Year End Editorial

Looking Back and Ahead

“It hath been deservedly esteemed, one of the great and wonderful works of God in this last age, that the Lord stirred up the spirits of so many thousands of his servants, to leave the pleasant land of England, the land of their nativity, and to transport themselves, and families, over the ocean sea, into a desert land, in America, at the distance of a thousand leagues from their own country; and this merely on the account of pure and undefiled religion, not knowing how they should have their daily bread, but trusting in God for that, in the way of seeking first the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof: And the Lord was pleased to grant such a gracious preference of his with them, and such a blessing upon their undertakings, that within a few years a wilderness was subdued before them, and so many colonies planted, towns erected, churches settled, wherein the true and living God in Christ Jesus, is worshipped, and served, in a place where time out of mind, had been nothing before, but heathenism, idolatry, and devil worship; and that the Lord has added so many of the blessings of heaven and earth for the comfortable subsistence of his people in these ends of the earth. Surely of this work, and of this time, it shall be said, what hath God wrought?”

So begins Cotton Mather’s Magnalia Christi Americana (1702), the first great history of America (William Hubbard’s early attempt was far less readable or, shall we say, reliable). If you know anything about American Reformer it should be that, around here, we are big Cotton Mather respecters. As I’ve written before, in many ways, Mather was the last Puritan and the quintessential American. We even named our summer fellowship, which just graduated its third class and to which I will return briefly, after Mather. As America’s first historian, Mather offered a vision of our country that we still choose, in the face of all cynicism, to embrace. Namely, that our forebears were heroic, able, and godly Protestant men who bequeathed to us a great inheritance, one we have a duty to maintain and cultivate for posterity.

This begins, we think, with a reinvigoration of American Protestantism, its sense of itself and self-confidence. America has always been charitable and welcoming, venerable qualities which have been abused and weaponized against it over the past century, but its foundation and core assumptions, identity, and institutions were, until recently, self-consciously and explicitly Protestant.

Without a return to this intricate part of American identity, the prospect of American renewal is grim. At American Reformer, we expend much effort on improving Protestant social and political thought by clear, realist insights informed by our too long-neglected tradition. But return should not be interpreted woodenly. Our aim is to apply our rich traditions to the challenges of our own day, many of which are at bottom perennial if unique in form; others are decidedly new. Whatever has passed for Protestant thought in recent memory, detached from or embarrassed by the backwardness of older views, is obviously incapable of meeting the moment. It’s time for something better, something already refined by fire. We cannot wind back the clock, but our response to our own day can rhyme with that of those who, by the blessing of providence, began a good work in this country.

We recognize our time as one of urgency. Many birthrights have been sold. Our national future is uncertain, materially and morally. To invoke Mather again from the last line of his Magnalia, “We have been under the lamentable punishments of our sins… ‘tis time for every man, and for all of us, as one man, to say, as in Lamentations 3:40, Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord.”

It is not time, then, for timidity intellectually or otherwise. As political thinkers used to understand, the rules for times of peace and times of tumult differ. The niceties and conventions of discourse and thought developed in peacetime cannot constrain our minds and speech in wartime. Courage (or manliness) and prudence (the guide of all virtues) must guide our inquiries and deliberations.

Over the past year, American Reformer has endeavored to just that, not with “unreflective confidence in undertaking hard things,” as Neils Hemmingsen defined audacity, but with as much courage and prudence as we could (imperfectly) muster—and hopefully a noticeable dose of temperance, the preserver of prudence.

In our pages we have often walked where others fear to tread. Ideas we consider important, influential, and stimulating are worth, we think, engaging. This year we published critiques of the postwar consensus, waded into the “woke right” discourse, as well as that scariest of distinctions, friend-enemy, called for an unapologetically “masculine Protestantism,” and criticized the inept politics of “Big Eva.” More recently, our articles questioned the legitimacy of birthright citizenship, called for a ban on online sports betting, and considered the connection between civilizational confidence and fertility, and weighed in on the proper retrieval and use of historic Protestant sources. All this and much more. Naturally, we still published book and movie reviews, as well as resources—historic texts (essays, speeches, and sermons) from the American Protestant tradition. You do not cover these topics and enter these often heated and highly contested debates without taking a few arrows, to be sure. Such is the cost of taking ground, and we are happy warriors.     

Speaking of taking ground, in 2024, we nearly doubled our readership as well as our output from the year prior. These things undoubtedly have a causal connection. It would not have happened without the tireless efforts of our managing editor, Terry Gant. Without him the trains would not have run on time. Nor could we have met our goals for productivity and content without the writing of our regular columnists, Ben Dunson (founding editor), Mike Sabo (contributing editor), and Ben Crenshaw (visiting fellow). As an editor, it has been rewarding to see each of them develop their own voice, style, and dedicated readership over the past year. Again, our journal would not have met any of the, perhaps, unreflectively confident, goals I set for it at the end of last year without their dedication and talent.

