Publishing (Mistakes) on the Edge

By Kent d Curry
September 8, 2008

So where’s the line? Or would it be more appropriate to ask, “Where’s the edge?”

90&9 has always received complaints about our content—sometimes it’s simply publishing an unpopular point of view on an accepted topic, sometimes it’s for publishing “controversial” articles, or sometimes we’re blasted as liberals because—even though we don’t publish articles on doctrine—we’ll discuss areas of discomfort within our movement (Apostolics on television, homosexuality, gay marriage) that are often outside the scope of other Apostolic magazines. Writers we publish don’t always arrive at pat conclusions and that disturbs some readers.

Many times the complaints are from people who don’t understand what our purpose is or why we created this e-zine to begin with. It’s our fault when we don’t explain ourselves clearly to readers.

As succinctly as possible—90&9 was created to engage the greater Apostolic movement (we are affiliated with no specific organization) and the world at large on the contemporary issues that most affect believers. We try to offer a forum for biblical thought, not specific rules to live by, because it’s assumed our core audience is Apostolic and getting the latter from their pastors.

Despite the blogs and pictorials and live reporting from national conferences, we’re still an old fashioned read and think zine.

Still They Complain

Often, our most vociferous critics are those Aposotlics who live at the opposite end of our philosophical approach. Frankly, on most doctrinal issues, I’m guessing we’d largely agree. It’s when we approach the non-doctrinal issues that discomfort—and criticism—ensues. After all, the Apostolic movement has always had those who insist on engaging society and those who insist we distance ourselves from the world. It’s choosing between the army and hospital metaphors; the army of God seeks to engage society, while the hospital of God seeks to bring the hurt and dying into their building, heal them, and keep them there.

They both have their virtues, they both have biblical precedents (Paul and Moses epitomize the army mentality, while Obidiah stayed an unwavering, largely silent. believer even as he served as king Ahab’s chief of staff, and Elijah veered between both approaches), as well as historic examples—the army mentality is best defined by any of the great revival movements, such as the Great Awakening, while perhaps the best example of believers staying safe from a dangerous world is the Irish monks who copied the great works of Scripture and history as the Western world plummeted into the Dark Ages.

Still, the Great Commission tells us to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20). To 90&9, “go ye” means to engage our society and its troubles straight-up, to discuss the vexing issues not as experts, but as believers determined to share Christ and Him crucified.

We seek to live the army metaphor in cyberspace as effectively as possible. Frankly, we’ve been wondering why there aren’t more overtly Apostolic sites open to everyone since (at least) 2005.

Mistakes We Have Made

That said, those who engage society as an army will inevitably commit sins of commission, while those who follow the hospital model will most often commit sins of omission. To publish regularly is to make mistakes in public. We’ve upset some wonderful believers in endless ways—an ill-chosen picture to illustrate an eblast; poorly worded sentences on sensitive topics; and even unwitting praise for the wrong books. I hate to even mention these, as it gives me no pleasure, but, sadly, it’s the reality of our ministry. Our sins will almost always be “you shouldn’t have…” sins.

Yet, if every article is safe, there’s no incentive to read it. The most engaging writers are those who break new ground or add fresh insights, not those who repeat what everyone agrees upon. That’s why our cover articles and ephemera often highlight the new and different, while our devotions and testimonies tread familiar ground in less familiar ways. It can be a trickier mix than it seems.

It’s hard to notice the sins of omission in the hospital model because they don’t know what opportunities they missed most times—they don’t know who didn’t come into the hospital that could have because their mission usually revolves around a church building

Their big weakness will always be in the temptation to remain static. We say it’s the galloping sins of society that has created a circle-the-wagon mentality, but isn’t it possible we’ve just become Holy Ghost-filled Mennonites? Isn’t there a fear that the times have passed some of us by and we just don’t want to admit it?

Where Does That Put Us?

So where’s the line of probity, respect, and forward thinking? One person’s controversy is another person’s refreshing take on an important issue. Every believer is responsible for the weaker brethren, yet they’re also responsible to grow in God. If we believer that iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17), then we also must believe we have a mandate to mature instead of stagnating on non-doctrinal matters.

Our run of March-to-May, 2008 covers was nearly unprecedented: we covered sexual purity, homelessness at a youth convention, climate change, pathetic Apostolic tipping, the corrupting power of music, and a firsthand account of plastic surgery—and how the author couldn’t reveal his/her name because of expected repercussions within Apostolic community. You’re not going to read real, often hard-hitting stories like this anywhere else.

To continue engaging the outside world, to engage it without accepting its values, means to always be at the forefront of criticism, to be vulnerable to mistakes that may be costly, to not always hold a clear direction. Still, it’s the road we’ve chosen to travel, In our minds, it’s the only, best way to fulfill the Great Commission on the web.

ninetyandnine.com

© 2008, Kent d Curry

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Kent d Curry is an executive editor of ninetyandnine.com.