Editorial Charter
THE THRESHOLD publishes under five public commitments. These are not aspirations. They are constraints — chosen in advance, before any given news cycle makes them inconvenient.
I. No Clickbait Headlines
Every issue of THE THRESHOLD will carry a title that accurately describes what is inside it. No bait-and-switch. No manufactured tension that the essay does not actually resolve. No titles that promise an argument the piece never makes.
This commitment exists because trust is the only currency a newsletter actually has. Readers who feel manipulated by a headline — even once — lose something they will not easily give back. The scholar-elder voice belongs in the title as much as in the body. Precision is a form of respect.
II. No Mocking Other Christians by Name
THE THRESHOLD will engage theological disagreement — vigorously, when necessary. What it will not do is satirize, lampoon, or publicly ridicule named Christians, whether they are prominent figures, obscure bloggers, or anything in between.
This rule holds even when the person is wrong. It holds even when the error is serious. Disagreement should be argued, not performed. The church has always had internal controversy; the difference between controversy that builds and controversy that corrodes is whether it is conducted with the dignity the other person bears as an image-bearer. Public mockery does not correct error. It usually just signals which team you are on.
III. No Partisan Endorsements
THE THRESHOLD will not endorse candidates, political parties, or legislation. This is not because politics is unimportant — it is because reducing the gospel to a partisan program is one of the most reliable ways to destroy a congregation, and the same dynamic applies to a newsletter.
Christian faith has genuine political implications. Those implications will be explored here, theologically and honestly. But there is a difference between doing Christian political theology — which this publication will attempt — and acting as a religious auxiliary to a political movement, which it will not. Readers across the political spectrum are welcome. The gospel does not belong to any party.
IV. No Hot Takes Within 24 Hours of a Tragedy
When a school shooting, a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or any other tragedy ruptures the news cycle, THE THRESHOLD will not publish a rapid-response opinion piece. Not within 24 hours. Often not within 72.
The impulse to say something quickly after something terrible has happened is understandable. It is also, almost always, wrong. The first obligation is to mourn, to pray, and to let the facts establish themselves before the arguments begin. Publishing quickly after a tragedy rarely serves the people affected by it; it usually serves the writer’s need to be heard. That is not a trade this publication is willing to make. When THE THRESHOLD does address a tragedy, it will do so with time enough to be useful.
V. Corrections Published Openly
When THE THRESHOLD makes an error — factual, attributional, or interpretive — the correction will appear in the next issued newsletter, clearly labeled as a correction, without euphemism or minimization.
The correction will name what was wrong and state what is right. It will not be buried in a footnote or quietly edited in the online archive without acknowledgment. Getting things wrong is, in a publication that attempts to think carefully, inevitable. What is not inevitable is how those errors are handled. The standard for correction here is the same standard THE THRESHOLD would apply to any other institution it writes about: say what happened, say what was wrong, say it plainly, and move on.
These five commitments exist on paper. What keeps them alive is accountability. Sunny Gandham is subject to pastoral oversight from the elder board of his local congregation and is enrolled in a degree program at Northeastern Seminary, both of which create institutional contexts for review. A small group of trusted pastor-scholars review significant pieces before publication.
Readers are also part of this accountability structure. If you believe THE THRESHOLD has violated any of these commitments, reply directly to any email. The reply address goes to Sunny’s inbox. Every message is read. The charter is only as good as the willingness to be corrected by it — including by the people it serves.