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About Direction

What is Direction?

Direction journal was begun in 1972 as a partnership among four Mennonite Brethren educational institutions in Canada and the U.S. Eventually two additional schools joined the group, and the U.S. and Canadian Mennonite Brethren Conferences also provide support. Delbert Wiens, editor, offered the first issue of Direction to laypersons and church leaders with an invitation “to listen to each other and to think prayerfully together.” Challenges cited by Wiens for the journal to address included theological issues, the church in theory and practice, sociological problems, and discipleship matters. Neither a purely academic journal nor a denominational magazine, Direction highlights the interdependence of Christian reflection and mission.

di·rec·tion (n.)

1: a guiding, governing, or motivating purpose

Direction provides resources for personal and corporate growth, including exegetical and topical articles, international perspectives on Christian mission, recommended reading lists, and book reviews of important new works. In all things, Direction seeks to equip the church for maturity and for well-considered, relevant witness to Christ and his kingdom.

2: assistance in pointing out the proper route

The compass which appears on each Direction cover speaks of journeying and of the necessity of navigating by a faithful and true standard. Alternately colored triangles face one another on each arm of the compass, opposed yet unified in a coherent center before reaching outward through a series of concentric circles. It is a fitting emblem for a journal that celebrates spirited, sometimes controversial dialogue within a circle of common purpose, while pursuing dynamic engagement with a world in search of spiritual orientation.

3: the course on which something is moving

Direction has often shed light on the unfolding story of the Mennonite Brethren, a story characterized by hardship, adaptation within adversity, and faithful mission “unto the ends of the earth.” While honoring the past, the journal also models a forward-looking, theologically literate conversation with the broad spectrum of contemporary thought. Direction creatively addresses subjects of urgency to both church and culture: science and technology, postmodernism, the arts, ecology, work, and social action.

4: a channel of thought or action

The intellectual resources of the church are a powerful stimulus to faithful action. In turn, changing patterns in church and culture call for thoughtful, biblically sound frameworks for practice. Direction promotes a mutually beneficial interchange among scholars, educators, church workers, and laypersons on topics such as cultural diversity, evangelism and outreach, marriage and family life, worship, and pastoral care.

For additional information about the Mennonite Brethren, you may wish to consult the Canadian Mennonite Brethren Conference and the U.S. Mennonite Brethren Conference websites, which include their respective confessions of faith.

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