On May 9 the Evangelical Press Association held its annual awards banquet. The EPA, as it is affectionately known to its friends, has come a long way since it was created by evangelicals 31 years ago to upgrade the quality of their publications. When the chairman announced CHRISTIANITY TODAY as the winner of the first place Award Of Excellence in the general category, the entire CT editorial staff was positively delighted. As I sat there, my mind turned to a statement by Mrs. Fritz Kreisler. Of her world-famous violinist husband she said: “If Fritz would only practice, he would make a good violinist.” I was thinking (in a very unhumble frame of mind, I confess) that if only I knew more about editing and had had a little experience before coming to this job, we could really put out a good magazine. I never dreamed we might receive the coveted Periodical of the Year award. Maybe, I daydreamed, we could attain those dizzying heights five years from now—but not this year, or the next.
Then came the announcement of CHRISTIANITY TODAY as Periodical of the Year for 1980. We were immensely pleased. If ever an award was due to team effort, this one was. I know how much dedicated effort and sharply honed skill the staff working with me put into the production. The credit belongs entirely to them: Harry Genet, Ed Plowman, and John Maust in news; Carol Thiessen, Verne Becker, and Paul Fromer in editing and rewriting; Dave Singer, art director; Walter Elwell, book editor; and Jim Reapsome, managing editor—not to mention a superb supporting staff for production, advertising, and sales. I’m grateful to God for the privilege of working with such a group of dedicated professionals.
Perhaps this is an appropriate opportunity to remind our readers of CT’s purpose. It is not a family magazine. Neither is it a scholarly journal for specialists in particular fields. It is intended rather to provide for ministers, missionaries, and lay Christian leaders the information they need to guide the church and to advance the cause of Christ and true religion.
