Happy New Year. Happy new magazine. Somewhat.
Actually the new year isn’t all that new. The school year began a few months ago. Rosh Hashana landed a few weeks later. We don’t generally maneuver life’s biggest turning points on the January firsts of our years. We cross those intersections on wedding days, on birthing days, on graduation days–and when the children head off to college.
Then again, our pattern of making new year resolutions does hold forth the possibility that we can make some things new. We at The Outlook have resolved to do a few things in a new way. We are implementing a re-design in this new issue. A full size picture will now grace the cover. A more explanatory table of contents will join the masthead on page 3, followed by the editorial, and then the news and features. Practical information to enhance and empower effective ministry in your local church will appear regularly.
More than that, we will pursue some 2007-specific goals. First, we will strive to overcome the misinformation and disinformation that is being disseminated around the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The Outlook long has been trusted for presenting news of the church with scrupulous accuracy. Many newsmakers comment to us that Leslie Scanlon’s news reporting is more “spot on” than their meetings’ official minutes. In this new millennium, where information circulates at digital speed, and misinformation even faster, The Outlook will be setting the record straight.
Second, in our editorial pages we will continue to make the case for denominational reconciliation and unity. Biblically speaking, unity is not merely a byproduct of believers all sharing easy theological agreement. Unity is one of God’s central projects. So many New Testament books testify of the human tendency to divide, and of God’s plan to reconcile–Jew with Gentile, slave with free, male with female, traditionalist with iconoclast, powerful with powerless, wealthy with poor. Read through Acts, Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, Timothy, Titus, John, and the letters of John. The conclusion is unmistakable: unity among diverse peoples is a sign of God’s reign, a gift for all God’s people to unwrap. It’s true that we have inherited many denominational divisions, but our witness to Christ’s reconciling work can be further obscured or better clarified by the way we deal with one another in times of disagreement.
Third, we will be offering more fresh ideas and inspiration to encourage and empower effective ministry in the church. While we grieve the pattern of overall membership decreases, numerous Presbyterian congregations are launching vital ministries, are experimenting with new ministry paradigms, and are developing models for mission that others can replicate. Some of those congregations are growing rapidly. Those stories will be told in the hope that the rest of us will catch a glimpse of how we can implement similar ministries.
Fourth, we will speak out on issues and will present in-depth analyses of a variety of topics, from “God’s Politics” to church-and-state relationships; from wee kirk ministry to the Emergent Church movement; interfaith relationships with other religions; commissioned lay pastor programs; recent research on the process of forgiveness; trends in two-thirds world theology; new world missional ministries. We will seek–with your help–to cast a 21st century vision for authentic connectional fellowship, converging our elder-government tradition with the many tools made available by this networking world.
We have high hopes for the new year. Those hopes can be realized only as we build upon the lessons and experiences–both happy and sad–of the past. Many of the topics to study, many of the questions to answer, many of the conflicts to solve are as old as The Outlook (we begin our 189th year with this issue). Some controversies have resisted resolution for generations; they will try to dance out of our grasp in 2007, too. But we declare, for all to hear, that we believe that God-with-us, Immanuel, the one whose birth and epiphany bookend our New Year’s parties, the one who was, and is and is to come, the one who never changes–nevertheless–promises us a new song, a new heart, a new soul, a new thing, a new creation.
Accordingly, do have a happy (mostly) New Year.
— JHH
