Around the world, certain dialects have one word expressing two meanings: goodbye and hello.
Salut!
Ciao!
Servus!
Aloha!
All of these words have a dual purpose in French, Italian, German and Hawaiian. As English speakers, we do not possess a single word communicating both expressions. I wish we did for moments exactly like this!
Twenty-nine years ago, Robert Parham dreamed of an ethics organization capable of providing a place for moderate Baptists to express their convictions and expand their understanding of faith.
He hoped to advocate for the common good through civil discourse and thoughtful commentary.
Over those 29 years, Baptist Center for Ethics evolved into EthicsDaily. Parham’s dream of becoming a world-class ethics organization came to fruition over three decades, providing insightful analysis and challenging conversations addressing critical current issues from a faith perspective.
When Parham died in 2017 and the board called me to follow in his footsteps, it was both an honor to be asked and a daunting reality.
My hope is that over the last two-and-half years, we have upheld Parham’s original dream while revisioning the mission of EthicsDaily.
Last year, at the invitation of the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, EthicsDaily began a conversation with Nurturing Faith about increasing our dreams of providing reflection and resources for thoughtful Christians.
During those initial conversations, both organizations began to recognize and identify commonalities.
After months of due diligence and negotiations, both boards of directors decided to combine our resources to further impact future generations of disciples.
Good Faith Media is the melding of two historic organizations, creating a new faith-based media company with the mission of providing reflection and resources at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens.
From this exciting and challenging mission, Good Faith Media will strive to offer reflection and resources for the purpose of inclusivity, freedom and justice.
We promise to engage critical issues, using a deep commitment to biblical scholarship and the latest technological advancements to communicate our work.
For too long now, Christianity has been co-opted by conservative fundamentalism, focusing on exclusion, conformity and placating a ruling white-class.
A new era of Christianity – and a general understanding of religion and faith for that matter – is emerging, one that embraces and empowers diversity, promotes freedom for all people and advocates tenaciously for social justice.
While a monolithic theology controlled by white conservative and fundamentalists continues to make the most noise, a new day is dawning.
The church is awakening to a myriad of cultural perspectives operating within a theology of both spiritual and physical good news.
In other words, the gospel is moving from the black-and-white world of fundamentalism to an ecclesiastical burst of colorful diversity producing beauty.
Good Faith Media commits to working alongside other organizations that are dedicated to an inclusive theology promoting uncompromising love and justice for all people.
The future of the church depends on collaboration between people and organizations that take the words and actions of Jesus seriously.
Our team at Good Faith Media is ready to move forward into this bright future. We have combined two great staffs into one remarkable team, ready to serve and work to advance the common good.
The team at Good Faith Media strives to work hard, equip supporters with trustworthy resources and promote a genuine and authentic faith.
Good Faith Media will provide four offerings to empower people of faith to engage and transform the world for the common good.
News and Opinion will provide news articles and columns for each weekday. From the managing editor, Zach Dawes Jr., and columnists around the world, we are dedicated to exploring critical topics where faith and culture intersect. Sign up for our e-newsletter for more information.
Videos and Podcasts will produce documentaries, short films and podcasts over a variety of platforms.
Cliff Vaughn’s feature-length and short-form documentaries cover a variety of topics, such as interfaith relationships and women in leadership.
Also, make certain to subscribe to our two podcasts series, Good Faith Weekly and Good Faith Stories.
Publishing will continue releasing informative and relevant books from incredible authors tackling a myriad of subjects.
Be sure to subscribe to our bimonthly journal, filled with insightful and challenging articles.
If you’re a Bible study leader, you will not want to miss Tony Cartledge’s world-class curriculum.
Have you ever wanted to hike the trails of Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks with an expert guide and historian?
Bruce Gourley leads our Experiences, which will both inspire and challenge you, as participants connect with God’s creation and revision faith for a new world.
Our executive team is also ready to visit with you about our mission and work. John Pierce, Autumn Lockett and I would love to spend time listening and talking about ways to collaborate for the common good and extend the gospel of inclusion. Give us a call or email today to set up a meeting.
As you can tell, we are very excited about the future of Good Faith Media.
We appreciate all the people who have contributed to this remarkable effort. From the fortuitous insight of the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation to our board of directors, many amazing people committed to providing the very best reflection and resources for you.
If you are interested in supporting the launch of Good Faith Media, we want to invite you to become part of our Good Faith 50 Launch Team. We set a goal to recruit 50 new monthly donors as we launch this exciting new organization.
If you believe in our mission, we would be honored to receive your support. Click here to make a secure, online donation. Donations by check can be mailed to P.O. Box 721972 Norman, Oklahoma, 73070.
In closing, as we sadly say “goodbye” to EthicsDaily and Nurturing Faith this week, we enthusiastically say “hello” to Good Faith Media.
May our time ahead be filled with endless possibilities to honor our cherished pasts, even as we launch a new organization blazing new trails for the future generations of Good Faith.
Salut!
