A Heartfelt Thank-You and Goodbye

I'm grateful

Almost exactly a year ago, I told my wife Susie, “I think I am going to stop writing Terms of Service next year. Around the end of the summer.” She protested, calling to mind all the people who have been served by this work. I took her protest seriously, but ultimately decided to proceed with the plan to close up shop here around Labor Day 2023. And here we are.

I’ve been writing this newsletter twice a week or more for a few years now. I’ve written a few hundred pieces about various aspects of social media here. It’s been a blast. But it’s time to be done. At least for now, and maybe for forever.

Since I was in college, I have written countless words, most of them on the internet though various blogs, but about 200,000 of them through a few books, too. And here’s the thing: almost all of my writing as an adult has been didactic or research-oriented. I usually write to educate and instruct. I write to take really complex situations or concepts or cultural phenomena and make them easier for normal people to understand. I am a translator, of sorts. At least that’s what I’ve tried to be.

I haven’t really made much time for myself to be creative in my writing. The times I have come closest to exercising my “creative writing” muscles are in my newsletters reflecting on my birthday or about my daughter. And here’s the thing: I find those pieces to be much more personally rewarding than some deep dives on the TikTok algorithm or famous YouTubers.

So, it’s time for me to do more of that.

Thank You

I am so grateful to have written this email and corresponded with you all the last number of years. This newsletter drew me out of a years-long writing funk during which I had no idea whether I was ever supposed to try writing for others again. I was unsure of my voice. I didn’t think anyone should or would care if I started writing on the Internet again after completing my work on Millennial Evangelical from 2014-2018. But I had an idea for a newsletter written “as if Neil Postman was a Christian and alive today,” and so this work was born. A few thousand of you are subscribed, and tens of thousands of you read each month. I’m grateful that you’ve decided this is worth your attention.

I’ve told dozens of authors I’ve coached over the years that our job as authors is to faithfully steward the gifts God has given us to serve readers who need the skills and voice God has given us to encourage them in their lives of faith, wherever they may be along the road of life. That has been what I’ve tried to do here, and it’s been why I have continued as long as I have. The truth is that I was ready to close up shop on this newsletter a year ago when I told Susie of my plans. But I stuck around. I published another book. I kept squeezing every ounce of care and interest I have in the social internet out so that just a few more people may be able to figure out how to juggle faithful living and being online. I hope I’ve done that.

So, thank you. Thank you so much for the blessing of your attention and your responses to my writing. I would trade a single reader email for 10,000 pageviews any day. It’s been a joy conversing with you all through this newsletter.

The Push and the Pull

You might be wondering why I’m calling it quits on this newsletter. It is, after all, at its peak in a way. I have more subscribers than I have ever had and momentum feels like its growing.

Eric Geiger was my boss for a number of years when we were at Lifeway together, and I continue to see him as a friend and mentor of sorts even as he pastors a church out in California. He has talked about how when you’re entertaining a job offer, it is wise to consider the push and the pull. You should consider the push you may be feeling out of your current role and the pull of the potential role you may accept. If you feel both a push out of your current role and a pull toward the potential role, it is probably a good time to make a change.

When it comes to my writing life, I think this analogy is helpful. I am definitely feeling the pull of more creative writing endeavors as I mentioned above. Likewise, I’m feeling the push away from writing about the intersection of social media/internet culture and the Christian faith. I think the reason I’ve sort of felt a push away from writing about the intersection of social media/the internet and Christian faith is because of a couple of primary factors. 

First, I’ve written a lot about a very specific subject. I’ve written two full books about it and have written a weekly newsletter for about four years. It’s not like I’ve run out of things to say, as there’s always new internet features about which to write or books I’ve read that merit some reflection. But I have definitely run out of gas to care about all of it. I’ve had countless ideas about things to write in the last six months about the intersection of faith and social media, but I’ve had little motivation to actually write them. 

Second, we’ve been blessed with many more writers in this space than there were when I first started a few years ago. Back in 2019, plenty of Christian authors had written books and occasional articles about how Christians should use their phones or technology more wisely, but few, if any, were writing regularly about how Christians can use the internet and social media more wisely. And believe it or not, writing about Christian phone use and Christian internet use are very different topics! 

