Who I am
Decades ago, I was teenager growing up in an evangelical Christian home where I learned that Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. I also was a teenager growing up in an evangelical subculture that largely supported the Vietnam War (although the politics of the subculture weren’t nearly as extreme as they are today). I struggled to reconcile these facts and kept on coming up short. I struggled to determine what I should do if I were drafted into the armed services.
Fortunately, I never did get drafted. But I did develop an interest in the interplay between the Christian faith and the real world. I majored in political science and took more than my share of religion classes at an evangelical college. I became a newspaper journalist with expertise in local government, and I was a religion editor for a short while. I’ve been a regular churchgoer my whole life and have taught Sunday school and other classes, although I have shifted my theological viewpoints and denominational affiliation. Once I left my journalism career and no longer had to maintain the appearance of objectivity, I participated in local party politics. For about 20 years, I wrote and edited an educational website that had nothing to do with politics or religion. All these experiences prepared me for what I’m doing now with Still More to Say.
I still don’t have all the answers I sought in my younger years, and that’s one reason this site has the name it does. I never intend to offer the final word on anything, and when it comes to matters of faith and how people of all faiths or none work together, there’s always plenty more to say.
I appreciate the interest you’ve shown in the interplay of faith, government and culture by visiting this site. I look forward to exploring these issues together with you.
Why Substack? Why subscribe?
As I developed my plans for this site, I became intrigued by the approach that Substack was taking in providing a platform for freelance writers. It’s no secret that the development of online media has changed how people read and, more importantly to me, what is written. Too much of what dominates the Internet today is clickbait — content that is designed to attract clicks more than to enlighten.
Substack lets writers, podcasters, artists and other content makers take a different approach: Substack publishers hope that their remuneration comes not from clickbait, and not from advertisers, but from readers who value their work. Like many other Substack writers, I make most of what I write available to readers at no charge while hoping that a significant number of them will support my efforts, whether as a sign of appreciation or to get a few extras such as occasional subscriber-only articles and the ability to comment.
Privacy policy
The only personally identifiable information I have about readers is their email addresses if they choose to subscribe. I have no plans to use those addresses for anything other than providing site newsletters. If that should change, I will let you know in advance either in this space or by email. I currently do not subscribe to any analytics services that may set cookies on your browser; again, if that should change, I will notify you in advance either here or by email. Other aspects of this site related to privacy are governed by Substack’s privacy policy.
Comment policy
Paid subscribers may comment on most articles. Disagreement with my views is welcome, but spam, incivility, profanity, anything that violates others’ rights, personal attacks, doxxing, invasion of privacy, libel, misinformation, bigotry and links to harmful content are not.
