Some issues of CHRISTIANITY TODAY are better than others. This is our Bible issue, and we think it is one of the better issues; we hope you like it, too.
It is also a big issue, and contains something for everyone. Octogenarian Frank E. Gaebelein, with undiminished mental vigor and beautiful style, calls the church to change. An evangelical who is nearing the end of a long and successful career in Christian ministry, he is still burning with a holy dissatisfaction with the status quo. Young leaders of the church one-third his age need a double portion of Frank Gaebelein’s passion to provoke the church to better things.
In recent years, no evangelistic effort has proved more effective than small group Bible studies, and few can speak with more authority about how to lead such Bible studies than Marilyn Kunz. She describes some basic and practical guidelines that anyone may use to begin a Bible study and lead it to maximum profit in evangelistic outreach and spiritual nurture.
What shall we say of the value of commentaries? Old Testament scholar (now seminary dean) Walter C. Kaiser tells us what to avoid, how to select good ones, and how to use them to enhance our understanding of the Bible. Appended to his article is a list of model commentaries.
Booker T. Washington was one of the truly great men in American history, and Leon Holmes tells his story. Among the things he taught: American whites need American blacks, and blacks need whites. Neither can arrive at his own best good without the other. It is a lesson black and white Americans alike need to learn today.
Veteran missionary Samuel Moffett brings us up to date on the progress of Christianity in the Far East: Korea, Japan, and the “four Chinas”—mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the overseas Chinese of the dispersion. China, he writes, is the key to the Far East. His thoughtful analysis of this significant portion of world population will not only warn us of the immensity of our task but also encourage us to reach out with the gospel in ever more effective ways. Then Bong Rin Ro, a Korean, outlines a strategy for winning the Far East for Christ.
In “My Walk Toward Death’s Door,” George Peterson describes what it means both to stand at death’s door and to be in Christ at such a time. And finally, Tom McCabe challenges us to face up to the opportunity and responsibilities the Reagan budget cuts present to the local church.
