You could see it as an ending. I prefer to see it as a new beginning.

Or, to quote Baptist Center for Ethics / EthicsDaily.com founder Robert Parham (1953-2017), it is a “new wrinkle.”

That’s what I think best describes the launch of Good Faith Media, formed by the combining of BCE / EthicsDaily.com and Baptists Today / Nurturing Faith, which officially takes place tomorrow, Wednesday, July 1.

I had the privilege to join the BCE team on Jan. 1, 2013, initially assuming a part-time role as managing editor and increasing to a full-time position later that year.

More than seven years in the same position at the same organization is no small feat in a time when employees are changing jobs more frequently than ever before.

Of course, I can’t “compete” with Media Producer Cliff Vaughn who recently surpassed the 20-year mark in his time at BCE.

I think the lengthy tenures of so many BCE employees over the years is a testament to the high-quality work environment – one filled with a clear vision, a compelling mission, a passion to see justice enacted in the world and a high level of trust placed in employees.

This makes it easy to stick around, and time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Of course, BCE has a much longer and storied history than the past seven years, or even the past 20.

I won’t go into the details here, but I encourage you to read today’s news article that details some of the organization’s nearly 30-year history.

“In every ending a new beginning lies hidden,” theologian Jürgen Moltmann once wrote. For me and my fellow staff members, the new beginning isn’t really hidden.

Tomorrow, Good Faith Media officially launches.

And yet, all of the good fruit that will come from this new beginning is still unknown, hidden, waiting for us to search out and take hold of what we can do, can be, can become. It’s an exciting time; a new adventure I am grateful to be part of.

Thinking back over the past seven-and-a-half years, I could take the time to list the various projects, news articles, opinion pieces, website revisions and rebuilds, interviews, trips and so forth in which I’ve been involved.

I could list the various accomplishments, awards, recognitions, achievements and so forth the organization and its staff have received.

And yet, what stands out in my memory is the relationships.

The people I’ve had the privilege to work with (both staff and board members), the columnists I have been fortunate to collaborate with on opinion pieces and news stories, as well as the connections and friendships I’ve formed with people of good faith around the world – that’s what I’ll remember and cherish from my time at BCE.

Relationships formed by seeking to find new and creative ways to make the world a more just, a more kind, a more holy place is what stays central in my memory and inspires me to continue this work aimed at advancing the common good.

With BCE officially coming to an end on paper, there is a sense of sadness, of loss, of finality. Yet, for me, there is mostly joy, hope and promise.

Thinking about BCE’s fundamental mission and overarching vision, its passion for justice, equality and inclusion, its global network of relationships, its work to educate, engage and empower people of good faith, I know none of these will cease.

What BCE stood for and sought to create will continue through Good Faith Media, which is really best viewed as the latest “new wrinkle” in a long series of innovations Parham began nearly three decades ago.

I’m grateful for my time at EthicsDaily.com. I’m looking forward to my work at Good Faith Media.

I think I’ll stick around for a while and see what good is still to come. Won’t you join me?

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