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Editorial

By Alun Brookfield.

Ministry Today in Cyberspace

Editorials for Ministry Today are normally written by Paul Beasley-Murray, but, on this one occasion, I’ve taken on the task because of the significant change which is about to be made to the journal.

As many of our subscribers will know, Ministry Today has, for a number of years, had a presence on the Internet (address on the cover of this journal). For reasons beyond our control, we have found it extremely difficult to keep it up to date, mainly because we have no full-time staff and the updating process proved to be extremely time-consuming.

Now, however, other events have overtaken us and the Board of Management has taken the momentous decision that, in order to enhance and extend the role of Ministry Today as a supportive resource to help Christian leaders both survive and thrive in ministry, we need to transform Ministry Today into an E-journal, mainly available online, but also available in small quantities in print.

We have come to this conclusion for several reasons. First, production costs have escalated since Ministry Today was launched 12 years ago.

Second, this has had a knock-on effect on the subscription price, which has also had to increase to cover the costs.

Third, a combination of lack of funds and a small subscriber base has meant that we have been unable to make what we believe to be a vital resource available to a wide number of Christian leaders. We estimate that our subscribers number only about 1% of all those in pastoral leadership in the churches of the UK. This is a great pity and Board discussions often focus on how we can extend the size of the audience for Ministry Today, usually ending in frustration as we realise we do not have the money to pay for what needs to be done.

So we have turned to the Internet as a way of solving all these problems. First, by making the journal mainly available online, we will more than halve our production costs.

Second, we will correspondingly be able to halve our subscription rate.

Third, we will be able to make Ministry Today accessible to any Christian leader with an internet connection (although not in full without subscription - see below), which we now estimate to be the vast majority.

Here’s how it will work. As I write, a new website for Ministry Today is being designed. We hope to have it up and running by early 2006, so the next edition after this one will hopefully be the first in electronic format.

The new website will contain:

• A search facility so that subscribers can search the site by topic or key word/phrase;
• The facility to subscribe online by credit or debit card;
• A discussion area;
• A links page, linking subscribers to other providers of Christian leadership resources.
• Full details of current Board members;
• Full details on how to contact us direct.

However, most of this will only be available to subscribers. Non-subscribers will be able to access about 10% of what’s current (to whet their appetites for more!), to subscribe, and to join in a discussion.

If you are already a subscriber, we will write to you when the site is available. At the same time, we will tell you how long your current subscription will give you access at the new, reduced subscription rates.

With this edition of Ministry Today, we are enclosing a response form. If you would prefer to continue to receiving Ministry Today in paper form, please fill in and return the form, but please be aware that the subscription rate for printed copies will be higher because of the cost of printing.

We do ask for your prayerful support at this time of transition, especially for the website designer, Robert Gardiner.

Now to this current edition. John Benton’s article on clergy stress factors will interest readers, not least because it raises the question as to what are the main sources of stress. Richard and Katharine Hill have contributed an excellent article on how leaders can help couples to create strong, resilient marriage relationships. Then there are two fascinating articles on prison issues, one by a prisoner and another by a prison chaplain - if you’ve never been inside a prison (as a visitor!), these two items will open your eyes. Finally, our Chairman, Paul Beasley-Murray, has included a sermon preached at the wedding of his son, and I’ve reflected on my experience of attending a rock concert.

All in all, this is another excellent edition, maintaining the quality of the last 12 years as we make the transition to a different format.