Anyone glancing at this month's cover will know that 2003 is a milestone year of celebration for Ministry magazine. (Please notice the "75" logo on the cover, following the word Ministry.) Seventy-five years ago this month Ministry's first issue was dispatched to approximately 1,200 Seventh-day Adventist ministers in North America. Thus this issue is the magazine's nine hundred and first, or approximately so.
Today, Ministry reaches about 50,000 clergy from a large variety of denominations, and 20,000 Adventist ministers and others. Along with these statistics, for the first time in the magazine's history, in 1999, the number of Adventist ministers receiving Ministry outside North America surpassed the number receiving it on the parent continent. This is a trend that only promises to grow, given the increasing use of the English language in much of the world, and above all, the exponential growth of the Adventist Church outside of North America.
Added to this is the fact that this month marks the first time in Ministry's history when it will be translated into the French language, especially for the sake of our many ministers in French-speaking Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. This French-African edition will be circulated quarterly.
So, how will we be celebrating our 75th anniversary?
Starting with Jo Ann Davidson's fine article in this issue, "The Word of God: Its Origin and Authority," we are planning to publish, month by month throughout this year and through 2004, a unique expression of the Seventh-day Adventist faith. We will be presenting articles that affirm and develop Seventh-day Adventist expressions of faith or doctrinal belief.
We recognize that this kind of venture is not unprecedented. The Ministerial Association of the General Conference was itself involved some years ago in the publication of the book Seventh-day Adventists Believe.
Thus, when it comes to the pattern, and to a degree the purpose of this celebrative expression of faith, we will do it with some added elements in mind. We hope that this will offer a distinct contribution to the collective thinking of our community of faith, and especially to the personal faith of Seventh-day Adventists and other interested persons everywhere. With the cooperation of the General Conference Biblical Research Institute, Ministry plans to:
- Above all, express Seventh-day Adventist faith and doctrine in an unequivocally Christocentric way. We recognize the challenge of adding this element to our approach, but see it to be imperative to the development and maturation of Adventist faith.
- Make this celebrative venture an international one. Writers from all over the globe will be carefully chosen to write on a given aspect of Adventist faith. Thus the collective contribution of our venture will not be so much the work of one or two persons, or indeed merely of a committee, but to a degree, of the international community of Seventh-day Adventist ministers and theologians.
- Express or represent Seventh-day Adventist faith authoritatively, accurately, and definitively. At the same time we will intentionally attempt to commission recognized, centrist writers from across the spectrum of Seventh-day Adventist thinking and outlook.
- Render an expression of Adventist belief that is contemporary and relevant. We fervently hope that these articles will be inspirational to the reader. Besides this, it is important that we let our readers know that we have responsibly contemplated some of the challenges facing the Adventist faith
- Write these articles so that they can be understood by the lay person. This is important because, once complete, we would like to take the combined work done in Ministry, that is, all the articles published in the next two years, and publish them in a compiled book form, which we plan to release in mid-2005.
We firmly believe that no faith can live long while it remains set, static, and formulated. This was a view held very dear and unequivocal in the hearts of our ancestors in the faith. Faith, by its nature, is dynamic and developmental At the same time, by its nature, the same faith rests on immovable certain ties and verities that must be allowed to shine in the heart and eye of each successive generation.
Looking at all the aspects we are attempting to blend into this celebrative 75th anniversary project, we realize that we have set ourselves a stimulating challenge. In light of this, we genuinely plead for the presence and guidance of our Lord, and for the prayers, support, and candid comments of our Ministry family.
We would like nothing more than to ' make a genuine contribution to our collective mind, soul, and heart, as we move toward the ultimate moment of truth: the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
