But then, you come upon a par-three hole with an uphill slope that has the hole at the top. If you strike the ball too hard, it goes over the hill and you lose a stroke, only to have to try again. If you strike the ball too gently, it just rolls back down the slope. Your frustration grows as that ball rolls repeatedly back to you at the tee. Your swagger starts to fade.

Many things in life test our patience and increase our frustration. One place that should not happen is when we open a quality magazine, especially a religious magazine. At the Christian Century, we roll all kinds of ideas up testy slopes, vetting them for quality and meaning. If they don’t merit a place on our pages, we move onto the next article or feature story that will enliven readers’ lives. We do all of this curating so that you don’t have to be frustrated with drab or mediocre content.

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