We called J. David Newman from the Ohio Conference, where he had just been appointed conference secretary. Recently we discovered that David was born just three days after my wife and I began our ministry in that same conference.
David's appealing accent stems from his British parents, who labored for twenty-two years as missionaries in West Africa. After being educated in various schools from Edinburgh to London and from California to Michigan, he graduated from La Sierra College with a B.A. in theology and from Andrews University with an M.A. in archeology and history of antiquity. He is presently working on his D.Min. at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. His wide range of activities on several continents has given him a world view of people and places, cultures and customs.
His talented wife, whom he met at La Sierra College, is a teacher by profession and has an M.A. in child development from Michigan State University. Their two lovely daughters, Michelle and Heather, attend our Spencerville, Maryland, junior academy. Among other things, David enjoys reading, bird-watching, jogging, listening to classical music, and challenging his Commodore 64 computer. In addition to all this, he is an expert in using that unique British system, involving both knife and fork, to convey food from plate to palate. But what can we say, since he still carries a British passport!
David's management skills, enhanced by personal study and workshop attendance, have led to the development of several leadership seminars, which he conducts upon request. His organizational and long-range planning skills will soon have an effect that our readers will notice.
His great objective—to make MINISTRY the most influential Christian journal in the world—is shared by our entire staff. Our experience of his leadership thus far makes us confident of reaching that objective. J.R.S.
