Editorial

EDITOR’S NOTE: With this issue, I mark the completion of my first five years as executive editor of Florida Baptist Witness. A great deal has changed in these short five years – the addition of new staff, a total redesign of the newspaper, and the launch and rapid expansion of our Web site (www.FloridaBaptistWitness.com), to name a few of the more notable innovations. I believe – and I hope our readers agree – that the Witness has improved both in content and appearance during this era.

As a means of accountability, I’m reprinting here my first editorial. Although certainly there are things we could have done better, I think that a review of my first editorial demonstrates that we have consistently attempted to do exactly what I pledged.

I re-publish these thoughts here as a recommitment to the distinctives that I first pledged five years ago. I ask for your prayers for this ministry of the Florida Baptist State Convention that in all we do we will, as our mission statement promises, “publish Good News about God’s work that edifies, educates, exhorts and empowers Florida Baptists to glorify God and extend His Kingdom.”

With this issue, I begin my editorship of the Florida Baptist Witness. I was honored and humbled by our Commission’s decision to elect me to this strategic position. The storied history of this venerable publication is one to which I’m privileged to contribute further chapters. The opportunity to serve here is a great gift from God “who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).

As I begin this challenging venue of ministry, it’s appropriate to inform our faithful readers what they may expect from the new editor. I follow a capable editor whose standard of work will be difficult to equal. Michael Chute deserves much credit for his labor on behalf of the Witness. It’s now my task to build upon his success, and follow God’s direction for this new era in the life of the paper.

A statement published in 1949 by editor W.G. Stracener is a helpful summary of what the Witness should strive to achieve. In his A History of Florida Baptists, E. Earl Joiner writes that the new editor “gave his pledge (1) to defend the faith, (2) to report denominational news faithfully, including news of local churches and associations, the Florida Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention, (3) to publish feature articles of high quality (and) (4) to stimulate independent thought and cooperative action....”

There are four distinctives that I pray will shape and mark the editorial policy of the Witness: knowing who we serve, being an effective tool for churches, addressing critical theological issues and reporting on the great ethical issues Christians face.

Knowing who we serve. In every issue we declare ourselves to be the “Official newsmagazine of the Florida Baptist State Convention.” Southern Baptist churches in Florida are those we seek to serve, and their support of the Cooperative Program and subscriptions permit us to do our job. To that end, I will seek to have a positive, cooperative relationship with our churches and the FBC leadership.

The same applies to the Southern Baptist Convention. With Florida Baptists giving 40 percent of all missions gifts to the SBC, a cooperative spirit with the national convention is a must. Due in no small part to Dr. John Sullivan’s effective leadership, Florida Baptists have demonstrated their clear commitment to the broader work of Southern Baptists throughout the U.S. and around the world. The missions and ministry of the SBC will be a steady staple of attention in the Witness.

Being an effective tool for churches. I believe the state paper should be a publication that pastors can trust and rely upon to assist them in ministry. Although rewarding, there is no doubt that pastors have a challenging task. They need and deserve our assistance. The paper should engage the issues that are of concern to the churches.

Addressing critical theological issues. I believe the Florida Baptist Witness should give theology an important place of attention on a weekly basis. There is a noble history of Baptist state papers as a venue for vigorous theological reporting and reflection. That should be no less so today when all the great doctrinal truths of the Christian faith are increasingly subject to criticism by our culture.

Covering ethical issues. I believe the state paper has the opportunity to educate and energize Baptists to action on pressing ethical and public policy issues at the local, state and national level of public life. Issues like abortion, homosexuality, racism, poverty, family issues and many others demand thoughtful, effective answers from believers who trust the Word of God as their guide.

A word about the task of journalism. What type of journalism should be expected from a newspaper that is an agency of the Florida Baptist State Convention? Any honest observer of the news media would have to concede that objectivity, although routinely asserted, is rarely practiced. This should not be a surprise. None of us – even Dan Rather and The New York Times – come to the task of journalism without presuppositions that undergird every decision we make. This is no less true for me.

I will not promise objectivity when it comes to the great doctrinal truths of the faith. A newspaper that serves as an agency of the Florida Baptist State Convention is pre-committed on certain matters, making objectivity, at least according to conventional definitions, unattainable and unwise. Nevertheless, I do promise that in all things the Witness will be fair and accurate.

Although the Bible is inerrant, this paper claims no such standing. While we will strive to avoid them, mistakes are inevitable and we will do our best to correct them. Further, there may be matters on which readers may disagree with the news judgments and editorial reflection of the editor. When those occasions arise, I ask for your forbearance and promise that responsible dissenting views will be heard and published.

A new challenge has been set before me that I believe is ordained by God. It is a task that is beyond my feeble ability. The capable staff of the Witness bears this burden with me, a comfort as I consider our responsibility. I’m keenly aware that I am a stranger to you and this state. I have much to learn about this wonderfully diverse and vast land, as well as the people who minister here. The opportunity to come alongside the exemplary ministry of Florida Baptists and share in that work is a unique opportunity.

The ministry of Southern Baptists in Florida is a story that must be told, one that is our privilege to tell. There is much work to do. By God’s grace and for His glory, we will do it.