, or context being studied.
2. Previous studies: critical engagement with recent and relevant scholarly literature.
3. State of the art: explanation of the current position of research on the topic.
4. Research gap: clear identification of what previous studies have not sufficiently addressed.
5. Novelty: explanation of the new perspective, method, object, argument, or contribution offered by the manuscript.
6. Research objective or question: clear statement of what the article seeks to answer or achieve.
7. Scholarly contribution: explanation of how the article contributes to theological studies or related fields.

Authors should avoid writing an Introduction that consists only of general statements, devotional reflections, or unsupported claims. The Introduction must be supported by scholarly references.

8. Method

The Method section must explain clearly how the research was conducted and how the data, texts, sources, or theological materials were analyzed. A method statement such as “this article uses qualitative research” or “this article uses literature study” is not sufficient unless it is clearly explained.

The Method section should include:

1. Type of research;
2. Primary and secondary sources;
3. Criteria for selecting sources or data;
4. Research procedure or analytical steps;
5. Theological, biblical, hermeneutical, historical, practical, educational, or contextual approach used;
6. Reason why the method is appropriate for answering the research problem;
7. Limitations of the study where relevant;
8. Ethical considerations where human participants, interviews, surveys, or fieldwork are involved.

Depending on the topic, the method may include biblical exegesis, theological analysis, historical analysis, literature review, qualitative research, hermeneutical analysis, contextual theological reflection, practical theology method, missiological analysis, Christian education research, pastoral research, or comparative theological analysis.

9. Results and Discussion

The Results and Discussion section must present findings and provide critical analysis. This section should not merely repeat theories or describe the topic. It must interpret the findings, compare them with previous studies, and show the article’s contribution.

The Results and Discussion section should:

1. Present the main findings clearly and systematically;
2. Answer the research question or objective stated in the Introduction;
3. Use evidence from data, biblical texts, theological sources, historical materials, field findings, or scholarly literature;
4. Analyze the findings critically;
5. Compare the findings with previous studies;
6. Explain similarities and differences from earlier research;
7. Show the novelty and contribution of the manuscript;
8. Discuss theological, academic, pastoral, educational, missional, or contextual implications;
9. Avoid unsupported claims and excessive description.

For biblical studies, this section should include responsible exegesis or exposition of the biblical text, including textual, literary, historical, canonical, theological, and contextual considerations where relevant.

10. Tables and Figures

Tables, figures, charts, diagrams, or images may be used when they support the argument or clarify the analysis.

1. Each table and figure must be numbered.
2. Each table and figure must have a clear title.
3. Tables and figures must be discussed in the manuscript text.
4. Sources must be acknowledged when tables or figures are adapted from other works.
5. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for copyrighted third-party materials.

11. Conclusion

The Conclusion must answer the research problem and objective. It must not merely repeat the discussion, but should synthesize the main findings and explain their contribution.

The Conclusion should include:

1. Summary of the main findings;
2. Clear answer to the research question or objective;
3. The scholarly contribution of the study;
4. Theological, educational, pastoral, missional, or contextual implications;
5. Limitations of the study where relevant;
6. Suggestions for further research.

12. References

References must demonstrate the scholarly quality of the manuscript. Authors must use credible, relevant, recent, and reputable academic sources.

1. Manuscripts should include at least 25 references for original research articles.
2. At least 80% of references should be scholarly journal articles.
3. Most references should be published within the last 10 years, except for classical or foundational theological sources.
4. At least 30% of references are strongly encouraged to come from reputable national or international journals, including journals indexed in SINTA 1–2, DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science, or other recognized scholarly databases.
5. Authors should cite relevant international literature when appropriate.
6. Authors must include DOI links whenever available.
7. References must follow APA Style.
8. Authors must use Mendeley or another reliable reference manager.
9. All sources cited in the text must appear in the References section.
10. All sources listed in the References section must be cited in the manuscript text.
11. Authors must avoid unreliable sources such as Wikipedia, personal blogs, non-academic websites, and popular news portals unless they are used as research objects or contextual data.

13. Publication Ethics

Authors must comply with the Publication Ethics policy of SEJATI. Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, not under consideration elsewhere, properly cited, and free from plagiarism or other forms of publication misconduct.

Authors must ensure that:

1. The manuscript is original and has not been published elsewhere;
2. The manuscript is not being submitted to another journal at the same time;
3. All listed authors have made significant scholarly contributions;
4. All authors have approved the final version of the manuscript;
5. All sources are properly acknowledged;
6. Any conflict of interest is disclosed;
7. Research involving human participants follows appropriate ethical standards;
8. Any use of AI-assisted tools is properly disclosed;
9. All data, quotations, translations, references, and interpretations are accurate and verifiable.

14. Plagiarism and Similarity Policy

All manuscripts submitted to SEJATI may be screened for plagiarism and similarity. The maximum similarity limit is 20% for the core manuscript content, excluding the reference list or bibliography.

