A Brief History
This year, Torrey Gazette saw the publication of Coffee in Christian Ethics and Stop the Presses. With a re-publication scheduled for next month and two (!) projects slated for next year, it's an exciting development of skills and demonstration of talent from our contributors.
Since Torrey Gazette is committed to being ad-free, these publications help pay for a portion of our site costs. It's been a fun ride so far, and you can read part of that brief history (the foreword for Stop the Presses) below:
At some point in 2013, I had the smart idea to start a blog. I was not aware of the burgeoning Reformed blog community that already existed. I was still involved with fantasy football addiction during the surge of blog wars over Calvinism and the Young, Restless, and Reformed movement. I am thankful the Lord shielded me from that silliness. Nevertheless, I was looking for a writing outlet connected to my teaching as an elder at Texas Oaks Baptist Church.
The resulting blog was titled “Austin Preterism” with the mouthful tagline “Reformed, Postmillennial, Preterist.” The typo-riddled content was almost exclusively about eschatology and Reformed sacramentology. Both were subjects I was refining while teaching through Romans and Ephesians. Ironically, I can state that I have not departed from any of those distinctions in spite of tremendous growth and correction concerning the Scriptures and the Christian religion. As my interests expanded, I realized that I did not want to be identified with those distinctions exclusively (as such, I presently write very little about eschatology or the sacraments).
In thinking about a new branding for my writing, I convinced my wife, Alaina, into joining me in writing on a completely new platform. She had an actual background in writing useful stuff and the introduction of our first child provided opportunities for maternal reflection and documentation. I envisioned and purposed something our kids or grandkids could look back on in time. The “Torrey Gazette” project was born (though at first with a glaring typo).
The project continued in this manner for over a year before I begin to tinker with the idea of including writers from the online community the blog had formed around it. Michael Hansen and Hannah Sproul (then “Knapp”) were the first to lend their own contributions.
But life waits for no blog. All of us got tremendously busy and the blogging slowed. Selfishly, I wanted to take extended breaks without the blog posts ceasing. Guest writers were brought on to write about specific topics in pre-planned, weeklong “guest series.” The topics varied. Some of the writers stayed around and brought with them a variety of experiences and opinions. Torrey Gazette began to look more like a newspaper than a family diary. And it still does to this day.
I still envision the little children of our house participating in this endeavor and returning Torrey Gazette to a family blog. However, I must acknowledge that many of the friends who have written with us have become extensions of our family. Many have stayed in our home, played with our kids, and provided prayers in dark times.
To that end, it felt like a good time to stop and reflect on the joint effort and its produce. This volume is not some purely objective “best” list but a comprehensive set of blogs that best represent the Torrey Gazette banner. Many of the blogs share foundational themes. Some stand in for better (or more popular) pieces due to their thoroughness.
We hope you enjoy the result.
