The holidays are over, and in rolls the humdrum of winter. At least the days are getting longer, right?

It's been some time since we checked in via the Letters from the Editor section. It's been an eventful year for everyone, and Burnside has been no exception. We kicked off our fundraising drive to build a new site.

At it turns out, September of 2008 was not an ideal time to begin fundraising, what with the economic crisis and all. Still, readers have been tremendously generous, and it's not like we're auto executives. We've raised $4,000 of our $10,000 goal. Those gifts have started the ball rolling...Metaleap Design has already sent sketches of our new logo, and the next step is laying out the site map, how everything will be organized.

While there's still a long way to go, but we are actually over half way to our primary goal, which is having the site rebuilt. The site WILL be redone, even if it means some of our editors carrying the remaining cost. We could sure use your help, though! Any donation is beyond appreciated. We want to show you what we can do, what we've dreamed up. Please help us make that happen.

At times, we feel like a kid waiting for Christmas...pondering the possibilities a new layout will bring. We're already gearing In case you missed it, we've started a series of columns over on the Burnside Blog, many of which will play heavily in the new site. You can view a short list on the right sidebar of the blog.

But this is our goal right now: build Burnside 2.0.

Thank you, as always for reading. We hope your holidays were filled with warmth, kindness and family. We hope 2009 is filled with the same.

Sincerely,
Jordan Green
Editor
Burnside Writers Collective

A month and a half ago, we posted a letter on this site kicking off our fund-raising venture, a drive to raise money for a new website we're reluctantly calling Burnside 2.0 (both an overworn cliche and misnomer, since we're really on about our third iteration of the site).

We've been humbled and thrilled with your generosity, and we figured we'd give you an update.

We've currently raised over $3,000 of our $10,000 goal. Folks have been overwhelmingly kind considering the uncertain times. What's been most amazing is, that total is based on a small percentage of readers donating large portions. The average gift was over $182!

If you haven't donated, please do. We still have a long ways to go, and every little bit helps. We appreciate everything you can do to help.

The money we've raised so far enabled us to start on Phase I of our project. Jose Reyes and his brilliant team at Metaleap Design have become conceptualizing the new website. Unfortunately, they won't be able to move forward until we've reached enough money to cover Phase II. We're just thrilled to be on our way, and we decided to move forward with the trust the rest of our fundraising will be covered.

In recent weeks, you may or may not have noticed an increase in activity over at the Burnside Blog. Since the blog can be updated more quickly and effectively, we've been focusing on it a little more than the main site, and you'll find daily posts there (even if they're a little more brief).

As a run up to our new site, we've been using the blog to post a series of columns we'll be including in the main site from some of Burnside's best frequent contributors. Each day, you'll find an example of one of the ongoing features that will make the patchwork of Burnside's new digs.

Dreaming all this stuff up has been more fun than should be allowed. Thank you for walking with us and helping us accomplish our dreams. We thank God daily for you, our dear readers.

Sincerely,
Jordan Green
Editor-in-Chief
Burnside Writers Collective

We've reached the point where we must ask you to help us.

Burnside editors and regular contributors have been running through ideas, planning and preparing for months. It's time for us to step out in faith.

We know Burnside is special. We know we're on to something. We know what we're capable of. We know the community that's sprouted up here, and the hearts and talents of our writers. We know we can be an important and influential voice, filtered through the perspective of our faith. We know we can do better.

We also know we've lost something. We've lost the time when Christian media was objective and relevant, when it actually had something to say to us and the world as a whole. Your donation to Burnside will help bring that objectivity back, because we pledge to be thoughtful, honest and pursue Truth at all cost. We cannot do this without you.

We've set up a PayPal account, and we are asking you to take part in building the Burnside Writers Collective.

Details.

Our goal is to raise $10,000.

This figure will go toward building and launching our new site. Barring unforeseen events, our designer will be the awesome folks at Metaleap Design. They are best known for designing Paste Magazine.

What to Expect.

Our site will change dramatically, but will keep it's general aesthetic. You can view some of our planned changes here, but, perhaps most importantly, we will be moving to daily content. Initially, we will run two articles per day (plus blog posts) and expand from there. We have more, but we'll keep coy about most of it for now.

