Journal: Trinity Journal
Volume: TRINJ 13:2 (Fall 1992)
Article: Editorial
Author: Douglas J. Moo

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Editorial

Douglas Moo

Current trends in pastoral ministry highlight the importance of journals such as this one. As an increasing number of critics are pointing out, a legitimate concern to be “relevant” has gotten out of hand and is threatening to engulf the church. In an effort to meet the “felt needs” of their congregations, pastors are bending over backwards to understand their culture and to speak relevantly to it. In itself, of course, there is nothing wrong with this. But what happens too often is that the culture begins setting the agenda for the church, for ministry, and for preaching. What people “need” is defined by people who themselves are so bound up in their culture that they can articulate those needs only in terms of that culture. A ministry that thus takes its agenda from the world may be successful numerically but will hardly be successful in God’s eyes. Ministry needs to be relevant; but it needs to be driven by the Word of God. We desperately need a voice from outside our narrow cultural experience to help us understand who human beings are and what their ultimate and basic needs really are. We at Trinity Journal pray that the articles and reviews we publish may help scholars, working pastors, and Christian ministers of all kinds to hear more accurately the voice of God in his Word--and thereby to speak a word to our generation that is both ultimately relevant and eternally significant.

The articles in this fascicle tackle individual texts—Matt 5:17–20, Heb 1:1–4; Heb 10:5–8—entire books—the Revelation—and enduring theological themes—gospel and law; our Lord’s example of and teaching about humility. In each we hope that the reader will be aided by the Spirit to discern new truth that can be applied to a needy world.

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