wfn.org | Disciples leaders discuss magazine suspension, call

["Communication Ministries" <wshuffit@cm.disciples.org>]

for church communication task force
Date: February 1, 2002
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Curt Miller
E-mail: cmiller@cm.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

02a-7

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- The Administrative Committee of the
General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
called for the immediate formation of a churchwide
communication task force, and held a detailed discussion of
the suspension of publication of The Disciple magazine here
Jan. 26-29.

	Members of the communication task force are to be named by
Moderator Alvin Jackson in consultation with General
Minister Richard L. Hamm and Christian Board of Publication
President Cyrus White. The task force is to:

	*  Determine the communication needs of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ);

	*  Determine how those communication needs are best met,
including exploring partnerships within the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) and among ecumenical partners;

	*  Provide critique and counsel to the Christian Board of
Publication and Communication Ministries (a component of
the Office of General Minister and President) as to the
role those ministries can best play in meeting those needs;

	*  Report those recommendations to the Administrative
Committee at its July 2002 meeting;

	*  Bring a report to the Administrative Committee in July
concerning what specific publication or publications will
follow the suspension of publication of The Disciple
magazine.

	In a forum with Cyrus White, president of the Christian
Board of Publication (CBP) and publisher of The Disciple
magazine, Administrative Committee members expressed
profound disappointment and grief over the suspension of
publication with a March commemorative issue.  "We need to
find a way to help The Disciple keep going," said Kate
Nelson, a seminary student at the Disciples Divinity House
at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.  

	The Rev. Carmelo Alvarez, dean of students and director of
cross cultural studies at Christian Theological Seminary,
Indianapolis, said ecumenical colleagues expressed shock at
a recent World Council of Churches gathering.  "The
Disciple has been known internationally as the voice of our
denomination," said Alvarez.

	Other Administrative Committee members took issue with how
the decision was made and how it was made known. Faced with
a steady and seemingly irreversible decline in magazine
subscriptions, the CBP board in December approved White's
plan to discontinue publication, and the decision was
announced to the church. The Rev. Alan Harris, Cleveland,
compared the news to hearing that a friend had died
unexpectedly. "I needed a pastor to tell me of this death,"
Harris said. "What I had was a doctor that simply told me
my friend was dead. I wish the pastor had told me first."  

	Robert Friedly, former CBP vice president and editor of
The Disciple said the 19,000 magazine subscribers were "the
most loyal and aware members of the church" and that they
would be lost with suspension of publication.  Speaking
critically of the decision process, Friedly said "we are
still an old boy club,' even though we have some girls as
players. I can say it freely now, not because I'm retired,
but because we have no press to report it."  

	White told Administrative Committee that CBP ministries
must be in line with the Mission Imperative of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and they must be
sustainable.  While The Disciple was still generating
revenue at the time of the decision to suspend publication,
White said a complete overhaul of the design and content of
the publication failed to interrupt a steady decline in
subscriptions.  

	Committee members asked for detailed information on The
Disciple magazine endowment. White reported that all of The
Disciple magazine's $530,000 endowment is encumbered --
that is, loans have been taken out against it for various
CBP needs, to be repaid with future CBP revenues. When
asked how long the endowment might be encumbered, White
said it could be "six months or six years" depending on the
pace of CBP income.  

	A proposal to request that Christian Board of Publication
transfer the magazine's trademark to the general church was
rejected.  However, Administrative Committee did instruct
Christian Board of Publication to submit to the U.S. Patent
Office a statement of CBP's intent to continue to use the
trademark "The Disciple" by March 1.  This is to prevent
another party from trying to procure the trademark when
publication of the magazine was suspended.  

	Administrative Committee member the Rev. Isaac Gourdine,
Jr., offered a hopeful outlook.  "Perhaps The Disciple has
reached a germinating process and it's about to give birth
to something new," said the Summerville, S.C. pastor.  

	White told a discussion section of the committee that
Christian Board of Publication is discussing and will
research new communication vehicles to follow The Disciple.
Those projects are not defined yet.  But he did say that
CBP's "intent is to have the next thing ready by this
summer. I suspect the first thing will be targeted at
congregational leadership, clergy and lay."  He also said
new CBP communication likely would not be confined to
printed products. "My expectation is that we are looking at
multiple media," said the CBP executive. 

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