I saw a serious gap of resources in the space and decided to use my ability to write and my knowledge of social media to fill that gap. But now there are many great thinkers writing with some regularity in the space. The need is being adequately addressed, I think, so I feel free to take my writing elsewhere.

This doesn’t mean I won’t ever write on the subject or anything like that. I am sure I will occasionally write at some outlets about topics related to the Christian faith and social media. But I’ll be doing a lot less of it and rarely seeking it out. 

Next Steps and a Goodbye

I’ve already written more in this final email than I intended. But, such are hard goodbyes, I suppose. You tend to linger for longer than you like because you don’t want to leave, no matter how much you feel you have to.

A couple of practical notes before I conclude:

First, I will continue to do coaching and consulting on social media strategy. I will also continue speaking on the subject when asked. I currently have a handful of church and non-profit clients who I love serving. I am also open to taking on more clients. Just reply to this email if you’d like social media/digital communications help. Likewise, I already have a number of speaking engagements booked for the next year, and I would be glad to continue to doing these. I love speaking to churches, parent groups, non-profits, and anyone else who may benefit. Again, respond to this email or send me a message at chris.j.martin17@gmail.com.

Second, I am going to hold on to this email list. I don’t know this for certain, but I suspect you all on this email list will hear from me sometime in the next year. It just likely won’t be about social media stuff. 

In the future, if I actually do happen to have some success in my creative and fiction writing endeavors, I’d like to tell you all about it. I have gathered over the years that plenty of you like to read my writing whether or not it has anything to do with social media, so I will maybe occasionally keep you posted on any major developments toward my more creative writing goals.

For now, it’s time for me to go stretch my creative writing muscles. To give you a bit of a preview, I am currently working on a proposal for a set of two children’s books. They have nothing to do with social media. I have always wanted to write children’s books, and I hope these two are only the beginning. I think there’s so much creative potential with so little space, and I am excited to see if these work. I’d love to do more.

Likewise, I have a few fiction book ideas that I think may be worth trying. Two of them would not be “Christian” in any sense of the word—one is a sort of high school drama book written in journal form, another is more of a thriller/mystery. Another would be an explicitly Christian middle grade book sort of about social media. Yet another, the one I’m most eager to write, is the first book of what could be an epic world-building adventure that fuses sci-fi and fantasy elements. This book (and series) would be for young adults, sort of, but really for anyone. And it would be subtly Christian, but not overtly so—more Tolkien than Lewis, if you will. This project would be the most difficult, but also the most fun. It’s the one I will probably try to write first.

Then, I have another totally off-the-wall idea that would be a massive project and would be unlike just about anything out there. But I’m not sure it would be a very good idea. It would fuse podcasts, books, etc. It would be really cool, but require a lot of investment and buy-in from a publisher.

So that’s where I’m headed. All of these ideas that have been stewing around are actually going to be moved to the front-burner of my writing mind now, and I’m excited to give them the attention they deserve. I just have to figure out which to give the majority of my attention.¹

Also, I will continue emailing The Funnies every Saturday morning if you’re interested. That isn’t stopping. I’ve been threatened and told I must continue doing it when I stop this newsletter. :-) I may need a week or two off when our new daughter arrives in a few weeks, though. (Putting my PTO in now.)

And of course, my books Terms of Service and The Wolf in Their Pockets are still available. Please buy them! If there’s any way you want to express your thanks for this newsletter, you can just buy one or both of those! Give them to friends. 

Goodbye, friends. It has been a joy writing for you the last few years. I hope this newsletter has been a blessing to you and has equipped you in one way or another. I have enjoyed writing it for you. Like I said, you may hear from me again sometime soon about any notable updates for my aspirational writing projects. Otherwise, always feel free to email me. I am glad to respond to you individually. 

-Chris

1. Of course, we’re also having a second daughter later this month, so that will certainly delay an immediate headlong dive into any massive writing project.