God called me to do this
A personal message as Substack is my new home
Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “No Better Place” on his 1990 album “For the Sake of the Call” opens with a line that defines my life, “I was eight years old when I decided to follow Jesus.”
My faith shapes my worldview whether it is church, family, government, culture, current events, citizenship, or any other aspect of American public life or the world. However, that is not the sole factor that sent me in the direction of journalism. The two events that shaped that were the Iran hostage crisis and the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
Growing up in the small Western New York village of Bemus Point, my writing career started at Maple Grove High School, extended to the Liberty Champion at Liberty University for 3 years, and then launched me into a career in the newspaper industry. With more than 20 years in journalism, I worked at two newspapers, Jamestown, NY and Willoughby, OH, and three government watchdog websites, two in Texas and one in South Carolina.
After a time away from journalism because of a brief health issue and teaching English for 7 years at a Christian school, God reignited the flame for writing around my birthday in March.
The experiences and opportunities in my life are only part of what brought me to this moment. The Iran hostage crisis was an inspiration because it was the first prominent news story of my childhood that I followed regularly. It was an American foreign policy disaster that unfolded every morning and evening with Walter Cronkite on CBS News. It gave me a genuine interest in following current events. The American flag was burned at the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran. Caricatures of President Jimmy Carter were also burned. America was vilified as “The Great Satan,” in the eyes of the mullahs in Iran. The whole experience, combined with the high interest rates and economic chaos of the Carter years, threw me on course to be focused on how the policies of government leaders impact average Americans.
Meanwhile, the presidency of Ronald Reagan energized me about an America that was a slice of what founders envisioned: where Americans are inspired to be better than what they think they are because of the character and integrity they display every day. Reagan shaped my political philosophy, and I was captured by his vision, leadership, decisiveness, moral clarity, character, and self-deprecating humor. I truly believe that America is a “city on a hill.” I also believe that if America fails there is nowhere in the world to go to find and defend freedom.
But back to Steven Curtis Chapman’s song.
I became a follower of Jesus Christ as a boy, and I’ve never regretted a moment of responding to His call on my life. I have consistently attended, or been a member, of churches that would land in the area of Reformed theology, my alma mater is the largest Christian university in the world, and God has consistently revealed Himself in the details of my life.
God’s Word is clear that He is the Creator and about God’s impact on history, humanity, reality, and truth. As a student at Liberty University, he made it clear He wanted me to do journalism. I obeyed and followed. In 2005, I earned my dream job when I was promoted to editorial page editor at The News-Herald in the Cleveland area.
God is always good, but the events of the times serve as a motivator to write.
During the covid era, we saw social media and government censorship run amok. When the situation demanded many voices, free speech, and an adult conversation, we received intolerance, corrupted fact checkers, and the worst government tyranny I have ever seen in the USA. Substack is one of the last places this exists for genuine free speech. During covid, I started following and reading Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Dr. Peter McCullough, Alex Berenson, and others because they called for sanity and coming together with reason when the government demanded we live in fear. I learned about Substack from Berenson and several other writers.
Specific people and events grab my attention because the impact on the church, culture, or the events that shape life. In the last decade, however, I also have taken on a greater following of the persecuted church, slave labor, and human trafficking.
I trust that what I write will appeal to a relentless pursuit of the truth and a sense of what is right. That’s my desire as I start Substack. I hope you will take the time to be a subscriber. In time, there will be certain columns and content that require a paid subscription. My family and I would be grateful if you did that.
I kindly request that you read, subscribe, and share the content. That is how my Substack audience will grow. It’s time once again to go with God.