PDF By Senior Editor Doug Newton
Some things never change. However, one of those things is not the editorship of Light & Life magazine. I have had the privilege of serving our church in this role for 15 years. And my term of service is coming to an end. Why?
In the year 2000, God called my wife and me to begin a prayer ministry: Mary’s Place, dedicated to restoring prayer to the center of our denomination by helping people in ministry reorient their busy lives around prayer and the Word of God. That year we began hosting all-expenses-paid, weeklong retreats for three pastoral couples at a time. We did this on our “own time.” Eventually, the New South Conference generously offered 10 acres of land on which to build a prayer retreat lodge at our personal expense to create a center of operations. From there we continued to offer retreats on location and launched retreats in England, Egypt and other parts of the U.S.
Unexpectedly, God called us back into pastoral ministry at Greenville FMC (Ill.) in 2006. Our church here graciously supported our “extended” ministry through Light & Life and Mary’s Place. For five years, the workload of this growing church and magazine combined to be more than we could handle. Mary’s Place kept being pushed to the background.
We had to choose between the magazine and the prayer ministry, so we spoke to the bishops. They heard our sense of calling to the prayer ministry and supported our desire to refocus our “extracurricular” efforts there. We gave our resignation notice in March, effective Dec. 31, 2010.
Since then, we have grown to respect and support our new executive director of communications, Jason Archer, because of his abilities, experience, love for the church and vision for connecting Free Methodists more and more in the future.
We have been involved in some in-depth discussions about the communications needs of the church in the future, which require creative solutions and some changes. Thousands of wonderful new people who attend our churches every week have little understanding of our heritage or emphases. We must follow God’s leading through the vision and wisdom of our leaders to do what works best to enfold them in the historic calling and current vision of the denomination. So I have endorsed the idea of Light & Life “going dark” after the January/February 2011 issue, as new plans are considered and new methods developed.
Over the years, I have often gratefully heard people remark that Light & Life is the best tool we have for connecting our churches. I believe that has been true. But as the several redesigns we have undertaken over the years show, I have a passion for improvement. So even Light & Life must change.
I believe when the new plan for communications is unveiled, likely at General Conference 2011, our churches will have a better tool than ever. So please pray for those involved. They want to honor the precious value of what has been, as they formulate what must come into being.
In closing, I want to thank all the members of my amazing staff over the years, now represented by the current members of the team. Managing Editor Cynthia Schnereger is most responsible for producing a news-packed, balanced and passionate magazine in a timely fashion, going to nearly twice as many people, with a budget that has decreased since 1996! Art Director Andrea Anibal, and her assistant graphic designer, Erin Newton, bring “the look” to the magazine that creates the sense of “vitality and excellence” that makes our whole church proud and that enhances the readability and impact of every article. Manuscript Manager Margie Newton has put our magazine on the map among freelance writers around the world who marvel at the gracious way in which we treat them with respect, even when we must reject 98 percent of all unsolicited manuscripts. Our Deeper Path writers (perhaps the best part of the magazine) listen to the Spirit and combine their efforts to show us how disciples think about and apply God’s Word broadly. Our cartoonist, Alex Parsons, and writer Dave Meurer have consistently added poignant humor rivaling that of any magazine on the market. Our several copy editors, now represented by Dawn McIlvain Stahl, bring diligent and skilled attention to detail that helps us clarify our message and hit our mark.
Finally, I thank both the Lord for this amazing privilege, and our bishops, who admittedly took “a risk” (their words), trusted that I would honor the privilege, love the church, preserve our heritage, challenge our thinking and inspire our faith, and then let me loose.
To the next editor, I say humbly … may that never change.
Doug Newton is senior editor of Light & Life magazine and senior pastor of Greenville FMC (Ill.).
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