The launch of Burnside 2.0 is scheduled for January 2009. That's a tentative estimate weighing in all sorts of factors (like raising $10,000). We hope it can be sooner.

If you choose to donate, we want you to receive something more than just our gratitude, profound though it may be. So we talked to some of our writers, drew inspiration from the biannual beggars at NPR, and, in the case of Don Miller, used outright blackmail to come up with these incentives.

Donations under $35: A Burnside sticker.

$35-$59: A copy of Donald Miller's upcoming book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and a Burnside sticker. The book is due out in 2009. We may or may not be able to get copies before they hit the stores. Regardless, you'll get when we get it.

$60-$99: An autographed copy of A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, a book of your choice penned by one of our contributors* (list of options below) and a Burnside sticker.

$100-$199: An autographed copy of A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, two books penned by our contributors, a Burnside t-shirt and a Burnside sticker.

$200 or more: An autographed copy of A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, all five books penned by Burnside contributors, a Burnside t-shirt, a Burnside sticker and your name listed as a Burnside Patron on the new site.

$10,000: All the above, plus marriage to one of our editors or contributors.**

We are in the process of establishing non-profit status, but contributions are not currently tax-deductible.

Thank you for joining with us in this work. All of us at the BWC are excited and inspired by what happens when so many storytellers and thinkers gather in one place, and Burnside has been that refuge. We hope it will be for you, as well.

Sincerely,
Jordan Green
Editor-in-Chief
Burnside Writers Collective

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List of books by Burnside contributors:

Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir by Susan Isaacs (due out March 2009)

Divine Intention by Larry Shallenberger

Deliver Us from Me-Ville by David Zimmerman

Assaulted by Joy: The Redemption of a Cynic by Stephen Simpson

Where's Your Jesus Now? by Karen Spears Zacharias

* - Donors giving over $60 will be contacted and asked which particular book they would like to receive.

** - Perk not yet authorized by Donald Miller.

Be sure to enter your email address so we can contact you!

Hello Burnside Community,

Jordan is on an artistic retreat this week and so I get to give you all a behind-the-scenes look at what's happening with the "new Burnside", sometimes called "BWC 2.0" in the flurry of e-mails exchanged between editors and some our regular contributors.

One of our first tasks has been to come up with a new mission statement. I've been impressed by the amount of time and creative energy being poured into crafting the three or four sentences that will serve as a guide for everything we do here at the Writers Collective. Soon we will reveal a next-to-final draft of the mission statement, and we'll want to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

Jordan mentioned in his previous letter that BWC 2.0 will post new articles and reviews every day. In order to facilitate the increased output we are in the process of recruiting thirty to forty regular contributors. (Submissions from new and occasional writers will still be welcome, of course.) If you know of a writer we should try to recruit won't you send us an e-mail with their name and e-mail address? If the writer has a blog, send the link or post it below. If you yourself are a writer, read the submission guidelines and send us some of your stuff.

We have already gathered some twenty-or-so editors and contributors to form the "Burnside Think Tank." In a rush of collaborative enthusiasm we have come up with more than a dozen regular features for the new site. I can't go into much detail here, but you can bet you'll see more stuff like this, this, and this.

In addition to the items mentioned above we are forming an advisory board with luminaries from the worlds of marketing, ministry, music, books, and publishing. We are working on a new two-page prospectus to send to advertisers and potential supporters. We have also begun the long, complicated process of determining the status of our little community in the eyes of the government (to wit: non-profit or simply no-profit).

There's a ton of work to be done and a long way to go. Thanks for traveling with us on the journey. We are going to post regular updates on this page, so check back often in the coming weeks and months. And please keep the feedback coming.

John Pattison
Deputy Editor

ORIGINAL POST

Dear Reader,

Burnside has now been in existence for three years, give or take. It's gone through a few iterations. We've survived on the volunteer work of our editors and relied on a vast network of writers who have never received a dime. And you, our readers, have stuck with us. Thank you a million times over for doing so.

