Ask the Editor: A blast from the past

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming next, Ask the Editor for December. WORLD Radio Executive Producer Paul Butler is here and I think we’re in for a little bit of “pass the microphone” today. Good morning, Paul.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Good morning!

Sure, yeah, you could say that. And it seems appropriate to pass the mic around because our Ask the Editor story for this month, as you’ll hear, has a passing of the torch theme to it.

I’ll go back several weeks, into November, when Whitney Williams got a text from a long-time WORLD reader. The reader made a request that ended in a delightful discovery, so I’ve asked Whitney to set it up for us.

WHITNEY WILLIAMS: Thanks, Paul. Two weeks ago, longtime WORLD fan Kelley Burgess texted me a photo of a November 1999 WORLD article entitled Millennium’s end. It was former editor-in-chief Marvin Olasky’s response to a letter from a homeschooler named Kristin Morgan. Morgan wrote:

Dear Editor, during these past few months my heart has been very burdened to reclaim America for Christ. With each additional school shooting, every murder of an unborn baby, my heart is convicted that this nation is in very serious trouble. Morgan went on to write: I feel that it is my responsibility as a Christian to do something, but I am not quite sure what I should do. I am writing you in hopes you can help direct me to a career that would be effective in bringing America back to Christ.

If you’d like to read Olasky’s full response to Morgan, we’ve linked it in our transcript. But here are a few key quotes:

“Kristin, you’re right to note that it is your responsibility as a Christian to do something—but it is not your responsibility to do everything.”

Olasky went on to encourage Morgan that there are many careers and callings that can glorify God. He tells her to take her likes and dislikes into account, but to look particularly at what she’s good at, because, he writes, “over the long run you’ll like the godly pleasure that true achievement brings.”

So back to that text I received pointing me to the article. Under her photo of the piece, Burgess wrote: “Wish y'all could track down Kristin and see what path she took.”

“Man, that’s a tall order,” I responded.

I didn’t even know where to begin…so I posted a message to our organization-wide message board—asking if anyone had any idea of where to start looking. I didn’t expect much. Oh me of little faith. Two minutes later I had more than a lead…WORLD Magazine children’s book page editor and editorial assistant responded:

“I'll make your search very easy: It's me.”

Our staff went wild. Most of us had no idea. Here’s Kristin Chapman, formerly Kristin Morgan, with the rest of the story.

KRISTIN CHAPMAN: When I wrote that letter to the editor, I was 17 and on the cusp of picking which college I would attend and what major I would pursue. Like many other idealistic teenagers, I was filled with a strong passion for righting the world’s wrongs, but I had no idea how I was supposed to do that.

Which is why Marvin Olasky’s response was just what I needed to hear: It freed me from focusing on what I could do and reminded me to look to what God has already done and is able to still do. He also pointed me to God’s instructions to the exiles in Jeremiah 29: “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce … have sons and daughters … seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” In my zeal to make a difference in the world, I had overlooked that sometimes we are just called to live out our ordinary lives, doing ordinary things, because in doing so we find our true calling.

I didn’t know it then, but my letter to the editor was the providential start of my journey with WORLD. Though I was still ambivalent about the future, I enrolled at Grove City College with an eye on a writing career. When Marvin Olasky came to the campus to speak, I introduced myself as the girl from the letter. He encouraged me to apply to the WORLD Journalism Institute, so I did. The following year I spent a month in Asheville honing my craft as a journalist before embarking on my first internship. A different newspaper internship the following summer cemented my interest in the journalism field. After graduation, and just six weeks before my wedding, I flew to Texas for a month-long WJI session in the Olaskys’ living room. I have been working for WORLD in some capacity ever since.

It's been more than two decades since that letter. I am thankful for the opportunity to work these many years at WORLD, where we strive to share the news in a way that reminds others God is at work no matter the headlines. But I’m also grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to live out other parts of Jeremiah 29 through marrying my husband, raising our children, and seeking the good of our city through the work of our local church.

So much, though, of fighting against the darkness of this world has played out in the very everyday moments of my life. Several years ago I hung in my bathroom a quote from Martin Luther: “What will you do in the mundane days of faithfulness?” It is my daily reminder that every moment taken captive to Christ is an opportunity. Just as I didn’t know where one letter would lead, neither do we always know the full impact of one simple conversation or one small action. Ultimately all we can do is be faithful to Christ and let Him worry about the details.

I’m Kristin Chapman.

EICHER: Wow, now I was able to see all of this unfold on our company Slack, so I knew how the mystery resolved, but I really enjoyed hearing it told this way. Much, much better than Slack messages!

BUTLER: It was fun to pull that together. I think Kristin’s story is a wonderful reminder to me of why we do what we do at WORLD. It started as a simple letter to the editor and that set in motion a series of events that led to a college degree, then to the WORLD Journalism Institute, to an internship, and ended with a journalist who has served God faithfully at WORLD for 18 years.

EICHER: Let me also say thanks to all our listeners and readers who support our work and make it possible for stories like Kristin’s to become a reality. Next week we kick off our end of year giving drive and we have much reason to be hopeful.

We had a very encouraging response to our weeklong online giving drive for new donors last week, if you were one of those, thank you so much, and welcome to the army of WORLD Movers. We’re so grateful you’re with us, helping to make our work possible. Thank you!

BROWN: And we’re continuing that passing of the mic today, as we did a moment ago, featuring one of our new WJI-Europe graduates from this summer’s program in Poland. We’re grateful for what God is doing here, and, again, it’s all made possible by listeners and readers of WORLD. Thank you for your support.

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.