Giving
Thanks - 12th Anniversary and 100th
Issue
Intro
to This Issue
We give thanks to the Lord
for the past twelve years of
publishing Living Bulwark, the
online magazine of the Sword
of the Spirit. This is our 100th
issue. The first issue began in
October 2006.
Statement of Purpose
Our
Statement of Purpose expresses our aim
to serve in fostering renewal of
Christian life and mission:
Living
Bulwark is
committed to
fostering
renewal of the
whole Christian
people:
Catholic,
Protestant, and
Orthodox. We
especially want
to give witness
to the
charismatic,
ecumenical,
evangelistic,
and community
dimensions of
that renewal. Living
Bulwark
seeks to equip
Christians to
grow in
holiness, to
apply Christian
teaching to
their lives, and
to respond with
faith and
generosity to
the working of
the Holy Spirit
in our day.
Living Bulwark is a
offshoot of what began as an international
ecumenical charismatic renewal magazine,
called New Covenant, which sought
to foster renewal in the Catholic church and
to encourage the development of the entire
charismatic renewal and the renewal of the
whole Christian people. Its first issue was
published in July 1971. Ralph
Martin was the founding editor and I served
as the managing editor for the
first four years. While our
financial resources were very meager when we
began, we had the blessing of many
volunteers from the Word of God community in
Ann Arbor to help us get the issue out each
month.
In
October 2006 we launched Living
Bulwark as an online magazine of the
Sword of the Spirit, our network of some
75 Christian covenant communities
worldwide and its related outreaches. Most
of the work for Living Bulwark
is done by volunteer contributors
and part-time volunteer helpers from the
Sword of the Spirit. Many of the articles
are written by community members and
members of Kairos
student outreaches, as well as
contributions from Sword of the Spirit leaders,
teachers, and authors.
Purity
of Heart, Joy in the Lord, and Living a
Chaste Life in the Lord
This issue focuses on the theme of purity of
heart, joy in the Lord, and the
virtue of chastity. The three are
related and aim to root us in a life
of holiness and godly living and
ongoing renewal through repentance,
accountability, and the readiness to
grow in Christian character and
fruit of the Holy Spirit. All
disciples of the Lord Jesus are
called to live a life of the
beatitudes - the fundamental
teaching of Jesus given in his
Sermon on the Mount discourse in
Matthew 5 and Luke 6. Steve
Clark gives a very insightful
summary of Jesus' teaching on the
beatitudes in this issue's
lead article.
May
this issue encourage you to strive for greater
holiness and transformation in Christ-like
character through the grace and work of the
Holy Spirit who dwells within us and through
the encouragement and example of faithful
Christians who can support us on the way.
Sincerely in Christ,
Don Schwager
editor
top photo image credit (c) by
stock_colors at istockphotos.com - photo
ID:673943658
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