We've reached the point where we believe we need to change again. We think these changes need to be big. So our editors have been hurling emails back and forth, discussing ideas, compiling lists of what we'd like to see. It's time to let you in on those discussions and hear what you have to say. It's also time to ask for some help.

Here are some of the major changes we'd like to make:

1. Daily Content

As I'm sure you're aware, 'weekly' in the internet age doesn't cut it anymore. Transitioning to daily output works a variety of angles. It allows us to remain poignant, increases our traffic, improves quality and keeps us in the reader's conscious. The best sites pull you back every day.

2. New Sections

We've often received submissions and we've had to respond, "We don't do that here." Well, maybe we should do that here. We'll be adding sections for Fiction, Poetry (possibly linked together) and Comedy.

3. Paying for Content

As I said before, our writers and editors have worked on a largely volunteer basis. Our goal has always been to pay our writers for their work, but that's easier said than done. We have ideas to bring this about. Part of that will require a negative change: more ad space on each page. We promise we won't go overboard. We think compensation will improve our articles and the concepts we write about.

4. A New Look

David Allen did a lot of awesome design work on this site for very little money, and his time has been tough to come by. He's given us his blessing in finding other avenues.

You might've culled from the "Link of the Moment" (which hasn't changed since June 2007) or broken links, or reviews riddled with code, that the site is breaking down. You'd be right. Our current structure is cumbersome and unfriendly. It's time to change that as well.

We've been exploring possibilities, and we've got some fantastic options for redesigning the site. The changes above aren't all we're planning, but these are the ones we're telling you about now.

The thing is, and this is where you come in, these options cost money. A significant chunk of money. And considering we have around $4 of disposable income, it'd be wise of us to think creatively about how to bring about these changes.

THREE THINGS WE NEED FROM YOU:

1. Donations

We're not asking for money right now. But we'd like to get a general idea of how much we could raise. Please visit our Daily Poll on the main page and fill in what, if anything, you'd be willing to donate to help us change. It'll give us a baseline idea for what kind of assistance we can expect. Please vote only once and please be honest. If you're not willing to pay at all, that's perfectly alright.

There are great mission organizations out there that need your money, too, and we wouldn't want you forgoing your tithe to help us. But we do feel we have an important role in the world.

2. Connections

While we have companies in mind for our site changes, we'd like to hear your suggestions. We want Burnside 2.0 (that's not an official name) to be a major improvement, but we also want to keep the look and feel of Burnside. If you know of a design company, or a friend of a friend, have them contact us.

3. Suggestions

What do you think would improve Burnside and pull you back day after day? What kind of content would you like? What would you like to see reviewed? What kind of topics do you want thoughts on? While the process can't be totally democratic, we want to be aware of what we're missing, and how best to serve our readers and our world. Leave your comments below or drop us a line.

---

We get the feeling we're on to something here, and it's time to pursue what this site could be.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and readership. Seriously. We are overwhelmingly thankful for you.

Sincerely,
Jordan Green
Editor-in-Chief
Burnside Writers Collective

Things are going well down here in Phoenix, and Burnside is back in the swing of things.

For over a month, our email here at the site was not working. We just got it up and going with the invaluable help of Coach Culbertson over at Relief Journal, so a million thanks to him.

What that means for you:

1. If you submitted any articles or inquiries to us between June 7th and June 27th, there is a very high likelihood we did not receive them. Please resend to the the regular address.

2. Even though we were able to receive emails up to June 7th, I have not been able to send emails since May 19th, so we are behind on the submissions we received before that. We're trying to catch up, so please be patient!

In other news:

Susan Isaacs, a longtime contributor to this site, has a book coming out titled Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir. We're always ecstatic to see our writers, especially regulars like Susan, fulfilling their call. You could wait for the actual release date, but why not pre-order Susan's book now? It'll be a wonderful surprise when it finally arrives!

Thank you for reading!

Jordan Green
Editor

Thanks for sticking with us the last few weeks! It's been crazy around these parts, and we regret not being able to provide you with consistent issues.

But, you see, I was busy. First, I got married. Here's an incredible video Don Miller put together from footage he took. You can see me, Mindy, Penny Carothers, David Allen and, for a brief moment, Don.

