Letters - to and from the editor

To Our Dear and Cherished Readers,

Welcome to the new and improved burnsidewriterscollective.com.

A month ago, Don, David (our graphic designer) and I sat in a brewpub in Grand Rapids and, like slightly mentally deficient versions of Bobby Fischer, plotted our next moves.

Some of the changes we planned that day are already evident: you may have noticed the ads on the left sides of the stories, or you might have seen our new comment boxes. Here, I'll lay out everything we've changed and everything yet to change.

Advertising: As a fledgling company, our entire income has been based on book sales, both over the internet and at Don Miller's book readings. This slim source of income is fine, it narrowly pays the bills, but, to be honest, we don't get paid very much. I'm not complaining...I love every bit of what I do with the Burnside Writer's Collective...but we have dreams to fulfill. Initially, we are running Google Ads. Because these ads are based off of the Google search engine, we have no control over what is posted. You may be aware that this lack of control results in some very humorous ads. We are working on a more advanced ad system. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, click on those links every once in a while. We get, like, $0.00001 for each click.

Comment Board: This was a long-debated addition. On one hand, we want the site to be open for Socratic discussion, disagreements and the like, and we want our readers to feel they are a part of the action. On the other, comment boards are often the worst and stupidest forms of communication. We all know that people get dumb on these things.

As a compromise, control of the message board will be under benevolent dictatorial rule. We will decide what is posted, and we will be picky. Differing opinions are welcome, but your comment must be clear and intelligent. Also, no emoticons. We hate emoticons. If you use an emoticon, we will either ignore your comment, or we will post it in the most humiliating way possible. (For instance, if you use "LOL," we will change that to "Oh my gosh, I'm laughing out loud like a freaking idiot! Most people don't laugh out loud at their computer desks, but I do it ALL. THE. TIME.")

I know, I know, we sound old and grumpy when it comes to emoticons, but they smack of Newspeak, and, being a collective of writers, we want to promote beautiful use of language.

Our more noticeable changes are to the main page. We have decided to add three new sections, which means more articles and more stuff to read when you should be filling out spreadsheets at work.

The Sporting Life: Since around 50% of the articles we receive are sports related, we've made a space for them. Jonathan Adams, a friend of ours from Vancouver, British Columbia, will be editing for us. The goal with the stories is to portray the beauty of sports without taking it too seriously and staying away from the clichéd, ESPN-mold commentator.

Letters to the Editor: This is one of the most widely-read sections in any magazine. The comment boxes allow some feedback, but the letter to the editor will be a chance for readers to explain their opposition, support or commentary in full. All letters should pertain to the site.

Letter from the Editors: Our last new section was built so that we could improve interaction, letting readers know about new developments, events and more personal stuff without breaking into the actual articles to do so.

Also, we are ALWAYS looking for new writers, so don't be shy about emailing your articles/reviews to reviews@burnsidewriterscollective.com.

Our June 1st issue has some great content. I particularly recommend Chad Gibbs' brilliant essay on his home state of Alabama. Also, in search of commentaries on living simply, Penny has gone straight to the source: Hollywood actresses. How many Christian literary magazines can boast a Baywatch babe as one of their writers? I submit to you that there are none. Besides us, of course.

Lastly, check out our friend Brad Fruhauff's review of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, which is on my reading list and which has accomplished the rare feat of being critically lauded and selling well.

We hope you enjoy the new look, and thank you for reading our site. Just to let you know, we officially launch at midnight PST on the 1st and 15th of every month.

Sincerely,
Jordan Green
The Burnside Writer's Collective

Continue reading "First Letter From the Editor. Ever." »

Posted by Jordan at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(Editor's Note: The below article was edited for grammatical purposes. One hyperlink was also added.)

