Ask the Editor

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, January 6th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming up next, this month’s Ask the Editor. Here’s WORLD Radio Executive Producer Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Last week during Culture Friday, we reviewed some of the most significant cultural stories of 2022—and there were a lot of troubling stories in the list. Afterward, we got this email from Cary, a listener in Wichita, Kansas:

Dear friends at WORLD,

Our family loves what you do! Thank you for your insightful journalism. I particularly appreciate the Culture Friday perspective.

But on December 30th your list of headlines was both true of 2022 and unbalanced. There were also headline-able stories of faithfulness, marriage, adoption, salvation, rescue, and the salt and light of God’s people in culture.

You normally do such a good job bringing perspective. Stay the course.

Cary, thanks for your note.

A number of years ago I bought a minivan for $2 from a family member. He told me that there was an issue with the engine that meant it might only last 1000 miles, or it might make it 100,000. There was no real way to be sure. Knowing that at any moment I might be stuck on the side of the road, I paid very close attention to every engine stutter or knock. I frequently checked the fluids, did all the necessary maintenance right on schedule, and heeded every dashboard warning light seriously.

I think our cultural moment is a lot like that engine. Anytime it is out of alignment with our Biblical worldview we notice. Drag queen story hours, mass shootings, and rising drug overdoses are like a bright orange flashing check engine light. Based on experience with our adversary—we know how even little deviations from truth can lead to much larger problems down the road.

So we talk about the broken things here—a lot. Not because we think the sky is falling, rather when we know where it’s starting to fall apart, we can be vigilant to stand against wickedness and evil in our world.

Having said that, what I love about your letter is the encouragement to not lose sight of the victories. And while we may not have mentioned many of those in our end of year list, we try to do it week in and week out on the program.

So Cary—in light of your encouragement—let me go ahead and review some of the positive stories and victories we heard about last year: the rise of new hymns for French congregations. How God used BBQ and the church to bring healing to Uvalde and hope to the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. We met robots that assist people with disabilities. We were encouraged to enjoy nature—but more importantly, its Creator. We met Christians learning to love their neighbors through conversation, foster care, and education reform. We heard of the growth… of the pro-life movement in Europe, homeschooling and Christian education, and reform movements within mainline denominations. We spent a lot of time covering the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and highlighted policy victories and pro-life grassroots expansion. We featured a handful of nonprofits in our Hope Awards for Effective Compassion—helping repair families or reach troubled kids. And we met so many faithful Christians being salt and light, and the hands and feet of Christ in Ukraine, Burundi, Australia, Mexico, and so many other places around the world.

God is at work. And Cary, thanks for the reminder to make sure we celebrate what He is doing.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, we ended up getting more than 100,000 miles out of that vehicle. We had many happy memories as a family associated with that van—even a couple alongside the edge of the road.

I’m Paul Butler.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.