Ministry is looking for articles written by pastors and other readers in countries outside the North American continent. Appreciative as we continue to be of the traditional and highly meaningful role played by contributors in the United States and Canada, we are committed and eager to publish the thoughts, ideas, and insights of our readers worldwide. It is important for many good reasons to make this magazine more authentically international. I am increasingly aware of how different pastoring is in some countries versus others. I would also say, however, that even articles which may at first appear to be far removed from the conditions and culture of a given situation, may not be as irrelevant as they seem, as long as the article is read with openness, understanding, and intentional adaptation. Exercising this kind of adaptation can in itself be a highly effective and creative way of enriching all of our ministries.
Ministry provides a venue for pooling and distributing our best ideas and insights. As such the magazine also creates a sorely needed sense of fellow ship and global in-commonness, through which we may all grow in ways that would otherwise be impossible. Increasingly we are pressed by the prevailing attitudes and philosophies of the world around us to define ourselves merely in terms of our own unique differences and national-cultural characteristics, while largely ignoring the fabulous implications of the international community we are "in Christ." Ministry, as it is presently conceived, can help us in the church to move away from this limited outlook.
In the first few months of 1999, we would like to mount a formal and informal offensive through which we especially encourage our ministers the world over to write for this magazine. As most of our readers know, the disproportionate majority of those subscribing to Ministry are from the North American continent. It is natural that this would lead to the same proportions when it comes to those who write for the magazine. At the same time, a number of world fields find it financially challenging to supply this magazine to the ministers in their territory. It is obvious that the language used by Ministry is English, and this clearly adds a significant complication to writers whose primary language is not English.
Besides these realities, Ministry's editorial office is located in North America, making it simpler for the office to communicate and correspond with potential writers on that continent. Perhaps more significantly, this makes it difficult, though by no means impossible, for non-North American writers to work with the editorial office in proposing and preparing articles for publication. The remoteness of the editorial offices in relation to many parts of the world also seems to create a psychological barrier within both the editors and the potential writers. This can only be overcome through affirmative action on the part of all.
With all this in mind, let's be practical. Realistically, how may we jump these hurdles? How can our international ministerial family make the world ministry of Ministry more truly global?
1. By taking the arenas of ministerial specialization in which you have a special interest, or in which you have had a high degree of success, organizing them in your mind and sitting down to write about them with your world colleagues in mind.
2. By projecting which aspects of your ministerial experience and study may be most helpful to significant sectors of the world field of Seventh-day Adventist clergy.
3. And then by sending your work to the magazine (see below for information on how to send manuscripts).
We are always searching for good articles dealing with topics such as the "how-tos" of successful public or personal evangelism; original, well-researched, balanced articles on all kinds of theological topics; implementable principles for local church administration; pastoral-professional life management; preaching and its preparation; harnessing the gifts of every member for effective ministry; and inspirational, morale-boosting articles on the spiritual life of the pastor, to name a few.
Right now we are especially looking for writers who will tackle such topics as these: pastoring in multicultural-metropolitan settings, how to pastor multiple church districts effectively, dealing with difficult people in the church, living on a pastor's salary in high income areas, dealing with negativity and personal criticism as a pastor, handling conflict in the local church, doing effective pastoral counseling, and managing needed change.
We are deeply aware of the language concerns of many international writers. Unideal as we know it to be, we must urge authors to write in the English language, or to find the best translator possible in the home field, asking them to translate your manuscript before sending it in to Ministry. If a writer cannot find such translation services, please do correspond with us before sending in your work, and we will work with you as well as we are able.
We pay writers as generously as possible. It is good to check with us if you have any questions about writing procedures or topic relevancy. We prefer to receive manuscripts in hard copy and computer diskette but will accept typed hard copy alone. We are increasingly successful in landing articles through email, though this method has not yet proved entirely reliable. Fax is also helpful. All relevant communication addresses may be found on page 2 (our masthead page) of any Ministry issue under the "To Writers" heading.
So take the plunge. It is true that your article may be turned down, but even if it is, you will still have clarified your thinking and learned much. Ministers all over the world await your contribution.