BWC Staff,

I would like to submit a few observations about Brent Bourgeois's rant entitled "The Christian Bookstore." Brent goes nuts after seeing a title called "Crushing the Democrats" ? Is Brent a truly regenerate convert to Christ? Of course you're not going to see pro-Democratic ideologies at a Christian bookstore. The Democratic political platform openly and aggressively embraces legalized abortion. They push for the legalization of gay marriage and for furthering civil rights that gays and lesbians already have to a level of privilege that exceeds what all Americans already have. The Democratic platform is in favor of the legalization of marijuana and other currently illegal drugs. They also favor a reduction of the protections afforded the Christian church. And, by the way Brent, we didn't have to worry about going to war under Bill Clinton, he didn't have the backbone for making that kind of decision. He was too busy committing adultery in this country's highest political office. Brent, if your sister was being raped repeatedly by a madman, the whole world knew it and the UN was completely impotent (as they have been since their inception) to stop it, would you ask for an 18th sanction against the rapist? Would you worry what history would think about you? Would you sit down and "debate" Romans 13 a while or would you stop the rapist? In the comfort of your home, far, far away from the carnage, you sit and pass judgement on men who must make real decisions. You pass judgement on "W" for invading a country and shutting down the torture chambers and rape rooms? You ignore the clear mandate of all of God's Word for us to protect the innocent, to love mercy, do justly and walk humbly before our God? You decide you are the final authority of what someone who owns a Christian bookstore should sell? I think not. If you have a problem, open up your own store. If you favor the Democratic party, considering the sinful and wicked ideologies they embrace, then get on your knees and beg God's forgiveness, submit yourself in humble obedience to God's Word and let it renew your mind. And please remember that fits of self-righteous indignation do not bring glory to God.

To this entire group of writers and commentators, do you all ever hold one another accountable for the faulty, unbiblical, and rebellious nature of your thoughts and words? Quit writing about social justice, pray for God's justice. Don't worry so much about the political ramifications of fossil fuels or alternative fuels. Fellas, quit ranting and start interviewing real sources. If you want to know that hydrogen as a fuel alternative is a crock (and it is), talk to the Energy Department. If you want to understand real global politics call retired FBI and CIA agents, they know why we do what we do. If you want to clearly understand God's Word and the God of The Word, then study John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, John Piper, Philip Ryken, Al Mohler, D. A. Carson. and burn your emergent church manifestos. Submit yourselves to worshipping God in Spirit and in truth and you won't need Starbucks in your church and your Ed Young Jr. wannabe pastor can go back to dressing like a man and preaching. You will find that you don't need big screens, small groups love sessions, rock bands, or prosaic pastors like Joel Osteen to get you from week to week, avoiding doctrines such as the Radical Depravity of Man, God's Unconditional Election, God's Particular Redemption of Souls, Irresistible Grace, and Eternal Security of the Believer.

A final word: we believe in the Priesthood of the Believer. This simply means that by the illumination of the Holy Spirit each believer can rightly interpret scripture, but the interpretation of scripture is done within the context of the whole of scripture. Scripture interprets scripture, not social conscience, not personal opinion or political ideology and certainly not, then, members of the Burnside Writer's Collective. Mr. Miller, if you are going to be speaking at any conference that informs the Church of Jesus Christ about what's new, I hope that the rants of your website are not what you are suggesting.

Grace and peace to you all,
Soli Deo Gloria,

Thomas Kirk
Bartlesville, OK

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BWC,

First of all, I want to say that I enjoy your website and I respect that you are providing the world a more nuanced view of Christianity. I hope that my comments are not taken the wrong way, but as I was going through all of the pages on your website I was reminded of what Buggin' Out said in the film Do the Right Thing in response to all of the pictures of famous Italian people on Sal's wall. Sal's pizzeria was, of course, in a racially diverse area and yet the only people represented in his pizzeria were folk like him. Buggin' Out naturally took offense and said, "Yo Sal, how come their ain't no brothas on the wall?" I mention all this to basically say to you fine folks "Yo Burnside Writer's Collective, how come their ain't no brothas (or sistas) on the wall?" The body of Christ is diverse in opinions, politics, race, and ethnicity. I like that you give reviews to music, but they read like a who's who of hipster type music, which is notorious for lacking in color. I am not suggesting you guys cover issues or include work from non-white writers in some affirmative action style way, but I just hope that you all know and realize that there are black and brown folks who don't want to be a part of "franchise" Christianity either. I don't want to sound too critical, because I do think the site and content is awesome, but as a young, black, (not really) hip Christian, I never feel like people like me are represented in the mix. Anyway, continued success with your site.

TT
Philadelphia, PA

Posted by Jordan at 12:00 AM | Permalink