The following report by the managing editor of THE OUTLOOK was given at the annual meeting of Reformed Fellowship, Inc. on September 28, 1973.
Permit me at the outset to express deep appreciation above all to our God and then also to you the membership and the Board of Reformed Fellowship for the calling and privilege of having served now for three years as Managing Editor of THE OUTLOOK. It has been well said that also in retirement one must have something to get up for in the morning. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to think of anything more challenging and worthwhile to get up for in the morning than to set forth, to defend, and to propagate the Reformed faith by means of the printed page.
Probably nothing would please us more at this time than to be able to report that in some popularity poll our percentage or graph is showing a rapid rise. But to indulge in wishful thinking of that sort would be according to the flesh and not the spirit. Thank God for whatever numerical growth we may be able to report. However, it is by faith that really nothing pleases us more than to know that God’s purpose is our purpose and that when in our particular church fellowship there was need for the kind of journal we are seeking to publish and His voice was heard saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” that you and I were given the grace and the vision to say: “Here am I; send me.”
Our fathers said it so well: in the Lord’s work we must weigh rather than count. Unless we do so, weariness in well-doing will overtake us and cut the nerve of sacrificial and consecrated service as our sense of values becomes debased. Even Paul, that great man of God, was speaking to himself as well as to the Galatians when he wrote to them: “And let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9).
So much for this introduction except to add this: I trust that you will regard what has been said so far, not as a pious subterfuge of a frustrated member of the minority in the highly competitive pursuit of Christian journalism, but rather as an honest and whole-hearted conviction before God by day and by night.
Turning now to more specific matters, I invite your attention to the following:
Circulation – Anyone who subscribes to religious or secular magazines must know from all the mailings and special offers received what a constant struggle it is to maintain and to increase the circulation of one’s publication. To keep the circulation graph on the increase is a concern that allows for no letup—especially in the case of a publication being sent out into a world that is no friend to grace.
Following are the statistics. Three years ago our subscribers numbered 2800. A year later the count stood at 3300, and in 1972 this had risen to 4000. The latest count shows that this has now risen to 4300—a gain of well over fifty percent over the three year period. This means an average increase of 500 subscribers per year. However, during the past year the increase was only 300, a figure that means one thing: we must redouble our efforts to gain new subscribers if we are going to continue to forge ahead.
How do we go about increasing the circulation? Next to the blessing of the Lord, the only potential or stock in trade we have is the membership of the Reformed Fellowship and our 4300 subscribers. Imagine what it would mean if every one of us would get one new subscriber by way of a Christmas gift subscription this year 1973. These gift subscriptions are offered at a special rate and once again a special blank for sending them in will appear in our November and December issues. “Each one reach one” can be the secret of success also in this matter of getting wider distribution for THE OUTLOOK as well as hastening the day when it may become a twice-a-month publication.
Finances – It is a cause for real gratitude that for several months now we are continuing to operate in the black financially. This is especially gratifying because we had become accustomed to seeing ourselves regularly in arrears prior to that time. The large increase in membership during the past year together with increased revenue from membership dues is no doubt the leading factor contributing to the far more comfortable solvency in which we now find ourselves. The fact that we have gained hundreds of contributing members during the past years in response to a single mailing is evidence, I believe, that we have not yet fully realized the financial potential available for the further support of our cause. As costs continue to mount in the production of our publication it is not only our right but also our calling to claim all the financial support by members of the Reformed Fellowship and by friends of our cause.
Most encouraging also has been the response to pleas in THE OUTLOOK for contributions for the Library and the building needs of the Reformed Theological College in Nigeria. Conservatives are showing that they are altogether willing to contribute financially and to do so generously if only they have the assurance that their gifts are being used to uphold and to promote the Reformed faith rather than to undermine it. We thank God for this exercise of Christian stewardship and also pray that it may continue and even increase.
