Ask the Editor: April’s encouragement

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, May 2nd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, Ask the Editor for the month of May. WORLD Executive Editor Paul Butler now with a few recent emails that we just couldn’t squeeze in last week.

PAUL BUTLER: I’ve always loved checking the mail. I’m a man of routine. Each day I listen to the program, lead our program planning meeting, and then head out to the mailbox…peering in, hoping for a card or a package.

These days the offerings are pretty meager. But sometimes, there’s a whole pile of post to go through. Those are the best days. That’s the feeling I have as I think back over the past month. We had so much listener feedback it was hard to choose what to include in last week’s segment, so I thought I’d revisit the mail bag for a few more highlights today.

The first comes from Allen Day, he’s got a thankless job. He’s a high school English teacher at a large public school in North Texas. But he was encouraged by a recent Friday program with Andrew Walker and George Grant:

ALLEN DAY: This morning I got to hear two men who've influenced me to be the best teacher I can be. My former professor Andrew Walker reminded us that grace doesn't destroy nature but perfects it. So as a Christian I'm really passionate about teaching literacy and critical thinking because that will always point us to God. Then George Grant always reminds me at the end of a long week just how much beauty and order and even humor can be found in language which we have as God's image bearers. Sometimes I even share his pieces with my students to demonstrate the delightful rewards of studying English. Thanks for all you do.

Allen, I think we all remember high school English, so thank YOU for all you do.

Another encouraging note came from Brenda Davis who listens to The World and Everything in It in Antioch, California. She had this to say after a recent commentary about Illinois removing pro-life representative Henry Hyde’s name from a local courthouse.

BRENDA DAVIS: I want to thank Hunter Baker for the story on Henry Hyde today. Instead of focusing us to lament the removal of Henry Hyde's name from the Illinois County Courthouse, your focus was to honor him as a hero. Instead of focusing on the very dishonor this act of Illinois has declared, you honored his act of the Hyde Amendment explaining how he convinced liberals and conservatives to support it. He really was an American hero…It was an excellent call, and even your tone pressed us to continue on, never give up. Because the illusion of the right to choose abortion, it will fade…Thank you so much, Hunter Baker, and for WORLD, for the encouragement that you all gave today to believe and speak the truth.

Thank you Brenda!

One more comment. This one came in after last Friday’s program, but I wanted to share it with you right away. Susan Smith lives in Plano, Texas, and she’s been a regular listener since 2019.

SUSAN SMITH: And I especially like Fridays with John Stonestreet. I enjoyed his comments today about the Maryland case before the Supreme Court and his encouragement to go listen to the entire oral arguments. I did that just now and it was fascinating to hear the lines of questioning, to hear the attorneys…you could hear…the assumptions and the worldviews behind each justice. And, and that was a little scary to hear, but it was also very interesting.

Well Susan we don’t often assign homework, but I’m glad to know you found the recommendation helpful. And for those of you who didn’t do your homework this week, we’ll include a link in today’s transcript to both John’s comments and the complete oral argument.

Oh, and by the way, Susan ended her email with this note:

SUSAN SMITH: I'm always excited to share this podcast with others.

We’re so thankful for WORLD Radio ambassadors! Those listeners who encourage their friends and family to listen as well. It’s a great way—in fact it’s the best way—to get the word out. It’s easy to do. Each platform, phone, and podcast player is different, but all of them have menu options that allow you to share a specific part of the program or the whole episode with a link.

So one more bit of homework as you listen in the days and weeks ahead, if you hear a segment or program you enjoy, we’d love to hear about it. But would you go a step further and share it with someone as well? Send them the link and encourage them to listen.

We’d sure appreciate it. Thanks so much.

That’s this month’s Ask the Editor, I’m Paul Butler.

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