1. Similarity above 20% may result in return for revision or rejection.
2. A similarity score below 20% does not automatically guarantee acceptance.
3. The editorial team will evaluate the nature, source, and context of the similarity.
4. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, and unethical text reuse are prohibited.
5. Manuscripts with serious plagiarism may be rejected without peer review.

15. Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors may use AI-assisted tools only for limited technical purposes, such as grammar checking, language improvement, translation assistance, formatting support, or readability improvement. AI must not replace the author’s scholarly responsibility, theological reasoning, interpretation, analysis, originality, or authorship.

Authors must not use AI tools to:

1. Generate substantial scholarly content without disclosure;
2. Create fabricated references, quotations, data, or sources;
3. Replace genuine biblical, theological, historical, contextual, or methodological analysis;
4. Misrepresent authorship or intellectual contribution;
5. Submit content that the authors cannot verify, explain, or defend academically.

If AI tools are used, authors must disclose the use in the manuscript or in a statement to the editor.

16. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright of their published articles and grant SEJATI the right of first publication. Published articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all third-party materials included in the manuscript have proper permission, citation, or licensing information.

17. Article Processing Charge

SEJATI charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) of Rp150.000 for accepted manuscripts. The APC is charged only after the manuscript has been accepted for publication. There is no submission fee and no reader access fee.

18. Conditions for Desk Rejection

Manuscripts may be rejected before peer review if they do not meet the journal’s basic academic and ethical standards.

SEJATI may reject a manuscript during initial editorial screening if:

1. The manuscript is outside the journal’s focus and scope;
2. The manuscript does not use the official SEJATI template;
3. The manuscript lacks a clear research problem, research gap, novelty, or contribution;
4. The method is unclear, inappropriate, or insufficiently explained;
5. The discussion is merely descriptive and lacks critical analysis;
6. The references are insufficient, outdated, unreliable, or not scholarly;
7. The manuscript similarity exceeds the allowed threshold or indicates plagiarism;
8. The manuscript is devotional, sermonic, inspirational, or popular writing without academic method;
9. The manuscript is under consideration elsewhere or has been published previously;
10. The manuscript contains fabricated references, false citations, or unverifiable sources;
11. The manuscript shows inappropriate or undisclosed use of AI-generated content;
12. The manuscript does not comply with publication ethics.

19. Online Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted through the online submission system of SEJATI. Authors must register or log in to the journal website and follow the submission steps.

Before submission, authors must ensure that:

1. The manuscript follows the official SEJATI template;
2. The manuscript fits the Focus and Scope of the journal;
3. The title, author identity, affiliation, and email are complete;
4. The abstract and keywords follow the journal requirements;
5. The manuscript contains Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion, Conclusion, and References;
6. The Introduction includes research gap and novelty;
7. The Method is explicit and appropriate;
8. The Discussion is critical and supported by scholarly literature;
9. References follow APA Style and are managed with Mendeley;
10. The manuscript similarity level does not exceed 20% excluding references;
11. The manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere;
12. All authors have approved the submission;
13. Any conflict of interest and AI use has been disclosed where applicable.

Submit Manuscript

20. High-Quality Manuscript Checklist

Authors should use the following checklist before submitting a manuscript:

1. The manuscript is original and unpublished.
2. The manuscript is not under review by another journal.
3. The manuscript follows the official SEJATI template.
4. The title contains no more than 15 words.
5. The abstract clearly presents background, gap, objective, method, findings, and contribution.
6. The keywords consist of 3–5 words or phrases separated by semicolons.
7. The Introduction includes state of the art, research gap, novelty, and objective.
8. The Method explains sources, procedures, analytical approach, and limitations.
9. The Results and Discussion section provides critical analysis, not merely description.
10. The Discussion compares findings with previous studies.
11. The Conclusion answers the research objective and states the contribution.
12. The manuscript uses APA Style consistently.
13. The manuscript uses Mendeley or another reliable reference manager.
14. The manuscript includes at least 25 references for original research articles.
15. At least 80% of references are scholarly journal articles.
16. Most references are from the last 10 years, except classical theological sources.
17. DOI links are included whenever available.
18. The manuscript avoids unreliable sources such as Wikipedia, personal blogs, and popular news portals.
19. The similarity level does not exceed 20% excluding references.
20. Any use of AI-assisted tools has been disclosed.
21. All authors have approved the manuscript submission.

21. Final Statement

SEJATI expects authors to submit manuscripts that are original, ethical, methodologically clear, critically argued, properly cited, and relevant to the journal’s Focus and Scope. By submitting a manuscript to SEJATI, authors agree to follow these Author Guidelines, the Publication Ethics policy, the Peer Review Process, the Plagiarism Policy, the Copyright and Licensing Policy, and all related journal policies.