Issues Discussed – With good reason THE OUTLOOK has concerned itself with developments in other denominations besides the CRC: e.g., the Gereformeerde Kerken in The Netherlands with its deplorable trends of great concern also to us; the Missouri Synod Lutherans who thoroughly defeated the liberals at their recent governing convention in New Orleans; and the conservative Southern Presbyterians who have launched a new denomination. The disturbing developments in The Netherlands need to be recounted to place us on the alert, whereas that which has been happening in these other bodies must be contagious and kindle the spark of sorely needed reform wherever progressive conservatism is still a viable option and thus a sacred calling.
However, it is especially the issues in the CRC to which THE OUTLOOK has been addressing itself. Foremost among these are the issues considered at the 1973 CRC Synod to which almost an entire issue was devoted prior to Synod (of which copies were made available to Synodical delegates) and on which an extensive and prompt report was given after Synod.
Issues that are now before the CRC, some of which have been referred to the churches for study and reaction, that will hopefully be given due attention during the coming year are the following:
The Form of Subscription
Women in Church Offices
Provisional Translation of the Heidelberg
Catechism
The Lodge
New Hymns Proposed
The Second Worship Service
Marriage Guidelines
The Nature of Ecclesiastical Office and Ordination
Declaration on War
Neo-Pentecostalism
Synod’s Decision on Amnesty
Close versus Open Communion
CRC–RCA Relations
Gratitude and Encouragement – In Acts 28 it is recorded that when Paul was met and greeted by the brethren in Rome “he thanked Goo, and took courage.” As you and lance again meet and greet each other here we experience something of the same. We too have reasons to be grateful and encouraged.
The moral as well as financial support that you and so many others are giving is from the Lord and we thank Him for it. We are grateful for many letters of hearty encouragement that mean so much more than you may think. A steady flow of copy for THE OUTLOOK (from Canadian contributors as well as from those in the U.S.) makes it possible for us to carry-on from month to month. The deep-seated conviction that our purpose is of the Lord and that we dare not desist fortifies us as we carry-on.
Progressive conservatives, or the truly Reformed element, both in the CRC and elsewhere, are crying for responsible leadership. May God graciously give us the strength, the courage, and the vision to rise to the occasion and meet the need of the hour.
Who knows but what we are come to the Kingdom for just such a time as this! If God be for us, who can be against us!
Permit me at the outset to express deep appreciation above all to our God and then also to you the membership and the Board of Reformed Fellowship for the calling and privilege of having served now for three years as Managing Editor of THE OUTLOOK. It has been well said that also in retirement one must have something to get up for in the morning. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to think of anything more challenging and worthwhile to get up for in the morning than to set forth, to defend, and to propagate the Reformed faith by means of the printed page.
Probably nothing would please us more at this time than to be able to report that in some popularity poll our percentage or graph is showing a rapid rise. But to indulge in wishful thinking of that sort would be according to the flesh and not the spirit. Thank God for whatever numerical growth we may be able to report. However, it is by faith that really nothing pleases us more than to know that God’s purpose is our purpose and that when in our particular church fellowship there was need for the kind of journal we are seeking to publish and His voice was heard saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” that you and I were given the grace and the vision to say: “Here am I; send me.”
Our fathers said it so well: in the Lord’s work we must weigh rather than count. Unless we do so, weariness in well-doing will overtake us and cut the nerve of sacrificial and consecrated service as our sense of values becomes debased. Even Paul, that great man of God, was speaking to himself as well as to the Galatians when he wrote to them: “And let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9).
So much for this introduction except to add this: I trust that you will regard what has been said so far, not as a pious subterfuge of a frustrated member of the minority in the highly competitive pursuit of Christian journalism, but rather as an honest and whole-hearted conviction before God by day and by night.
Turning now to more specific matters, I invite your attention to the following:
Circulation – Anyone who subscribes to religious or secular magazines must know from all the mailings and special offers received what a constant struggle it is to maintain and to increase the circulation of one’s publication. To keep the circulation graph on the increase is a concern that allows for no letup—especially in the case of a publication being sent out into a world that is no friend to grace.
