Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Subscribe now to get this column delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

PITTSBURGH — It’s time for a reboot.

This column marks the start of something new.

I enjoyed visiting with Clemente Lisi, executive editor of Religion Unplugged, at last week’s 75th anniversary conference of the Religion News Association, held in the Steel City.

Lisi and I discussed the opportunity to take Weekend Plug-in to the next level. Thus, the change that I’ll explain in a moment.

But first, a little background: We launched Plug-in in January 2020 — almost 4½ years ago — as a weekly newsletter offering analysis, insights and top headlines from the world of faith.

During that time, Plug-in accomplished its goal (here’s the part where we won’t show a lot of humility) of becoming the best roundup of religion news on the internet.

We grew our list of Substack subscribers, who receive Plug-in directly in their inbox, to more than 10,000. And we relished our role of cheerleading for our Godbeat colleagues by highlighting the week’s best religion stories every Friday.

But here’s a confession: The newsletter itself got (here’s the part where we’ll show a whole lot of humility) too formulaic.

And well, did I mention that it’s time for a reboot?

So here’s what we plan to do: Turn Plug-in into more of a news column and less of a vehicle for what journalists call aggregation. For those interested in a religion newsletter, please make sure to sign up for Religion Unplugged’s Week in Headlines.

For those who’ve supported — and enjoyed — Plug-in, might I ask that you stick along for the ride?

Just like always, we plan to engage readers at the intersection of faith and news.

We’ll do that through a combination of personal insights from my 34 years in full-time journalism — the past quarter-century focused mainly on religion news — as well as firsthand reporting and analysis.

My passion is telling stories that resonate with readers. I was blessed at last week’s RNA conference to receive the Supple Award for Feature Writing for a portfolio of articles I wrote in 2023, including:

• An in-depth feature for Religion Unplugged on why Major League Baseball teams host faith nights.

• A two-story package for The Christian Chronicle on Christians welcoming Afghan refugees to Oklahoma and Texas.

• A narrative piece for The Associated Press on the one-year anniversary of a hostage standoff at a Texas synagogue.

Last year, I was honored to win RNA’s top award for religion news analysis for stories I did for AP.

I am deeply grateful to receive such recognition from peers and hope it speaks to my commitment to outstanding journalism. I intend to bring that same level of excellence to the new-and-improved Plug-in.

As we tweak the format, please know this: We want to keep encouraging and celebrating our colleagues who do such important, challenging work.

We’ll produce our popular “Best of Religion Journalism” year-end list, as always. And our “Inside the Godbeat” section will remain a weekly staple.

So will “The Final Plug,” a quick send-off that undoubtedly will involve an inordinate number of Texas Rangers references.

Inside The Godbeat

Adelle M. Banks is the best! We’ve said that before. And before that.

What a joy to stand and applaud Saturday night as the veteran Religion News Service journalist accepted RNA’s 2024 William A. Reed Lifetime Achievement Award.

Congrats, Adelle! You definitely deserve it.

The Final Plug

By the time you read this, I plan to be enjoying time on the beach in Galveston, Texas, with my wife, Tamie, and friends.

If you have ideas for the refreshed column, I’d certainly welcome them.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for Religion Unplugged and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 18 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.