I Need Your Help

What should I be writing about? (Poll inside)

Photo by Tara Winstead: www.pexels.com

I’ve been writing into the void for a while now, and I need to know if anyone’s still out there. Not in the desperate way. More in the honest way. The way you’d ask a friend across the table, “Are we good? Are we still tracking together?” Because here’s the truth about writing a weekly newsletter for people on different faith journeys. You’re never entirely sure what’s landing.

What I Think You Need vs What You Actually Need

Here’s my confession. I make a lot of assumptions about what matters to you. I think about the questions I had when I was leaving evangelicalism, the gaps in my theological education, the things I wish someone had told me sooner. So I write about empire theology and biblical interpretation and why the gospel isn’t primarily about getting into heaven when you die. I write about progressive Christian thinkers who helped me and scriptures that took on new meaning when I stopped reading them through an evangelical lens.

But you’re not me. Your faith looks different than mine. The questions keeping you up at night might not be the ones I’m answering. Maybe you need more practical stuff about how to talk to your still-evangelical family. Maybe you want deeper dives into specific biblical texts or theological concepts. Maybe you’re tired of deconstruction/reconstruction content altogether. I don’t actually know. And that’s the problem.

The Community I’m Trying to Build

One of the things I love about the mainline tradition is how seriously it takes questions. We don’t have to pretend we have all the answers. We can sit with mystery and doubt and still show up for worship on Sunday morning. We can read scripture critically and still find it life-giving. We can disagree about theology and still break bread together.

But community requires actual conversation. It requires listening and responding and adjusting based on what you hear. I can write my heart out every Tuesday, but if I’m not paying attention to what you need, then what am I doing?

Top 10 essays from 2025 sorted by likes

We just celebrated Christmas and one thing I love about the incarnation is God’s way of showing up was in person, entering into our actual reality instead of shouting instructions from a distance. That’s what I want this newsletter to be. Me trying to walk alongside you wherever you are in your own journey. And walking alongside someone means asking where they’re trying to go.

Here’s Where You Come In

I’ve put together a poll below with different topics and themes I could explore in future essays. Some of them are things I’ve touched on before and could go deeper with. Some are brand new directions I’ve been considering. Some might be exactly what you need right now, and some might feel completely irrelevant to where you are.

I want you to vote. Seriously. Not in the “I’ll get to it later” way that we all do with online polls, but right now while you’re thinking about it. Because your vote actually matters. It tells me what to prioritize. It helps me understand what’s resonating and what’s missing. It lets me write for you instead of just for myself.

And here’s the other thing. If none of the options in the poll capture what you’re really looking for, drop a comment and tell me. Tell me what you wish I’d write about. Tell me the question you’re wrestling with or the topic you can’t find good progressive Christian content about anywhere else. Tell me what would make opening this newsletter on Tuesday mornings feel like sitting down with a friend who actually gets it.

What Happens Next

I’ll leave the poll open for a week and then look at the results. Whatever rises to the top becomes an area of focus for me in 2026. If there’s a clear runner-up, that becomes the backup plan. If the comments reveal something I hadn’t considered, I’ll add it to the rotation.

This is your newsletter as much as it’s mine. You’re part of a community trying to figure out what it means to follow Jesus outside the evangelical bubble, trying to build something better than what we left behind. And that kind of work requires all of us showing up and speaking up and telling the truth about what we need.

So vote. Comment. Tell me what matters. I’m listening.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year. The best is yet to come.

-Beau

P.S. Before you go, scroll through some of the comments below. The notes people leave are what remind me this work matters. If you're able and willing to support this newsletter financially, you can become a paid subscriber or simple buy me a coffee at the button below.

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