From culture editor Kate Lucky: One of my favorite parts of being an editor is the time I get to devote to reading—not just Christianity Today, but other publications too. I like to see how other outlets approach a particular story or idea. And I enjoy evaluating whether a particular writer might be a good fit for CT.

Reading is how I came across the work of Christina Gonzalez Ho, who’s previously published an essay in our sister publication Ekstasis. After some sleuthing, I realized that Christina’s husband, Christian, is an art historian whom CT interviewed last fall. And then I realized that Christina is a worship pastor at a church just a few blocks away from my house.

As my final act of sleuthing, I found some email addresses and set up a coffee with Christina and Christian. Our conversation led to a pitch, which led to the piece about Kendrick Lamar and Lecrae that’s on our site today. Here’s hoping you’ll read more from both of the Gonzalez Hos—and from other new writers I meet—in the months to come.