(Graphic artwork by McKenzi Matsick)

Editor’s Note: February, 2021

By Sarah Komisky

80 percent of my music streamed is nostalgic. I’ll explore what’s new, but I prefer the old. One day when I was in a 90’s mood, I scrolled (as I usually do) through the comments on YouTube of my fellow music lovers. Interestingly, most comments were those of wishful thinking. Those wishing to go back to a time before and others wishing they could go back to live in a time they never got to see.

Listening to all different types of music throughout the decades, I’ve noticed similar comments across the board. Many highlighted “simpler times” and crowned their generation of music “the best.” But there were also those who reminisced with thread after thread of memories gone by.

Now, no one loves a good throwback more than I do, but all the talk of wanting to go “back” makes me question if “backward” is the right direction when it comes to our present state.

Speaking of throwbacks, Paul McCartney said on the iconic “White Album” in the coda of the song, “Cry Baby Cry,” and adlibbed, “Can You Take Me Back,” into the lyrics to pose the question, “Can you take me back where I came from/can you take me back?”

It’s a question worth asking.

Is it possible to go back?

2021 certainly caused that thought to enter our minds. Especially when the world’s expectations were so high. With a month passed that looks similar to the year we survived, the thought of going back to before 2020 sounds like a really good idea. In our pain. Our despair. Our disappointment. Our anxiety, going back is a wish that helps us cope with our current circumstance. If we are honest, some of us feel a bit lost this 2021 and wonder how we can get back to any type of normalcy as we once knew it. Yet, in the pursuit of going back, we also must ask, what will we gain? And, in our backtracking, what will we excavate for the journey ahead?

To answer a question Paul asked, I do believe going back is possible. And maybe going back to the basics, even where we came from is good. However, going back for the sake of nostalgia is a fun trip that we can enjoy, but we can’t keep taking over and over again. Going back without purpose causes us to only get stuck in what “once was.”

Rather, the past can be a tutor in leading us back to the basics of what we need to learn to live in the reality of our present and our future. Like we learn in a history lesson, it’s important to examine the lessons we can glean from the past and implement them into our present day. Not just a mere longing for yesteryears that doesn’t allow us to grow.

We at Marked Ministry Magazine believe that sometimes, it’s necessary to go back to the essentials. To look at our roots. To go back where we came from to be found.

Many for the new year have chosen a new word as their theme. We at Marked Ministry have chosen three: Back to Basics.

Therefore, we will build on this theme this year to equip you for the journey ahead.

Our team has written on topics that we wanted to get back to and invited some friends to give their perspective. This includes the mental health professional, blogger, podcaster, and social media personality, Brittney Moses, with a new interview on the basics of faith and wellness. As well as, Canada’s Village Church Senior Pastor, Mark Clark who will be going back to basics with his new book excerpt, “The Problem of Jesus,” and TED Speaker and Zondervan author, Hannah Brencher, to share on her newest release, “Fighting Forward.”

We’ll share some how-to’s to jumpstart your new year as well as fashion inspo for Valentine’s Day, new pop culture commentaries, and the basics we’ve discovered in our own lives.

Additionally, we’re giving a nod to our website style roots featuring clean, simple, neutral, and minimalist graphics by our very own, McKenzi Matsick! And, of course you can still expect our signature urban and quirky flair to remain present throughout.

Welcome to the “Back to Basics” issue.

If we look back, let’s learn, be equipped, strengthened, and reinfused with hope for the path we’re on this 2021.

Sarah