PDF 
Change is inevitable. So goes the familiar saying, which, of course, is true. But there’s something just a little deceptive about that saying. Doesn’t it sound like it’s referring to the future? Change is inevitable — it’s out there, it’s coming.
The fact is, change is not just inevitable; it’s inescapable. It’s not “out there” on its way here. It’s already upon us. We’re caught up in it already. We can’t get out of it.
If you’re just now preparing for change, you’re too late. Change got here yesterday. It’s happening today. By tomorrow, the change you’re just now getting used to will be tradition.
Social scientists tell us that significant shifts in culture, which used to take a generation or two, now occur every few years.
Facebook is not quite 7 years old. Its 26-year-old creator, Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg, is already a multibillionaire. Its communication platform has changed the way young people circulate information and build relationships.
Even though many of us still want to hold paper in our hands when we read, the change to digital information and content distribution has already occurred. Even though many of us still prefer to gather information by listening to what a speaker or writer is saying, the change to collaborative discussion is fast becoming the way a new generation educates itself and forms opinions.
All of these sketchy preliminary comments are simply to say that Light & Life will be changing soon. We must. Change is not just inevitable; it’s inescapable. It’s happening. In the spirit of our innovative founder, B. T. Roberts (who would already have at least 2,000 friends on Facebook if he were alive, and would be figuring out how to spread scriptural holiness and serve the poor with today’s most effective communications systems), Light & Life must also seek the most effective ways to communicate. We must discover how to gather the passion and best thinking of the younger generations and direct them toward collaborative kingdom ministry.
The church and its ministry tools are no longer primarily for people like me, 57 years old and aging. We must gladly say, “Here, guys; here’s the church. Make her run fast and lean. Make her connect with new generations of disciples.”
So here’s the game plan that I, as senior editor, have encouraged and that our bishops have endorsed. In January, we will publish one more issue of Light & Life in its current format. It will focus entirely on the sesquicentennial general conference coming in
Doug Newton, Senior Editor
July 2011. Then we will go dark for a few months of redesigning this historic print piece to fit the emerging communications needs and strategy of the church. After that period of creative work, the new era of Light & Life will be unveiled at General Conference 2011.
No one has put me up to this change or pushed me out the door. I am more eager than I can express about the days ahead. The world around us has changed. So let’s give new Light & Life to the world.
But until then…one last time enjoy one last issue devoted to our signal doctrine – holiness. May that never change!
Read the November/December 2010 Issue
Related posts:
Jason… you earn a WWF sticker – and a marble too – for this excellent first-out-of-the-box winner!!! We are seeing the future. And, it’s slick!
Dr. Ball:
Glad you’re enjoying the site. Fan the flame to your networks. I’ll be looking for that sticker :)
How and when can I find out about the exciting change to come? As a writer that is both very active in Facebook and uses both videos and pictures in my writings I can’t wait to see what you are up to! :)