After that, I drove a moving truck down to Southern California for my friend JoVo's wedding. Then, we moved into a house we bought in Phoenix. Following that, we returned to Portland for Mindy's graduation from OHSU medical school. I feel I'm living every Jewish girl's dream, marrying a doctor.

So, I'm writing to you from my new home office. It has a picture of Mindy and a Greg Oden bobblehead. It's also in disarray, which makes me feel at home.

Thanks to John Pattison for keeping things going while I've been away, and thank you for coming back to us after two weeks of no new material.

Our site, which we enjoy immensely, is due for some changes. The legion of Burnside editors got together (via email) and came up with a wish-list. In the coming months, you'll see those come to fruition, and Burnside will expand. We're very, very excited.

Thank you again for reading. You mean the world to us.

Sincerely,
Jordan Green
Editor-In-Chief

P.S. If you weren't aware, Don started a bike trip across America. Mindy and I can't wait 'til he swings through Phoenix. Keep track of his agonizing progress here.

* * *

I was 21 when I first attended an Undoing Institutional Racism workshop. The gathering took place in a school-turned-community-center named El Centro de la Raza. Posters paying homage to Cesar Chavez lined one wall alongside pictures of agricultural laborers working in green fields and marching at protests. Upstairs, where the Young People's Project had gathered local teens and twenty-somethings, I found myself surrounded by a room full of hip kids of color. I was one of the whitest people in the room. And there weren't very many of us.

That day almost eight years ago has impacted my world-view profoundly. Sitting next to peers from a culture I had very little experience with, I learned that I was (simply by virtue of being white) racist - that awful word that no self-respecting liberal wants to hear used to describe them. The teaching went something like this: racism is essentially a white problem because though people of color feel prejudice towards one another they don't have the power to act on it. Only white people benefit from the color of their skin because the reins of institutional power are in their control. If you don't get why people of color often find it so hard to thrive here, it's most likely because you are white and have never known what it means to be 'other.'

That day I was angry, ashamed, dismayed, and embarrassed to be white. Much of this has changed over the years as I've learned more, but what has stuck with me is guilt at my privilege. This month, as we highlight racial reconciliation, we hope and pray that our white readers will read these words humbly and carefully. They are meant to provoke, yes, but also to offer life and freedom to those who accept the chance to learn from the experience of others. Above all, they are not meant to cause shame or guilt, because that is not the way of Christ. As you read and post comments, please be mindful that you don't have to be politically correct (that invisible straight-jacket), but please do be respectful.

We hope you enjoy and are challenged by this month's offerings on racial reconciliation in the Social Justice section of the magazine.

Sincerely,

Penny Carothers, SJ Editor

A week and a half ago, Mindy and I learned we'll be moving to Phoenix, Arizona in June. We knew a move was probably coming, so it was nice to finally hear where we'd go, but then a whole host of other issues comes up, like where we'll live and how we'll get there.

It's going to be a difficult transition, but we're ready for a change. Thanks to everyone who helped us in this process.

Burnside won't change, which is is a nice advantage to this Internet age. I was telling someone lately how those of us in our mid- to late-20's still remember a time when there wasn't an Internet, with all the great and horrible things that entails. Sometimes I wonder if it'd be nice to go back.

We are often asked if Burnside runs poetry. We don't. But April is National Poetry Month, and editor-at-large John Pattison is gathering a collection to be posted on the Burnside Writer's Blog. He's looking for poems to post every day during April, and he would appreciate some help. If there's a particular poem you love or something you've written, send it to John by clicking here.

The first poem I memorized was "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. I love it more as time passes. Some say it's about the futility of war, others say it's about courage. I think it might be about both.

1.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

6.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.

Have a great week, everyone.

Jordan Green
Burnside Writer's Collective

It's a big week ahead.

Along with the beginning of the NCAA Men's National Tournament, Thursday is also Match Day for every med student across the nation. Some time in the afternoon, my fiancee Mindy and I will find out where we'll be living for the next three years. We might stay in Portland, but the odds are small.