Of course, it’s not about the numbers. I am consistently and pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing American Reformer receives, both from our regular contributors and newcomers. I thank you all for making my job enjoyable—reading good writing is about as good as it gets for an editor. Space permits only highlighting the top five most read articles of 2024, all of which deserved the circulation and none of which could be called timid or untimely. Without further ado:

Joe Rigney, “Empathy, Feminism, and the Church.” (The companion piece, “Of Empathy and Monsters,” is worth your time as well.)

Ben Dunson, “David French and the PCA’s General Assembly.” (Ben’s piece, “Congress’ Antisemitism Bill is a Disaster,” was also widely read.)  

Timon Cline and Clifford Humphrey, “Fortress Building in Negative World.”

Mike Sabo, “The 2024 Election and Beyond.”

Ben Crenshaw, “Nietzscheans in Negative World.”

Needless to say, it is fulfilling to see our work recognized by others, as Mother Jones was kind enough to do. More seriously, our team is eager and active in pursuing our mission to restore and support American institutions. This year, our work was frequently featured at other venues, a few instances of which are worth highlighting.

Back in early November, our executive director, Josh Abbotoy, contributed to a symposium at the American Mind on potential election outcomes. Other writing from Josh appeared at the Federalist, the Tennessean, and First Things. As managing editor of American Mind, Mike Sabo’s always insightful commentary was regularly featured on the TAM podcast and in their pages. I was honored to speak at the fourth National Conservatism conference in July, and American Reformer had the privilege of sponsoring the American Politics and Government Summit at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute this year at which Ben Crenshaw spoke.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the wild success and popularity of our co-founder and senior fellow Aaron Renn’s book, Life in Negative World which released in January 2024. Aaron’s framework has, to put it mildly, shifted the conversation on evangelical cultural engagement in a profound way, the impact of which is still unfolding. We are proud to be the place where Aaron first introduced some of his now viral ideas, and to continue hosting discussion of their various implications and applications.

American Reformer’s growth in 2024 extended beyond articles and recognition. I am blessed to work with talented and driven men who are passionate about our mission and do far more than write articles.  

Over the summer, we were delighted to add Carl Helstrom to the team as director of development operations, a role that had desperately needed filling for some time and into which Carl stepped with vigor and vision.

While we’re on the topic of vigor and vision, mentioned at earlier was our third class of Cotton Mather Fellows. For the first time this year I had the privilege of sitting in on several sessions with the fellows. Our director of education, Colin Redemer, is truly doing something special with this program, investing in the next generation of Protestant leaders in church, state, and business, a need Mather himself emphasized repeatedly in his own day. Supporters, this is worth your investment. Men, this is worth your time. Be on the lookout for the 2025 application cycle.

Indeed, in 2024, providence granted us a historically unique opportunity, one that demands new leaders from our midst. With the election of Donald Trump and the discrediting of many compromised evangelical leaders, institutions, and publications. From the beginning, American Reformer has sought to step into this void which has only widened since our founding three years ago. More than ever, we have the opportunity to help direct American Protestants toward better ways of understanding our history, our nation, and our faith.

In 2025, there are several ways you, faithful readers, can help.

If you know someone who has not read American Reformer but is a thoughtful Protestant who might enjoy our work, send them an article or our podcast the latter of which regularly features guests like Jeremy Carl, Auron MacIntyre, Rob Pacienza who are doing important work in to strengthen and revive our nation and churches.     

The same goes for the two centers that we support and launched just this year: the Center for Baptist Leadership and the Center for Academic Faithfulness and Flourishing, ably headed by William Wolfe and Jesse Rine, respectively. If you are a Baptist, read this article to prepare for the next four years. If you have high school age children who are preparing for college, send them the CAFF College Guide.

Our readers know that Protestants need intellectual institutions that understand the negative world. American Reformer exists to muster and organize the mot thoughtful Protestants to reclaim our wayward institutions and found new ones where needed.

Finally, if you believe in our mission and projects, please consider becoming a monthly donor. We could not do any of the important work we do without the generous support from our monthly patrons who enable us to make courageous plans to build for the future.

To start a monthly donation, simply go here and check the “Make a Recurring Gift” box before submitting. With your help, we will continue mining the riches of our Protestant heritage to deliver the engagement and building our readers and supporters deserve in 2025.

As we enter a new year, in light of all that God has done in this country, for our people, and in no small measure, for us at American Reformer, and with the expectation that he will do far more, I will close by returning to the opening pages of the Magnalia:  

“Now, in respect of what the Lord hath done for these generations succeeding one another, we have abundant cause of thanksgiving to the Lord our God, who hath increased and blessed this people, that from a day of small things, he has brought to be, what we now are.”

Image: Papier peint : détail de la série “Vues d’Amérique du Nord” (Boston Harbor) (1850).

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