Editorial Explanation of In Part Magazine

Nate Bridi and I certainly had our work cut out for us in the first months of our employment in the BIC denomination offices. Between dealing with the loss of Seek,finding a new name for the magazine, creating a new design, and deciding upon the content, we had some tall orders right off the bat. We also had some pretty high standards to meet: after all, Seek was a great magazine and our predecessors bold, creative, and gifted.

But, thanks to the ideas and support provided by you (our faithful readers!), the bishops, and other General Church leaders, we feel confident In Part will not disappoint. Every step of the way, In Part has been a collaborative effort of freshening and re-imagining the possibilities for the magazine.

And so, as we bring you this first issue of In Part, I wanted to be sure to take some time to celebrate the ways itbuilds and expands upon the assets of Seek from an editorial perspective. (To learn more about Nate’s thoughts and ideas behind the design, I invite you to visit the In Part design philosophy .)

The name.

Our first step in the transition from Seek to In Part was, of course, deciding upon a new name. After weeks of brainstorming and much prayer, a member of the focus group assembled to help with the new magazine’s launch came across 1 Corinthians 13. We had been discussing a few other titles, but could not come to a consensus. When the words “in part” were suggested, though, our ears pricked up immediately. And upon further discussion of the wide-ranging of implications of the words in the context of 1 Corinthians, other Scripture verses, and the BIC emphasis on community, the words became even more powerful. We had found a new name!

The departments.

With the decision about a name behind us, we turned our attention to the inside content. We had a great time coming up with new titles for the magazine’s departments. For example, we changed the news story section, “Life in the Body,” to be called “In Motion,” which plays off of the word “in” from In Part and emphasizes the constant movement of the Church as we do God’s work in the world. “Who We Are,” the department of Seek which shared the stories of individual people within the Church, was changed to “Part of the Whole,” again building on the magazine’s new name and as a reminder that we are all individuals living and serving together as a larger body (1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:16). Likewise, Perry Engle’s column, previously called “Seeking God,” was re-named “Parting Words,” as it is the last section of the magazine. The only other department title that changed was the letter from me (the editor), which is now called “The View from Here.” In future issues, the majority of the space in this section will be dedicated to your letters to the editor, so I hope you will feel free to write me with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have in regard to the magazine. I look forward to hearing from you and getting to know you a bit better!

In Seek, the two sections called “Words to Live By” and “Brushing up on Brethren in Christ Vocab” have been replaced with “To the Point” and “Ever Wondered…,” respectively. The former is a new department which we’re very excited to introduce! Content for this section will feature the words of BIC pastors across the denomination as they respond to questions we formulate about each issue’s theme and articles. We’re hoping to tackle critical topics and ask tough questions in order to create a forum for dialogue among all members of the church body. Though right now, we’re just contacting pastors, we’re hoping to work towards creating an email list of both pastors and laypersons who are interested in receiving and responding to the questions. As for “Ever Wondered…,” this section will be dedicated, much like its predecessor, to keeping us from becoming exclusive in our use of BIC lingo and acronyms. People new to our Church are probably not familiar with terms many of us use when talking about the BIC: GCL, CMD, Impact 2010, the assurance of the believer, Vital Signs, Anabaptism, and even BIC. To address this, “Ever Wondered...” will help make us more aware of the ways that we can more consciously include others in our language, while also introducing people to integral parts of the denomination.
 
The last major change in the departments was our decision to devote two pages rather than one to “Vibes,” the section of In Part devoted to exploring the interaction between our faith and our culture. We believe that having more space to fully explore the issues raised in “Vibes” will help improve the quality of articles in that space and allow for greater sensitivity and increased thoroughness on the topics they discuss. We hope this will better serve those of you who have been uneasy with “Vibes” articles published before.

The future.

Other than these elements, In Part will not be all that different from Seek. We plan to continue articles in the “To Our Core” section in an effort to focus and unite us in the core values of our denomination. And we will bring you well-written, engaging, and thought-provoking features in each issue.

Finally, In Part will seek to continue to fulfill its mission of “inviting readers into a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ” by sharing the profound stories of the churches and people who make up the Brethren in Christ Church of North America. In Part will strive to unite us by connecting us with other people and churches all across North America, keeping us sensitive to the worldwide BIC community, and giving us a taste of the communion that is to come for us as believers.