Deciding on our list was agonizing. A friend recently read a list which named the top ten stressful things that can happen to a person these days. Moving, getting a new job, and getting married were all on there. It's very possible Mindy and I will be going through all three in the next three months. Hoo-ray. At least Chad Gibbs went through this last year...

To alleviate stress, I'll be watching basketball all day Thursday. That's the ticket. For those planning on joining me, we're doing this years' rendition of the Burnside Tournament Bracket. It's free. All you have to do is click here. If that's not working, our group number is 43636, a number disturbingly similar to my bank account. Join up and invite your friends.

Also, above all, it's Holy Week. I'm having a hard time focusing, so I hope I can get some time to think about what Jesus came to this Earth to do. I hope you all have a peaceful Palm Sunday/Maunday Thursday/Good Friday/Sad Saturday/Easter Sunday. It'll be nice to come back next Monday and be reminded HE IS RISEN, INDEED!

Thanks for reading,
Jordan Green
Editor

We have a two announcements for you.

1) To help with submissions and in seeking out new writers, we've brought on associate editors in a few areas. There were some concerns we'd go over budget, but then we realized none of us get paid, and there is no budget, and we could add as many additional editors as we wanted. What a relief!

We hope to have the whole updated Burnside staff up on the contributors page soon, but thanks to Bryan Allain, Chad Gibbs, Aaron Donley and Matt McKechnie for answering our call for help.

We're still looking for folks to assist Ariele Gentiles with the Book Reviews Section and Penny Carothers with the Social Justice section. Our goal by Summer is to double the number of weekly articles we run. If you're interested in helping us out, please send your resume in through the submissions email address (I'm not putting an email address on here because Entourage has an awful junk mail filter). We'll take a look and see if it's a fit.

2) We're pleased to announce Aaron Donley and Chad Gibbs have formed a Burnside Comedy Department. They will be coming up with ideas, finding new voices and keeping in contact with our comedy writers. We won't have a new section on the main page...the comedy articles will still run under General Articles...but we hope this will lead to a steady flow of entertaining and hilarious pieces.

The Comedy Department's first contribution to Burnside is a whole other site entirely, a webcomic page featuring Aaron Donley's Bits of Life. Aaron's Jack Handey-esque musings will be posted daily (ala "Toothpaste for Dinner" and "Married to the Sea"). We'll be featuring a link from our main page soon. Aaron's old "Bits of Life" articles are no longer available in Burnside's archives, but he's got 6 months worth of daily material as for right now. 6 months.

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I've received a few emails asking if Burnside will endorse a particular presidential candidate.

Over at the Burnside Writer's Blog, we've posted quite a few entries regarding Barack Obama, and another discussing Mike Huckabee. The 2008 Presidential Election is huge, especially considering the last 16 years have put us at an important crossroads.

Any of our contributors are welcome to make their feelings known, and I hope this site will a place for healthy debate regarding our next President, but Burnside will not officially endorse any one candidate.

Plenty of Christians believe strongly in participating in our political systems and have good spiritual reason to do so.

Personally, though, I don't want Burnside to become a mouthpiece for any one candidate. There is some reaction to not participating, but here are the words of theologian Jacques Ellul, pictured above:

"...the Christian must not act in exactly the same way as everyone else. He has a part to play in this world which no one else can possibly fulfill. He is not asked to look at the various movements which men have started, choose those which seem 'good,' and then support them. He is not asked to give his blessing to any particular human enterprise, nor to support the decisions of man." -The Presence of the Kingdom

So, instead of an endorsement, let's hope to play the part in this world no one else can possibly fulfill.

Thanks a million times for reading,
Jordan Green
BWC

I got this great letter in my inbox from a gentleman named Scotty. I think you should read it.

Dear New Generation,

This is a letter of apology.

I'm sorry.

Right now you are thinking - who is this guy and what the heck is he
apologizing for??

Well - you see - I'm 49 years old and the Lord has been convicting me for
some time that my generation (and the previous one) has let your generation
down. We've failed you. Not financially - not politically - not
intellectually - not educationally - - but spiritually. We allowed the
malaise that began to seep into the Church during the 50's and 60's to
continue through the 70's, 80's and 90's. Now, we are faced with a younger
generation that has virtually no clue about how awesome it is to be a
Christian. In fact we've done so much damage to the image of Christ that
even the word 'Christian' is avoided by many believers in your generation.
This breaks my heart.

