{"id":3243,"date":"2007-04-27T20:40:22","date_gmt":"2007-04-27T20:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=3243"},"modified":"2010-12-09T16:52:29","modified_gmt":"2010-12-09T16:52:29","slug":"5544","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/04\/27\/5544\/","title":{"rendered":"Covenant Companion Wins Eight Top National Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (April 27, 2007) \u2013\u00a0 In the March 2006 issue of The Covenant Companion<\/em>, Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) pastor J. Kevin Butcher wrote of his hard-earned lessons in developing multiethnic churches. On Tuesday night, the Associated Church Press (ACP) recognized his article with an Award of Excellence.
\n
\nThe award was one of eight the Companion<\/em> received during ceremonies in which the ACP named its \u201cBest of the Christian Press.\u201d Nearly 200 publications are members of the ACP and have a combined readership of several million subscribers.<\/p>\n

\"Cover\"The Companion<\/em> earned two awards of excellence (first place), three awards of merit (second place), and three honorable mentions (third place). The awards covered content published during calendar 2006 that was created not only by staff writers and designers, but also by Covenanters across the denomination and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese awards from independent judges affirm what our readers already experience – the timeliness and relevancy, as well as the high quality and professionalism of the content our staff develops each month,\u201d says Don Meyer, executive minister of the ECC\u2019s Department of Communication. \u201cAnd given the relatively small size of our denomination and staff in comparison to the huge organizations with which we are compared \u2013 Sojourners, Christianity Today, Christian Century<\/em> to name a few \u2013 the accomplishment of our staff and the quality material provided to our churches and individuals is even more amazing and gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butcher is pastor of Hope Community Church, a Covenant congregation in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. He won in the Professional Resource category for \u201cA Tale of Two Churches.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Jim Manney, senior editor of Loyola Press<\/em>, wrote, \u201cThis is an excellent, practical, honest article about the task of building and pastoring a multiethnic church.\u201d He added that Butcher \u201coffers much needed pastoral wisdom about one of the church\u2019s most pressing challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following is a list of additional Companion<\/em> awards and comments from the judges:<\/p>\n

Magazine Cover<\/strong> \u2013 Steven Velez Luce and David Westerfield were honored with an award of excellence for their October cover, \u201cIs Politics Taking Over Church?\u201d The category was one of the most crowded, with 47 entries. \u201cOn every level \u2013 concept, design, typography \u2013 this was the most professional of all entries,\u201d writes judge Tim Harrower, a newspaper design consultant. \u201cNicely balanced, handsomely symmetrical, with a very effective color palette.\u201d Luce is creative director in the Communications Design Center, where Westerfield serves as art director.<\/p>\n

Theological Reflection: Long Format<\/strong> \u2013 Scot McKnight earned an award of merit for \u201cThe Future or Fad,<\/a>\u201d which appeared in the February issue. \u201cThis piece gives a clear analysis of the emergent church while carefully connecting it with the intended audience,\u201d writes judge D. Brent Laytham, associate professor of theology and ethics at North Park Theological Seminary. \u201cThe willingness to risk broad judgments, the refusal to nitpick, and the gentle critiques are wonderful.\u201d McKnight is the Karl A. Olsson professor in religious studies at North Park University.<\/p>\n

Interview<\/strong> \u2013 Covenant pastor Doug Bixby\u2019s interview with theologian Miroslav Volf in the May issue earned an award of merit. \u201cThis interview provides a compelling picture of his story of costly discipleship and reconciliation,\u201d writes judge Timothy Morgan, deputy managing editor of Christianity Today<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n

News Story: Magazine<\/strong> \u2013 Dave Olson (Department of Church Growth and Evangelism) earned an award of merit for \u201cEmpty Pews, Signs of Hope,<\/a>\u201d in which he challenges myths of church attendance. \u201cThis writer comes armed with numbers and narrative skill to give the reader some needed clarity about the real-world habits of churchgoing,\u201d writes judge Ray Waddle, editor of Reflections<\/em>, the theological journal of Yale Divinity School. \u201cIn an engaging, authoritative way, he delivers facts that will surely stimulate discussion and action.\u201d Olson is director of church planting. The article appeared in the January issue.<\/p>\n

Editorial or Opinion Piece: Magazine <\/strong>\u2013 James R. Hawkinson won honorable mention for \u201cThe Danger of Being Relevant,\u201d which appeared in the February issue. He is executive secretary emeritus of the former Covenant Publications department.<\/p>\n

Biographical Profile<\/strong> \u2013 Bob Smietana earned an honorable mention for \u201cThe Amazing Adventures of Dave and Bonnie (and Their Nine Kids)<\/a>\u201d in the July issue.
\nSmietana is features editor of the Companion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Devotional\/Inspirational: Short Format<\/strong> \u2013 Columnist Krista Brumberg Stevens earned an honorable mention for \u201csry\u201d in the May issue.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (April 27, 2007) \u2013 In the March 2006 issue of The Covenant Companion, Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) pastor J. Kevin Butcher wrote of his hard-earned lessons in developing multiethnic churches. 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