Last week, after reading the essay about Christianity Today by Kristin Du Mez, I felt conflicted and confused. As a reader of the magazine for years, I have watched the changes over the last year with a wondering eye.
They have had a significant amount of staff turnover and a lot of new leadership, and some of the essays and articles recently have definitely left me wondering about their new direction. It was sad to see so many familiar faces being let go and knowing that many were searching for new jobs.
But as an avid reader for over a decade, I have always come away feeling that in every story and opinion piece they have been trying hard to find a balance and navigate the tension of the world.
For many years, those who saw me share articles would say that CT was such a left-leaning publication. Other times there were essays that seemed to lean centre-right. But the humanity of people was always highlighted in every piece.
Needless to say, between 2020 and 2024 there was a lot going on in our world.
In 2024, I had the opportunity to attend an editorial meeting that was spearheaded by Sho Baraka and other senior editors like Kate Shellnutt and Stefani McDade, who led sessions on how to write and also what CT looks for in its writers.
The writers who attended were from all different backgrounds, and the one-day workshop was deeply rewarding, with room and space for multiple opinions. It most definitely was not a space where we were told what to write about or which way to lean politically. There was room for different opinions.
Yes, it’s very hard to see editors that you’ve enjoyed working with being let go. It’s hard to know that a prominent magazine is having such high turnover. It’s also hard to see and try to make sense of what exactly is going on!
What frustrated me deeply was seeing the number of comments at the end of the essay where readers were saying that they were going to cancel their subscription. Well,I can’t force anyone to subscribe- if they want to leave, leave! Hey, we’re all cutting back these days, and it's easier to quit than sit with discomfort.
I had the privilege of working with Bonnie Kristian in 2024 on what was probably my last piece for CT. As a novice writer, CT gave me my first leg up by publishing my very first essay, and that opened many doors for me.
In 2024, I got to work with Bonnie on a piece about seeking relevance in the Christian publishing industry. Working with her and hearing her advice was deeply impactful for someone without any formal writing training or a journalistic background. I have continued to follow her work over the last few years, and I have found her chasing the tension in all her work. Writing opinion pieces on the political scene is not easy, finding the balance even more so!
I had followed Du Mez’s writing for a few years, and I am aware she is a scholar and researcher who has written some excellent books. And as good authors do, Du Mez corrected the errors made in the first piece with a follow-up essay.
But the more I wrestled, I had to ask myself: was I frustrated because the people that I looked up to and respected were kind of arguing in a public forum? Was I upset because I felt someone was being hurt, or was I upset because living in such a polarized world was so real in every arena?
Either our views are all extreme, and we live in silos, and having multiple opinions is not cool. Or we stay silent.
Walking away and unsubscribing to opinions that we do not like seems to be the option the majority chooses. But hey, I am no saint. I am often confused by multiple opinions. I choose to stay silent a lot, like the majority. But I am starting to see that if I have an opinion, I better speak up or end up feeling twisted inside!
As an Indian immigrant to this country, what I’ve noticed about American culture and education is that everybody is trained in writing. Everybody is trained in some form of public discourse in schools, and everybody is trained to argue through the written word.
This was not necessarily the case in the Indian education that I grew up with. Today things are a little bit different, and the liberal arts are given just as much importance as STEM, but for the majority of my growing-up years, debate, prolific writing, and publishing were not necessarily something that I saw.
Authors and academics existed, but the pattern of public discourse and arguing through the written word, opinion writing, is unique to the United States & western discourse. My hat’s off to all of you academics and scholars who exist here on this platform, sharing your creativity and knowledge with the rest of us!
I am thankful for my tiny corner on this platform where I can sit and showcase my opinion, and there are people to read it!
Truth is, everybody has an opinion- good or bad and in a land of free speech, we are entitled to share it! The more we share, the more relevant we become!
We do not have loud arguments in the public square, but we are fairly noisy on the virtual public square. We have a captive audience!
The noisier we are, the more attention we receive.
But the silent majority also has an opinion.
Perhaps the conversation about CT magazine has come to an end, but this is a new week, and there will be some new topics which we can have a public discourse on. There will be another next week and so on!
Some of us will be verbose and have strong opinions, and the rest of us will comment on those strong opinions and continue to drive the conversation. Some will get bored and log off, but as long as we have the ability to dialogue, debate, and have a conversation, and thanks to the power of the written word, we will continue to have opinions and will continue to say whatever we like whenever we like, and perhaps in the process continue to become relevant, chase relevance, or find it!
Thanks Sherene, for insights into changes at Christianity today in your piece,The Virtual Public Square.I always learn something helpful when you share. Your thinking out loud reminds me to learn and listen before I agree/disagree or respond to the latest hot topic.