We occasionally receive very nice e-mails.

"You're doing a vital work. Keep it up."

"Your journal is a refreshing voice in the church. Every leader should read it."

"Adventist Today has given me new hope for the church. Its honesty and openness should serve as a model for the larger church."

"I enjoy the blend of intellectual stimulation and open confession of faith I find in the pages of AT. It offers a picture of the kind of Adventism I can recommend to my friends and pass on to my children and grandchildren."

I treasure these compliments. I savor this kind of nice mail. But I don't believe a word of it.

That is, I don't "believe" in the biblical sense of putting my weight on them, ordering my life according to them. I don't bank on them because words, even nice words, are cheap. What I believe is money, freshly autographed sheets of paper with lots of zeroes on them. Because, to paraphrase Jesus, "You put your money where your heart is." People who believe in the work of Adventist Today put money into it. (Thank you to our many contributors!)

Obviously, if you are a subscriber, you've already made a significant statement. For many of our readers who are students or retirees on limited incomes, just the cost of a subscription is prohibitive. But the price of a subscription pays only about half of what it actually costs to produce the journal. So we depend on contributions to make up the difference. And we dream of contributions that will empower us to do more than print a journal and maintain a web site. (See note about our web site on the next page.) Progressive Adventism needs to sponsor conferences around the world to share the distinct perspectives of Progressive Adventism.

We are dreaming of a few additional patrons. People with tens of thousands of dollars available who want to make a difference in the future shape of the Adventist church. Several have recently stepped forward. But we need more patrons. Patrons who can match the $10,000 to $25,000 gifts that Adventist Today has received in the recent past. Jeremiah's ministry depended on the patronage of several generations of a family in the nobility, the family of Shaphan. Elijah's friends were protected from the tyranny of Ahab by Obadiah, a member of the royal court. The early church benefited from the wealth and status of Nicodemus. Martin Luther was saved by the intervention of Frederick of Saxony. Progressive Adventism needs patrons in our day.

Adventist Today is a source of unfettered information within the Adventist community. We don't always get it right, of course. But we aim to provide factual, balanced reporting on events, issues and people of interest to Adventists. We serve as a platform for new ideas and for young Adventist thinkers as they struggle to put their faith and life into words. We work to foster a vital, rich spirituality among Progressive Adventists. We want to help people work their way beyond their obsessions with the inevitable failures of Adventism as a human system to treasuring and advocating the best of Adventism as a divine creation.

But all of this takes money. We very much appreciate the hundreds of gifts of $50, $100, and $500. But we also need the partnership of people who can give $1,000, 5,000 or even $25,000 or more. These kinds of gifts can make a quantum difference in the quality and impact of Adventist Today.

So if you have a compliment, send it along. I'll savor it. But if you send money, I'll believe it.

If you would like to talk to us about a major gift to Adventist Today give us a call at 1-800-236-3641. We'll be happy to outline some of our special needs or listen to your dreams about how we can help our church be more effective and our readers more joyous in God's service.