Welcome to the inaugural edition of my new column “Signs and Wonders.” Actually, that’s not exactly true. I originated this column in 1994 when I edited a newspaper in Charlotte called “The Charlotte World.” I reinvigorated the column 10 years ago when I was at The Colson Center for Christian Worldview.
But the MinistryWatch version of this column is new, and it is my hope to include here thoughts on news items that either don’t quite rise to the level of a news story for MinistryWatch, or are slightly (perhaps even significantly) outside our normal charity and philanthropy “beat.”
My goal is to be punchy, opinionated, and slightly off-brand. If that’s not quite for you, no hard feelings. But if it is…read on.
Cracker Barrel Rebrand. The Christian corner of the social media world lit up when Cracker Barrel changed its logo. (And, news alert: changed it back.) But what I thought was: Life must be good if this is all that Christian influencers have to complain about—I guess we’ve solved all the big problems of the world. Either that, or our priorities are seriously out of whack.
Twitter Journalism. And before you get started, I know it’s now called X, but if it’s still rock-and-roll to Billy Joel, it’s still Twitter to me. That said, can we all agree that simply copying and pasting X posts into a word file is not real journalism? ChurchLeader, a publication I often read and sometimes admire, is doing more of that these days. One recent example was its coverage of the Chip and Joanna Gaines story. What made it worse was that they copied the posts of Megan Basham, Eric Metaxas and Jenna Ellis. Which was a shame since there are legitimate issues here, and thoughtful commentary coming from trustworthy correspondents. (See, for example, this WORLD column from Andrew Walker.) The CL approach legitimized some of the least responsible voices in this conversation. Bottom line: It’s so easy to quote tweets that real journalism—and thoughtful commentary—is getting crowded out.
Journalism Transition. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced that it will no longer produce a print edition. That makes it one of the largest papers in the nation to abandon print. Currently, only about a third of the nation’s 1,000 daily papers still publish in print. This news was expected. The AJC originally said it would stop its print edition in 2023, but it delayed that change in order to make additional investments in online capabilities. Still, the news hit me hard. I was raised in Atlanta, and I grew up reading and—for a time—delivering the paper on my bicycle. I graduated from the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism at the University of Georgia, named for the paper’s most famous editor. Some of my first by-lines were freelance articles published there. The paper had become increasingly left-leaning and ideological over the years, alienating its constituency and thereby contributing to its own demise. Nonetheless, I mourn its passing. Sic transit gloria mundi.
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What About Church? The Wall Street Journal recently published a story about the growth of adult summer camps. These camps provide fellowship and activities for people looking to make in-person, human connections. Not a bad goal, but I think my friend Dr. Anthony Bradley nailed it when he said of the article: “My goodness. How sad is this? Just go to a church.”
John MacArthur Memorial. I watched the livestream of John MacArthur’s memorial service on Saturday, and I was moved to tears more than once. Both Andrew Peterson’s “Is He Worthy?” and The Gettys’ rendition of “In Christ Alone” were highlights for me. And that choir and orchestra? Wow. I want both of these songs sung at my funeral. It’s hard to identify the best eulogy of the event, but I especially commend to you Mark MacArthur’s moving remembrance of his father, which (contrary to some “news” reports) you can easily find online. But for your convenience, click here. It begins at about the 1:24 mark.
Source: Signs and Wonders Cracker Barrel, Twitter journalism, John MacArthur, and more
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