Mission Statement
As I enter my fifth year as editor, and also a New Year, I reflect on my brief occupation of the editorial position. I started in May of 2010 with a mission statement, so this will be the initial framework of my musings.
“The Christadelphian Tidings is the regional Christadelphian magazine for the Americas. It seeks to convey the scriptural message of the Hope of the Kingdom, and to help brothers and sisters in their collective walk in the Truth. It conveys news of ecclesias and events in North America, as well as news from the mission areas in the Americas. It strives, in all that it does, to reflect the glory of God through his son Jesus.”
I would hope that all I have written, and all that I have published, has conformed to this statement. In 52 issues, and about 900,000 words, there have inevitably been a few articles that deviate from the mission, and a few errors, but also many articles written by the many contributors which, it is hoped, have directly helped in the service of our Lord Jesus.
What I inherited
The Christadelphian community in North America is undoubtedly under stress, due to many factors:
- The increasing secularization of North America, and indeed the whole of the media, has made it increasingly difficult for our young people to live a Christ–like life.
- We are faced with a society that stresses inclusion and no discrimination, so as a result same sex marriage and toleration of alternative life style have made it very difficult to proclaim Christian morality. In fact, it would probably be unwise to publicize a lecture on the evils of homosexuality at present. One wonders what Paul would have thought of our society — although such problems obviously have troubled all true believers, both in Old Testament as well as New Testament times.
- Humanism, the Evangelical Movement, and the erroneous claims of evolution are impacting all of us, and particularly those young in the Truth.
- And of course there is the continuing stress over the attempts of some of the Amended Fellowship who wish to join with those of the Unamended community who would like to unite on a common Scriptural basis.
Frankly, little has changed since 2010 in any of these areas, although we are perhaps just a little closer in the last area. As many have commented, surely this litany is part of the signs that we can expect the return of our Lord soon, although perhaps not in the manner or at the time we expect. As Paul says “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:2).
The essence of the saying is that, not only is the coming unexpected, but that the householder is unprepared for such an event. Our focus, as always should be on preparation, not forecasting.
Edification
We can look back on all the articles that have appeared over the last five years, which number close to 300, and this excludes the intelligence, news and notices, and Mission news. We have published ongoing sections on “Youth Speaks” with Bro. Jason Hensley, “Sunday School” with Bro. Jim Harper, and a more occasional section on “Music in Worship” with Bro. Ken and Sis Joan Curry. Of course, other areas of edification have been covered, ranging from Articles on the Qur’an and the Mormons (Bro. Don Styles), to Job (by Bro. John Pople), Leviticus and the Tabernacle (Bro. Joe Hill), Marriage (Bro. Jon Bilello) and several series on the New Testament by Bro. Ryan Mutter. Many more have contributed, and I must apologize if space and practical constraints inhibit me from including all who have provided valuable insight, exhortation, and practical guidance.
The Special Issues (the August issue) have changed somewhat. We had, for some years prior, published extended treatments of a single passage or chapter, such as one on the Proverbs of Agur, Proverbs 30, by Bro. George Booker. Instead, we switched to collections by multiple authors on a common theme, and so have considered Preaching, Christadelphians and the World Around Us, By Sisters for Sisters, and All the Apostles. Many (but not all) of all these articles and much more can, of course, be found on the Tidings Website, Tidings.org, and any individual article which is missing can usually be obtained by e-mailing the editor.
Intelligence
The Tidings has certainly served as a source of news for the North American Christadelphian community: a quick survey showed, on average, about 50 different ecclesias submit intelligence every year, with a few not only submitting every year but also multiple times a year. Again, approximate statistics show the intelligence received from ecclesias represent 70% of the Amended ecclesias, and although about 60 ecclesias have not, versus the 90 (approximately) who have, most of these who have not are quite small.
Some who do not send in intelligence are quite large, however, which is a pity for future generations. The whole archive of The Tidings is shortly to be made available, and it has proved quite valuable in confirming baptism dates etc. So, if the Lord remains away, those who do not send in intelligence will not have contributed to this valuable archive of not only a host of informational, Biblically based articles but the comings and goings of our North American Community — all fully searchable.
The events section, as well as the notice section, is also quite valuable. Although many ecclesias circulate the ecclesias in their area with notices via e-mail (and a very few still by “snail mail”), it is still valuable for the wider community to be aware of all the on-going activities. After all, our young people do an incredible amount of travelling, as any parent of young people knows.
Looking forward
The signs of the times are fascinating, if a little hard to interpret. There is a strange duality surrounding the focus of our attention, which is of course events surrounding Jerusalem, Israel, and the Middle East. Simultaneously, Israel is in the position of being the dominant military power in the region, with most of its potential enemies in turmoil, so from a position of any realistic threat to its existence as a nation, it is surely dwelling in peace and safety (1Thess 5:3), and in a land of unwalled villages (Ezek 38:11). At the same time, the Palestinians who live in the land and in the Gaza Strip are continually inflicting pin-pricks with individual assaults, and intermittent episodes of random rocket fire. So life in Israel is both for the most part peaceful, but also wracked by the well-publicized disturbances that figure so prominently in the news.
At present, as I write, the Americans and a host of allied nations are focusing their might (or at least their aerial might) on combating the vicious quasi-religious group known as ISIS, which is so violent and so disruptive of the countries in which it operates. There is no doubt that conquering “Bayt el-Maqdis” (Jerusalem) and destroying the State of Israel is central to the group’s “jihad”, or holy war as the spokesperson for the group, Nidal Nuseiri, recently re-affirmed. However, he pointed out that ISIS has been taking a systematic approach in its campaign, and outlined six specific stages it said needed to be fulfilled before taking on Israel. Few of these have been achieved, and so it remains to be seen as to whether, in God’s purpose, ISIS will play a role as the “thief in the night”, when “sudden destruction” will come.
So as we continue to look at the turmoil in the Middle East, as well as the unfortunate disturbances in our community, we need indeed to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3 ESV). Our focus needs to be on contending against the apostasy that surrounds us. Not focused internally, but externally, whence the major challenges facing us come from.
As the editor of this magazine, I must indeed focus on edification, on up building. By the nature of our community, I and the Editorial Committee completely lack any authority to decide matters, to judge in any way either the doctrinal or fellowship puzzles that occasionally arise. As I have said before, the magazine is to convey news and a helpful Scriptural based message. Ecclesial matters are for ecclesias alone to decide: we can only report, and follow our normal procedures in attempting to ensure some sort of area agreement is reached. And in all things acknowledge that the judge of all things is our Lord Jesus, before whose judgment seat we must appear if we want to enter the kingdom, as all of us do.
I hope we can look forward to the return of Christ in the near future, although I must admit I have no idea how close the near future is. Many before us have looked to the return of Christ in their lifetime, as I do, but we must at the same time be prepared for it to come at any time, and at the same time strengthen those who remain, and seek to spread the true gospel throughout the world.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One