Farewell

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error--change this is the rhythm of living," said Bruce Barton. The delegates to the 1995 General Conference session in Utrecht, Holland, as part of the rhythm of living, voted that a new person occupy the editor's chair. So this is my last editorial.

It has been a privilege and honor to serve in this capacity and to work with a wonderful and dedicated editorial staff for the past 11 years. They have been challenging years, growing years, and learning years. During this time I have sought to be faithful to God, faithful to the church, and faithful to the standards of ethics and professional practice of the Associated Church Press, of which the following is a part: "Disciplined journalistic curiosity seeks out information and insight in the service of the reader and the common good, out of the knowledge that the individual readers--the ultimate 'consumers' of journalism--need truth to form their opinions and conduct their lives in consonance with God's will, and that society as a whole, and each community within society, specifically the churches, need trustworthy sources of information and interpretation in order to function as community."

Controversial topics

This has been a challenging task, because what one regards as vital and necessary another might regard as subversive and unwarranted. This is why this journal has covered controversial topics such as the ordination of women, abortion, competitive sports in schools, the nature of Christ, church hospital executive salaries, theological pluralism, issues in justification, different forms of evangelism, divorce and remarriage, sexual ethics, church authority, inspiration and interpretation of Scripture, creation and evolution. We could extend the list.

We live in a complex age, and there are no easy answers to many of the dilemmas facing us. We need accurate information to help form our opinions and decide how best to approach the is sues we face in ministry. While truth never changes, it needs to be dressed in its cultural context. Some applications of principle relevant for one generation may be irrelevant today. Many confuse principle and application. While principles are timeless and universal, their application may vary from time to time and culture to culture. Credibility is in creased when pastors see church leaders grappling with these difficult issues and find leaders to be open and candid.

The cross supreme

Above all I have tried to lift up the cross of Christ. When all the shouting dies away, when all the issues are laid on the table, when all the doctrines have been discussed, when all the policies have been voted, the only thing that matters is Jesus and our relation ship with Him. Paul, one of the most erudite men of his day, wrote, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).* To the believers in Galatia he said, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal. 6:14).

Ellen White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, wrote: "Hanging upon the cross Christ was the gospel. Now we have a mes sage, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.' Will not our church members keep their eyes fixed on a crucified and risen Savior, in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered? This is our message, our argument, our doctrine, our warning to the impenitent, our encouragement for the sorrowing, the hope for every believer" (The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, vol. 6, p. 1113).

The cross stands as a mighty beacon radiating through time, declaring that God is love. When atrocities caused by marauding armies cause us to wonder, the cross declares that God cares. When violence strikes and a mother is taken from her children, the cross declares that God is still love. When factions make a country ungovernable and we wonder where God is, the cross rings out that God is love. When tragedy strikes in the bloom of youth and a person is crippled for life, the cross declares that God is still in charge. When we have no answers to the intractable problems of life, the cross is the only answer we can cling to.

So as I say farewell, never give up the faith, never despair, never sink into stubborn defiance. Look always to Jesus, for He only is "the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Always remember that "the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).