A brief history of Direction
In 1972, Direction replaced two publications: The Voice (Canadian, since 1952) and the Journal of Church and Society (U.S., since 1965). It began as a quarterly publication but changed to semiannual in 1985. Five editors, apart from guest editors, have served during the journal’s life: Delbert Wiens (1972–75), Allen Guenther (1981–89), Elmer Martens (1976–81; 1989–95), Victor Froese (2007 to 2024), and Douglas Miller (1997–2007; 2024 to the present). Kindred Productions began producing the journal with the 1996 issues. An overview of themes addressed by the journal may be obtained on the Issues page of this site.
Direction’s original cover design lasted only one year (1972). The second design ran from 1973 to 1984, and the third from 1985 to 1996. The current design (along with some internal layout modifications) began with the Spring 1997 issue.
The idea of a Direction website began in the late 1990s and was developed in the winter of 2000–2001. With the journal on the Web as well as in print, its articles have become much more accessible to interested readers.
