(Photo by Selma Komisky)

A Note From the Editor: October, 2018
The Voice Issue 

By Sarah Komisky

As a reader, one of the genres I am fascinated with is survivor stories, whether it be slave narratives, diary entries of Holocaust survivors, or biblical accounts of men and women who survived captivity. There is something about being liberated from silence that speaks to me and I would venture to say speaks to you.

The voice is one of the most powerful instruments we have, yet how many of us don’t use it or even worse, been met with opposition to stay quiet.

Some of the culprits can be fear, doubt, oppression, injustice, inequality, trauma, superiority, and emotional barriers. I have come against them and again, I would venture to say, you have too.

Today, we live in a culture where everyone wants to take back their voice—where we felt we were once silenced. Social justice is on the radar because people want to fight to be heard.

Unfortunately, the fight has caused more pain more often than none. CNN is proof of that when we see images of chaos flash in front of us or breaking news hit—informing us of the realities of brokenness in the world.

More and more people want to be heard on social media, in protests, or in the recesses of our soul. We all want to voice what we are passionate about. We want to be heard, validated, and respected. We all want to know what we have to say matters.

In the Bible, there were many whose voices were silent. Women. The poor. The outcasts. The maimed. In every circumstance, it was Jesus who gave them a voice where they did not have one. In turn, we at Marked Ministry attribute Christ as the one who gave us our passion and our voice. Therefore, we want to raise it as He did for good.

This new issue entitled, “The Voice,” reflects this reality with a plethora of different passions and voices. However, we are uniting for one purpose: to voice the beautiful goodness, grace, freedom, and hope we’ve come to find in Jesus Christ. These are our unique passions used for what we found to be the greater good, God’s Kingdom.

We invite you to listen and pray you would consider the passions that are closest to our hearts such as the importance of mentorship, community, racial reconciliation, anti-establishment, mental health advocacy, survivors of abuse advocacy, serving others, caregiving, reshaping self-image and being a light in a secular industry. Others include passion for creativity, shining God’s grace, traveling, singing, and using your gifts and talents purposefully.

Our prayer is that our voices unite for the hope that we have come to find in Christ. We also pray you are encouraged and find healing. We pray that you would know that your voice matters and that where there is silence, it would be broken with a voice.

You have something to say. May you use it for good.

Sarah