Following are the statistics. Three years ago our subscribers numbered 2800. A year later the count stood at 3300, and in 1972 this had risen to 4000. The latest count shows that this has now risen to 4300—a gain of well over fifty percent over the three year period. This means an average increase of 500 subscribers per year. However, during the past year the increase was only 300, a figure that means one thing: we must redouble our efforts to gain new subscribers if we are going to continue to forge ahead.
How do we go about increasing the circulation? Next to the blessing of the Lord, the only potential or stock in trade we have is the membership of the Reformed Fellowship and our 4300 subscribers. Imagine what it would mean if every one of us would get one new subscriber by way of a Christmas gift subscription this year 1973. These gift subscriptions are offered at a special rate and once again a special blank for sending them in will appear in our November and December issues. “Each one reach one” can be the secret of success also in this matter of getting wider distribution for THE OUTLOOK as well as hastening the day when it may become a twice-a-month publication.
Finances – It is a cause for real gratitude that for several months now we are continuing to operate in the black financially. This is especially gratifying because we had become accustomed to seeing ourselves regularly in arrears prior to that time. The large increase in membership during the past year together with increased revenue from membership dues is no doubt the leading factor contributing to the far more comfortable solvency in which we now find ourselves. The fact that we have gained hundreds of contributing members during the past years in response to a single mailing is evidence, I believe, that we have not yet fully realized the financial potential available for the further support of our cause. As costs continue to mount in the production of our publication it is not only our right but also our calling to claim all the financial support by members of the Reformed Fellowship and by friends of our cause.
Most encouraging also has been the response to pleas in THE OUTLOOK for contributions for the Library and the building needs of the Reformed Theological College in Nigeria. Conservatives are showing that they are altogether willing to contribute financially and to do so generously if only they have the assurance that their gifts are being used to uphold and to promote the Reformed faith rather than to undermine it. We thank God for this exercise of Christian stewardship and also pray that it may continue and even increase.
Issues Discussed – With good reason THE OUTLOOK has concerned itself with developments in other denominations besides the CRC: e.g., the Gereformeerde Kerken in The Netherlands with its deplorable trends of great concern also to us; the Missouri Synod Lutherans who thoroughly defeated the liberals at their recent governing convention in New Orleans; and the conservative Southern Presbyterians who have launched a new denomination. The disturbing developments in The Netherlands need to be recounted to place us on the alert, whereas that which has been happening in these other bodies must be contagious and kindle the spark of sorely needed reform wherever progressive conservatism is still a viable option and thus a sacred calling.
However, it is especially the issues in the CRC to which THE OUTLOOK has been addressing itself. Foremost among these are the issues considered at the 1973 CRC Synod to which almost an entire issue was devoted prior to Synod (of which copies were made available to Synodical delegates) and on which an extensive and prompt report was given after Synod.
Issues that are now before the CRC, some of which have been referred to the churches for study and reaction, that will hopefully be given due attention during the coming year are the following:
The Form of Subscription
Women in Church Offices
Provisional Translation of the Heidelberg
Catechism
The Lodge
New Hymns Proposed
The Second Worship Service
Marriage Guidelines
The Nature of Ecclesiastical Office and Ordination
Declaration on War
Neo-Pentecostalism
Synod’s Decision on Amnesty
Close versus Open Communion
CRC–RCA Relations
Gratitude and Encouragement – In Acts 28 it is recorded that when Paul was met and greeted by the brethren in Rome “he thanked Goo, and took courage.” As you and lance again meet and greet each other here we experience something of the same. We too have reasons to be grateful and encouraged.
The moral as well as financial support that you and so many others are giving is from the Lord and we thank Him for it. We are grateful for many letters of hearty encouragement that mean so much more than you may think. A steady flow of copy for THE OUTLOOK (from Canadian contributors as well as from those in the U.S.) makes it possible for us to carry-on from month to month. The deep-seated conviction that our purpose is of the Lord and that we dare not desist fortifies us as we carry-on.
Progressive conservatives, or the truly Reformed element, both in the CRC and elsewhere, are crying for responsible leadership. May God graciously give us the strength, the courage, and the vision to rise to the occasion and meet the need of the hour.
Who knows but what we are come to the Kingdom for just such a time as this! If God be for us, who can be against us!