Powerful words

Former editor for Review and Herald discusses his call as a writer

After working as an editor at Review and Herald for 19 years, Dwain Esmond is now associate director of the Ellen G White Estate, based at the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church’s head office in Silver Spring, Maryland (USA). He spoke to Nathan Brown of Signs Publishing about his work, his recent publishing projects and the importance of publishing for the church and its mission.

What first drew you into writing and editing?
For as long as I can remember, others would comment on my ability to write, but I never gave it much thought. That is, until one of my professors recommended me for an internship with a magazine published by Review and Herald. During that internship and my subsequent employment, I discovered this overlooked gift God had given me. I can only surmise that it was God who led me to this special field of spiritual endeavour.

How do you understand or explain this kind of work as ministry?
I believe strongly in the power of the printed page. The work I do is ministry because the things I write and edit help people come to a relationship with Christ, learn to follow Him and share Him with others. I still get up each day with a passion to help people find Jesus, through whatever project I am working on. The written word preaches long after everything else has melted into the ether. This is the main reason I love what I do.

Tell us about your work at the White Estate and why this is important for the church.
The Ellen G White Estate is one of the most essential institutions of our church. It is the custodian of the writings of God’s inspired messenger, Ellen White. Her writings are a modern-day manifestation of the gift of prophecy, a treasure-trove of truth that helps the church understand and act on its unique mission. I am responsible for the editorial content that the Estate produces, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to make the writings of Ellen White usable for a new generation.

What about the gift of prophecy do you think is most misunderstood?
I think the most misunderstood thing about the gift of prophecy is that God is the one attempting to communicate His message. When the Spirit gives the gift of prophecy to someone, God is in that person—through the Holy Sprit—moving them to share messages which He has deemed essential. We must check the spirits to be sure that they are of God, but when we “shoot” the messenger because we do not like the message, we do ourselves a disservice. We are still responsible for that which we had opportunity to know, but chose not to know. If God is speaking, we must remain ready to hear Him. We must never mistake the messenger for the God who is attempting to speak through them.

What is the most significant thing you learned in working on your book project on leadership, As I Follow Christ?
There were several wonderful insights that caught my attention as I worked on As I Follow Christ. Perhaps the most significant contribution that blessed me was the realisation that if a leader leads but neglects his or her home, their ministry will not be as effective, no matter how stellar their gifts. It is very easy to get caught up in doing things for God and forget that our first field of mission is our home. If the home is broken, we are broken. This was one of things that resonated with me and it continues to do so even now.

What are the strengths of books that bring together a variety of contributors?
Because many authors contribute to the work, there is a natural diversity of thought that I really find refreshing. We certainly would not want to do such books for every subject, but they can hold a reader’s interest when the topic is compelling and the contributors are excel in their disciplines.

You contributed a chapter to Do Justice. What caught your attention or imagination with this invitation?
What really made Do Justice special for me was its emphasis on making a difference in the real world. Christianity is not just meant for churches and homes. It should impact the public square, working on behalf of the poor, the disenfranchised and the marginalised. When I was asked to contribute to the project, I jumped at the chance because it represented something quite unprecedented in our denomination—we do not see or hear enough of God’s call to street-level ministry. Do Justice challenged me to think more deeply about the relevance of my faith to the world in which I live. It is one of the projects of which I am most proud.

Having lived through the closure of Review and Herald, why do books and publishing still matter to the Adventist Church?
The closure of Review and Herald Publishing Association was undoubtedly the most difficult time in my 20 years of ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was a painful study in lack of vision, organisational politics and misguided pragmatism. The full outcome of the decision to close the institution will not fully be known for years, I believe.

That said, I am more sure than ever that books—and publishing in general—are not going away. Industry studies are showing that people are consuming both electronic media and print media. The sale of ebooks is no longer seen as the threat to the print publications that many imagined.

Publishing books still matters for the Adventist Church because, for one, much of the developed and developing world still use print media to get information. Furthermore, printed prophets continue to “preach” long after other forms of media have done their work. We can by no means ignore the rise of electronic and internet-based media, but it would be myopic to forget the role that print plays in providing a comprehensive suite of ministry offerings to a diverse consumer base.