FROM THE EDITORS
Paul Robbins
January 1, 1990
Longfellow once wrote, "The holiest of all holidays are those, / kept by ourselves in silence and apart; / the secret anniversaries of the heart." This issue of LEADERSHIP marks ten years of publication. As you can see, we haven't prepared a spectacular issue, complete with a slick, four-color spread featuring "Clergy Celebrities We Have Known." Nor will there be an opportunity to enter a "NEW! TEN MILLION DOLLAR ANNIVERSARY SWEEPSTAKES."
No, we prefer to mark this anniversary by remembering that ten years ago the launch of LEADERSHIP seemed like an enormous gamble. Even though the promotional test mailings were strong, authorizing a print run of fifty thousand felt like diving into the deep end of a very cold pool. We knew that the universe of potential subscribers contained about 300,000 pastor-readers. We also recognized the rule of thumb that if a magazine regularly can enlist 10 percent of its potential readers, success is likely.
Well, ten years later, our fears have been allayed by one of the most satisfying publisher-editor-reader relationships in religious-magazine history. With this issue, three million copies of LEADERSHIP have been printed, and most of those still stand prominently positioned on bookshelves of pastors' studies across the country. LEADERSHIP has won many editorial awards through the years, but no honor has been more satisfying than to know it might be the most photocopied journal in America!
May we continue to reminisce? The idea for the journal developed eighteen months before publication began. The impetus was a practical one. Publishing experts were predicting that one-magazine companies wouldn't survive the escalating costs of the 1980s. It was imperative to spread the economic dynamics of publishing ...
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