Keeping the Front Door Open

Why I changed my mind about paid subscriptions and what it means for Grit & Wit

I’ve been toying with the idea of turning on paid subscriptions for Grit & Wit for a while now.

Every time I thought seriously about it, though, I ended up in basically the same place. I didn’t want to do it. I’ve actually turned it on and off again twice in the little over a year I have been on Substack.

It wasn’t because I have anything against paid subscriptions. I write books and sell them, so obviously I’m not opposed to getting paid for something I create. I also wouldn’t complain if more of you bought those books. Just throwing that out there.

Grit & Wit started because I wanted a place to write about faith, family, fatherhood, and all the things that happen somewhere in between. Over time, it has grown into much more than I expected. There are books now. There are podcast appearances. There are Bible studies and other opportunities that I never could have planned when I started writing all of this. I have a YouVersion Bible plan with Manhood Journey coming very soon, which is such a huge answered prayer. Two articles with Focus on the Family are also releasing this fall and winter.

And now there are more than 360 of you here.

I love that.

But I also have a job. I have a wife and four kids. I teach at church. There are flag football games and tennis matches and school events and a Jeep in my driveway that seems fairly committed to making sure I never run out of projects.

I could picture turning on paid subscriptions and immediately feeling like I needed to give those people something extra. Maybe they needed another article every week. Maybe I needed a paid-subscriber Bible study or an extra video or some exclusive content.

There was another part that bothered me even more.

I didn’t want to start deciding which things were good enough to put behind a paywall.

If I write something about being a husband that might encourage somebody who’s struggling, I want him to be able to read it. If I write something about raising kids that reminds a dad or mom that they’re doing better than they think, I want them to have it. And if I write something about Jesus that reaches somebody at exactly the right moment, the last thing I want standing between that person and those words is a little box asking for a credit card number.

So I had pretty much decided paid subscriptions weren’t for me.

Then my new Substack connection Dr. Adrian Warnock wrote about the way he approaches them, and it made me look at the whole thing differently.

What if the people who choose to pay aren’t paying to get more? What if they’re helping me continue giving it away? That made sense to me.

It reminded me a little of the model behind The Chosen when it first started. People can watch without paying, while those who believe in what they’re doing can financially support the work and help make it possible for other people to experience it too.

That’s a version of paid subscriptions I can feel good about.

So, I’m turning them on.

But I want to be very clear about what that means, because for most of you it means absolutely nothing is changing.

Grit & Wit is staying free.

I’m not moving my Tuesday articles behind a paywall. I’m not going to write the first half of something and then make you pay five bucks to find out how the story ends. I’m not keeping the best Bible studies for people who subscribe.

You’ll still get what you’ve been getting.

The difference is that if you’ve enjoyed Grit & Wit, believe in what I’m trying to build here, and would like to help support it, you’ll now have a way to do that.

Because while I love doing this, it isn’t actually free to do.

There are expenses involved with the website, publishing books, software, marketing, equipment, and all the other little things that come with trying to build something and get it in front of people. I’ve been happy to invest in it because I believe in it, and because watching this little community grow has been one of the unexpected joys of the last couple of years. I pray God’s blessings on each and every one of you for that.

If some of you would like to come alongside me and help with that, I’m incredibly grateful.

I also want to occasionally say thank you to the people who do. When I’m able, paid supporters may receive complimentary digital copies of select Grit & Wit books or resources that I publish and control. There may be some other surprises along the way too. I am open for suggestions of things you would love to see.

But I’m intentionally not creating a big list of exclusive benefits.

That’s kind of the point.

You’re not paying me because I’m promising to produce another newsletter every Thursday night. You’re supporting something you already enjoy and helping me continue making it available to everybody.

And if you don’t become a paid subscriber, I genuinely don’t want you to feel differently about being here.

There are plenty of ways to support what I’m doing that don’t cost anything. Read the articles. Leave a comment. Share one with somebody. Restack something. Tell somebody about one of my books. If you’ve read one, leaving an Amazon review helps more than most people realize.

Or just keep showing up.

That’s worth something to me too.

I don’t know exactly where Grit & Wit goes from here. A year ago, I couldn’t have predicted some of the things that are happening now. I certainly didn’t expect to be sitting here with more than 360 people choosing to have my writing show up in their inbox every week.

I’m grateful for it.

And I want to see how far we can take it without losing the thing that made me want to do it in the first place.

So that’s the plan.

Grit & Wit stays free. If you’d like to help me keep it that way and help me see where this thing can go, you can become a paid supporter.

If not, I’ll see you every Tuesday and some other days every now and then.

Same place. Same Grit & Wit.

Lead Well. Laugh Hard.

God bless each of you!