Beloved Zion:
The Chairman of the Board of Publications, Bishop George Crenshaw and I have been friends since our days in Indiana; so, when he called me, I really didn’t think anything other than another friendly call. When he offered me this position, I was stunned. I had no idea a change was in the works; nor that I would be offered this position.
Some of you know that I have been interested in the QR since the days of Dr. John Henry Satterwhite (who was also Dean of Hood Theological Seminary). I am also privileged to call both James David Armstrong and William McKenith, friends. I have one more connection to the QR: the 1st Editor was George Wylie Clinton who is also one of the founders of Clinton College where I currently serve on the faculty. Such a storied history now rests on my shoulders.
I have served Zion practically all of my life (literally, I was an Acolyte at the age of 4). I am indebted to mentors long deceased for their investment in me. Names too numerous for me to call, have helped to make me who I am today, and prepared me to serve Zion through the QR. I solicit your prayers as I begin this new call to service.
In this my inaugural issue, we take the liberty to pay tribute to three African American scholars who have died within the past year: Dr. Rufus Burrow, Jr., Dr. bell hooks, and Dr. Henry H. Mitchell. Each were towering figures both in their disciplines, to the African American Church, and to the Body of Christ. In our own way, we want to pay tribute to both their lives, their scholarship, and their commitment to the Church – the Body of Christ. Each in their own way not only named the oppressions of the past, but sought to offer correctives and to present to the world a God whose salvation is also liberative.
Zion: I solicit your prayers as we begin this new era for the QR. I pray that in all that I do, and in all that I publish, Zion would be uplifted and educated, and that God might be glorified.
Satyagraha (Truth-force)
Dr. Reginald Broadnax
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