My generation continued down a path blazed by our parents that turned the
most incredible relationship ever created into a behavior-based religion. In
the process, we sucked your generation into our wake. We tried leaving a
trail of bread crumbs, but the birds of this world ate them. You couldn't
follow the right path because we allowed it become overgrown with rules,
twisted ideas of success and a false view of who Christ really is. Plain and
simple - we failed to direct you to the cross. Instead we directed you to
one ill-conceived program after another. We tried selling you a cheap form
of grace - walk the isle and get your card punched. We were quick to tell
you how to GET saved, but spent little time showing you what it meant to BE
saved.

Your generation isn't willing to simply sit back and be force fed something
that is a pale resemblance of the truth. You demand more. To that I say -
hallelujah! The fact that 90% of your generation is unchurched is clear
evidence that you weren't buying what we were selling. Yes, we were
'selling' and not 'living' Christ. For this, I am eternally sorry and I ask
you to forgive me and my generation.

I feel like Christ is giving us another chance to get this right. He wants
us to understand what discipleship is all about - what loving each other is
all about - to really understand what living in a Jesus relationship is
supposed to look like. He wants to raise up a new generation - your
generation. Let him.

Thank you for helping me and many others see the world differently - through
Christ's eyes.

Ignoring the waves,
Scotty Swillie
Vicksburg, MS

Amen, Scotty. Not only for your criticism...every generation has its problems, and ours will be no different...but for your honesty and reflection.

Sincerely,
Jordan Green
BWC

Welcome to 2008! It's going to be a great year. I can feel it.

You may notice a new banner ad on our site. You may also notice this letter from the editor is almost an exact replication of this blog entry I wrote January 4th at the Burnside Blog. You may think I'm being lazy, but I ask, "Why write a whole new letter if I'm saying the same thing?" I pride myself on efficiency.

Anyway, the ad is for the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College. I've been a big fan of Calvin College since I was 19, when a friend of mine was an RA on campus and suggested I would fit well there. Calvin has been in the news for other awesome things, like this. And while I never actually attended Calvin, I wear the hooded sweatshirt I bought there so people think I did. I'm wearing it right now because it's cold.

Two years ago, I attended the Festival of Faith and Writing along with Don Miller, who was speaking there. It was a fantastic experience, featuring an array of seminars on everything a writer could want to know. Marilynne Robinson and Salman Rushdie were two of the dozens of notable speakers in 2006, and Michael Chabon and Yann Martel top this year's list.

It's also a great place to connect. I got to meet great writers like Sarah Raymond Cunningham, and chat with editors from various publishing houses...everyone from Eerdmans to Zondervan. I met Kim Culbertson from Relief Journal there, too.

If you can possibly make it out to Grand Rapids for the event, I strongly suggest it (our Midwestern readers have it easy). Like the Olympics, the Festival only comes around every two years. Fortunately, Calvin added the Festival of Faith and Music to the off year, bringing in Sufjan, Emmylou Harris and Neko Case last year.

Sadly, I won't be making it this time around...I have to get married that week. But, you know, I think that will be fun, too.

Enjoy the new year!
Jordan Green
BWC

We'll be taking the next week off because, as you may be aware, it's Christmas.

As much as I've heard Christmas music ad nauseum in the last few weeks, it's still Christmas! It's Christmas! It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

We wish you the very best. Spend time with family and friends and enjoy their presence, even if that presence isn't always enjoyable.

Most of all, let's worship our God and His Son, because this is about Jesus, folks. It's like celebrating your best friend's birthday...if your best friend had sacrificed His life to save humanity.

Thank you, Jesus, for doing that. We owe you everything we have, and we pray we can live up to your example by even a shred.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Jordan Green

P.S. Not to ruin the mood, but Burnside now has a group on Facebook. Check it out. And if you're not on Facebook, join. As Chad Gibbs so eloquently put it, "It's like MySpace, only less skanky!"

