Varieties of Religious Experience

CT editors have to sign an explicit statement of faith, but there is no denominational litmus test for those who work on this magazine. Although our roots are attached firmly to the teachings of the Reformation, the denominations represented by CT’s editors and support staff are many: two Methodists (one Free, the other somewhat United), two Episcopalians, a Brethren (Church of the), Mennonite (General Conference), two Baptists, a Christian and Missionary Alliance member, even two bona fide Evangelicals (Free Church, that is), a member of a Community Church (actually linked with the Plymouth Brethren), and most recently, a card-carrying Vineyard member. Throw in our senior editors who help shape the magazine’s content and you have further input from the Assemblies of God to the Anglicans.

At one time or another, each of these denominations was a young movement resisting the impulse to institutionalize. In this issue we take a closer look at three groups poised to become the next crop of “new denominations” (see p. 29). We asked a college professor (Church of the Nazarene) to write the article, and he invited a colleague (Presbyterian) to help him with the research. And in keeping with our efforts to make wise use of technology, we have begun working with a talented young artist, Diane Fliehler (Bible Church), who uses her computer (Macintosh) to create graphs and charts. Some of her first contributions appear on the same pages.

How does such a varied group get along?

By the grace of God, just fine.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

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