Editor's Update
Brian L. Martin
Many
have pointed out that Jesus spoke about one subject more than any other.
Yet when Christians bring that subject up, it seems the reaction is
rarely positive. That subject, of course, is money. Alas, there is very
little accomplished in today’s world apart from money, and that includes
the publishing of this magazine.
Even
with as much volunteered time and talent as possible in an effort such
as this, it still costs money to have the magazine published and
distributed (we’ve yet to find a Preterist printer to donate those
services, and the government runs the Post Office). So, as the saying
goes, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” We—and you—have been the
fortunate recipients of the generosity of a private Christian Foundation
which has provided the majority of funding for our initial issues. This
was done for the purpose of “testing the waters” to see how a Preterist
magazine would be received. Judging by the responses and comments over
the past year, the magazine is being received very well. Because we were
only in the “testing” phase, we have not done any aggressive promotion
of the magazine (there’s no sense building a mailing list if you’re not
going to continue publishing). And yet, with only five quarterly issues
published so far, our list of names has grown from about 250 to over
1,000. So, it is obvious that there is a need and a desire for this
magazine.
Which brings us back to the production costs. Having determined that we
would indeed continue with the magazine, we formed a nonprofit
corporation called
Fulfilled Communications Group. As you might guess from the name,
we have several “communication” ideas in mind, but those are another
story for another time. Having finally received our 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
status, it is now time for us to present our readers with the
opportunity to share in this ministry. Indeed, several of you have done
so already, and we are grateful for that!
I
have mentioned in the past that this magazine is a labor of love, and I
want to reiterate that fact. All of our articles are contributed—none of
the authors are paid for their work (many thanks to all of you who have
contributed articles!). If you purchase materials from one of our
authors because of something you read in the magazine, please inform
them of that so they’ll know their efforts are worthwhile. In addition,
a team consisting of friends, contacts, my brother, my wife and me
handles everything from editing to proofreading to design and layout
(and whatever else comes up). Rest assured that we do not plan to
receive any compensation from the nonprofit corporation, either as
directors/officers or as editors for the magazine. We are gainfully
employed and intend to remain that way. All of the funds we receive will
go toward those things which cannot be volunteered, namely the printing
and mailing of the magazine.
Given the current size of our mailing list (which will only continue to
grow) and the periodicity of publication (four issues per year), our
costs break down to approximately $12/year per reader. Still, we are
hesitant to charge for subscriptions for a couple of reasons. First,
since many of our readers are new to Preterism, they would probably not
pay to read about it. By offering the magazine free of charge, we feel
that we have a better chance of introducing others to Preterism. Second,
many of our readers are retired and on fixed incomes. As such, they may
not be able to budget for a magazine subscription. We would hate to see
them miss out on the information, encouraging words, and sense of
community that
Fulfilled! Magazine brings to Preterism.
Our
hope is that there will be a core of Preterist readers who feel that
this magazine is an important tool for encouraging fellow Preterists as
well as for sharing Preterism with others—important enough that they
will support the effort. I don’t expect those who are still in the
investigative stage to support us—just as we don’t expect non-Christians
to pay for missionaries to come to them. Nor do I expect those with
limited budgets to support this effort. If half of our readers supported
the other half, that would still only be $24 per year. That’s per year,
not per month. And remember, we’re not looking for “sacrificial giving,”
or for people to “give until it hurts.” God loves a cheerful giver, so I
guess the ultimate yardstick is this: if it doesn’t lift your spirit to
give, don’t feel obligated to support us—but please feel free to
continue receiving the magazine. There are many other worthy
opportunities in which to participate financially in the Kingdom. But
please keep us in your prayers—everyone can do that!
As
funds become available, we would like to increase the page count of the
magazine in order to bring you more informative articles. Some have
asked if we have considered accepting advertisements for
Preterist-related materials. One of the reasons we are hesitant to
accept paid advertising is because it may have (or appear to have) a
subtle influence on what we print. Still, we would love to inform
readers of various Preterist materials that are available. Perhaps we
can do that when we increase the page count. I guess, in a certain
sense, that is in your hands!
Before I forget, please make your checks payable to “FCG” and mail them
to the address provided in the sidebar. We have also put a PayPal
donation button on our web site for those who prefer to “click” rather
than to write. Please forgive our initial form-letter acknowledgments of
your donations. As we become more efficient we will hopefully have time
for more personal notes of thanks.
Blessings,
