An Invitation

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are working on this blog with a simple purpose: to provide a place where Christians from different churches and traditions can share thoughtful biblical, theological, pastoral and practical writings with one another.

The vision is to encourage truth, love and Christian unity. We may not agree on every theological or church issue, but we can still listen to one another, discuss our differences honestly, and remember that we belong to the one body of Christ.

We would like to invite you to contribute your own writings to this blog.

You may submit articles, Bible studies, theological reflections, sermons, testimonies, church experiences, book reflections, or thoughtful responses to contemporary Christian issues. You do not have to represent a particular church or agree with the views of the editors. What matters is that your contribution is written sincerely, responsibly and respectfully.

All submissions will be sent to a designated email address. A small editorial team made up of Christians from different churches will read the submissions. The editors will check the writing for clarity, grammar, accuracy, biblical references and appropriate Christian tone. 

The purpose of editing is not to change the writer's theological position or make every article say the same thing. Rather, we want to help each writer express his or her own thoughts clearly, accurately and charitably.

To avoid this blog being controlled by one person, church or theological tradition, the editorial team include people from different church backgrounds. For particularly sensitive or controversial articles, more than one editor will review the material.

Once articles have been approved, they will be placed in a publication queue and posted periodically and randomly in a varied and non-partisan order. We want different voices to have an opportunity to be heard rather than allowing one particular viewpoint to dominate the blog.

We also hope to allow thoughtful responses and, where appropriate, a right of reply. If someone disagrees with an article, the answer should not be personal attacks or church division. We should be able to say, "I disagree with you," while still treating one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our guiding principles are simple:

Truth without hostility.
Unity without compromising truth.
Disagreement without unnecessary division.
Speaking the truth in love.

Paul reminds us:

"Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
— Ephesians 4:3

And again:

"Speaking the truth in love."
— Ephesians 4:15

If you have something worthwhile to share, I would be very glad for you to contribute. Your writing may help another Christian think more deeply, understand another perspective, or perhaps see an issue in a new way.

This is not intended to be the blog of one pastor, one denomination or one theological camp. It is intended to be a place where different Christian voices can contribute, listen, learn and build one another up in Christ.

If you would like to contribute, please send your writing to:

[SUBMISSION EMAIL ADDRESS: eldergilstead@gmail.com]

Please include your name (or indicate if you prefer to write under a pen name), the title of your article, and a brief introduction if appropriate.

We hope many of you will consider joining this blog. May our differences never become greater than our love for Christ and His people.

Grace and peace,

The editors