P.P.S. Relief Journal has released The Best of Relief Volume 1 on Amazon.com, which features a few stories from the Ankeny Briefcase. The Culbertsons and the rest of the Relief folks are going strong putting out fantastic Christian short fiction and other writing.

First, I'm not sure why I've never called you 'Burnsiders' before...it just came to me. I'm slow like that. Anyway, thanks for being 'Burnsiders'...

Secondly, please ignore the strange image on this page. It's disturbing on about every level possible, and makes me feel funny...that's why I thought it was perfect.

Much of what would usually go into my letter from the editor is now located on the Burnside Blog, which chronicles the thoughts of our editors and frequent contributors on a day-to-day basis. If you've never been, you've got to go to...uh...here.

I'm very proud of our issue this week. I'm always fairly proud of our weekly output, but this time I'm especially proud. Thanks to Bob, Ariele, Penny and Jon for making things happen. Without those guys, I would probably say, "This is too much work...screw it." I mean, I'm trying to plan a wedding, work full-time, and still play some Halo 3 on Xbox live, for pete's sake!

Here is a list of things you should be aware of.

1. Glassbooth.org. You tell the internet what political issues you care about and how much you care about them. They tell you which Presidential candidate most closely fits your ideals. It's like being an informed voter without all the work.

2. Advent Conspiracy. My church, Imago Dei, started this deal to wage war on Christmas. Well, not exactly Christmas, but what Christmas has become: a sold-out holiday where we're told the more we spend on gifts, the better we are. It's a load of crap. Here's my blog entry on the subject, though the film 'What Would Jesus Buy' has been widely panned by critics for not actually getting the the point.

On a similar note, I know advent candles are purple for a reason, but does anyone else think that color lacks pizazz?

3. Burnside has a group at Shelfari, where we can talk about books. Go there, join the group, and talk about books with us!

4. Remember that thing I said about Christmas being too commercial? I was lying. Christmas is a great time to buy everything you want. The Burnside store is a great place to get clothes for the Winter...

Okay, now I feel bad. The Burnside store might be a good place to get things for the Winter (and James Carter has come up with some great new items), but that would be pretty hypocritical of us, right? So, until Christmas, 100% of Burnside store profits will go to International Justice Mission.

Always and every time, thank you for reading our words. We are proud to bring them to you.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Jordan Green
BWC

What can I say, I'm busy. I used to put the new Burnside issue up at around 11:25 PST, and it would be all ready to go and shiny and new.

Anymore, it's difficult finding the time to work on this site. Not that the site needs me all that much...we've got so many great contributors and the editors of each section things run as smoothly as they can in my absence. Still, I'm the one who has to post the articles early Monday morning, and I'm not even getting off my day job until 11:15.

I hope I'm not being whiny...being the editor-in-chief of this webmagazine is an utter joy, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I guess I'd want more time, but don't we all?

Here are some things I want to say:

1) If you've sent in an article and we haven't responded, please be patient. We are honestly working to read all of your contributions and respond to each one in kind. Thank you for your patience so far!

2) If you are a contributor and you are not listed on our contributor page, please send an email to reviews@burnsidewriterscollective.com with your short bio and the work "BIO" in the subject heading. We want to give you credit for adding to this ever-growing community.

3) Burnside is growing steadily, and the whole operation can sometimes seem over our heads. If you feel you'd like to help out with the site, or have an idea to spread the word about the Collective, we'd like to know. Please email me your ideas or offerings of assistance to jordangreen @ gmail.com (I'm not linking to that because I don't want a ton of junk mail at that address). In particular, we'd like to hear your ideas on publicity, web knowledge and attracting advertisers. If you want to be involved, we'd like to find a way to include you.

4) The Burnside Blog typically provides daily musings and rants. We're having a lot of fun with the simplicity of blogging. My dad likes the blog more than the site, even, but I think it's because we don't seem quite as leftist when we're commenting on YouTube videos. The point is, check the blog out.

Thanks, as always, for reading. We can't express how honored we are to have you read our words and to expand this wonderful little community on the outskirts of American Christianity.

Sincerely,
Jordan Green
Editor-In-Chief