Stimulus Vol 18 Issue 4 November 2010 |
Table of ContentsExtending the prophetic horizon: Where did John of Patmos get all that stuff? Modes of engagement with worship How do we remember Jesus? Some meditations about the body St Imulus: In the beginning was the end: how it all fell off the cards Pulpit Galatians 5 and 6: Being new earthed Public Christianity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi: how the “Clapham Sect” reached down under The churches and Treaty claims Review Article – Bible & Treaty: Missionaries Among the Maori – A New Perspective by Keith Newman Peter and the beloved disciple: unfinished business in John 21 36 Theology and a renewed global vision Models and metaphors: Gaia and God Creation and Christology: the ecological crisis and eschatological ethics Atheists in Wonderland Who says? And does it matter? Virtual reality and children’s spirituality Review Article – Believing Again: Doubt and Faith in a Secular Age, by Roger Lundin A postscript from the Publisher Valedictory Book review Whare Karakia: Maori Church Building, Decoration & Ritual in Aotearoa New Zealand 1834-1863
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November 2010 |
EditorialThis is the way the world ends
I am a latecomer to Stimulus. Gavin recruited me to assist with Vol 9 No 3 back in 2001. The topic for the issue was worship. At the time I was working in an office around the corner from Gavin’s and we spent many lunchtimes developing the issue, recruiting authors, and (of course) solving the problems of the world – and the church. We succeeded so well for that issue that we had to have a second issue on worship to take the overflow from the first!
Stimulus has been a very anarchic affair. Behind the highly impressive front and website (!) is a handful of enthusiasts attempting to make it all happen. The internet has made life easier. Much of our initial editing and proof reading occurs remotely before articles get laid out for printing, and the wonderful Paul adds some of his cartoons. Editing Saturday occurs every three months. We gather at our place for a day, read through all the material for the issue (the rule is three “final” proof-reads for each article), agree what will run and in what order, draw straws as to who will write the editorial, and finish off the whole issue.
On those occasions, the air is filled with erudite discussion regarding subjunctives, proper use of apostrophes and commas, capitalisation, italics, and the arcane rules of references and endnotes. This conversation often degenerates to talk of politics (inside and outside the church), social issues, economics, left versus right, and inevitably to music – someone will always play a guitar at sometime during the day. The issue goes to the printer a few days later; then it gets packed and mailed to you out of Doug’s garage in the Wairarapa.
Sometimes we struggle for material. It comes time for the next issue and we wonder where material will come from. As is the slightly illicit privilege of someone on the editorial team, I have been able to have my own thoughts published at various times – sometimes to fill space when we have been desperate for copy. However, over the last 18 years, in spite of our last-minute approach to publishing, we have rarely been short of suitable contributions and quite often we’ve had backlog.
But “all good things must come to an end”. And it has come that time for Stimulus. Doug wishes to stand down as publisher, and the rest of us think that it is an appropriate time for us to move on.
It may be that Stimulus emerges in another form over the next few months, but that is far from clear – keep an eye on the website – www. stimulus.org.nz.
It has been tough for print journals everywhere. People read longer articles less and less, and new generations more and more seek short sound bites from free sources on the net. If Stimulus is to be reborn for the new age, others will take responsibility for that new birth.
Editing a journal gives you different perspectives from those of a reader. You have to read everything – not just the articles that interest you. You have to read critically but also maintain an eye to what interests there are across the range of subscribers and what will be “useful” for them.
The content of Stimulus has personally impacted me greatly in my pilgrimage over the last 10 years. As I have been forced to read others critically, I have also been forced to read my own life more critically. If Stimulus has only been able to accomplish a fraction in the lives of our readers of what it has in mine, I will be happy.
It is in fact not true that all good things come to an end. The biblical story says that we are on a journey towards the Good itself. The good is not coming to an end; it is yet to begin. Creation strains forward with eager longing and we, as God’s redeemed people, look forward to a time when there will be no more tears, when what is now unseen will in fact be revealed in the Seen, heaven will come to earth, and all will be transformed.
We trust that in God’s providential oversight, Stimulus has helped you, our readers, on this journey towards the Good. We look forward to you joining us for the editing Saturday to end all editing Saturdays when we gather around the throne of the Lamb. There will be no shortage of good copy material, the digressions will be long and leisurely, and the music will be heavenly.
David Cashmore for the editorial committee
Douglas Maclachlan Publisher |
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Extending the prophetic horizon |
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“...to be part of the gospel imperative to transform minds and put faith in God into practice.” |
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STIMULUS THE NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF CHRISTIAN THOUGHT AND PRACTICE |