A place to tear down and to build up
By Richard Davis
Executive Officer
The Public Questions Committee
Since the first issue of Crosslink rolled of the presses in March 1987 it has served the social ministry of the church reasonably well. Flicking through many back copies I saw that pretty much every issue dealt with some social, moral or political controversy, and often several. Stories of this kind have ranged from church social initiatives to church reaction to government action or inaction. Sometimes the issues are those generated by the church itself, such as homosexuals in leadership.
The traditional church concerns of gambling and alcohol have been covered regularly, as have abortion and euthanasia. However, I have been pleased that more focus has been placed on social issues such as politics and economics.
Every general election has been covered by Crosslink with contributions from Christian politicians, such as Jenny Shipley and Russell Marshall. Church commentators have regularly raised the issues that need to be taken into account when voting. Interestingly the elections were rarely mentioned after the result was known.
With Crosslink being in existence for most of the reign of the New Right economic issues have also received good coverage, with commentary from many inside and out side the church. The views were usually opposed to this "religion of the market."
Bicultural issues have caused a lot of controversy. Including the word 'Aotearoa' in the name of the Presbyterian Church and the call from the Maori Council of Churches not to vote in the 1990 general election in solidarity with Maori disillusionment with the electoral system are examples of these.
While it has been pleasing to review the record of Crosslink in its role as social critic, one of the best things about Crosslink is that is was definitely a place where the good news was being shared. We need to tear down but we also need to build up, and the pages of Crosslink have served as a place where the stories about local congregational initiatives for a better society were shared. Sharing perspectives continued into the letters column, where ordinary people contributed to debates in the church and society.
In a time of homogenisation of the news and media centralisation the importance of quality church publications cannot be over emphasised. They provide a different look at world events without being distorted by the profit motive of the major media, as television and print often are. It is important that the church make the most of this independence and non-reliance on outside sources of money. We have to leverage our communications in a way that serve our mission and the best interests of society at large. Overall I think Crosslink has done this well.
The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of The Public Questions Committee