15 things you told me

In which I offer a peek behind the curtain

Hi friends,

Today, I’m sharing the main take-aways from the Field Notes survey a few weeks ago! After all, more than 1,600 of you took time to share your thoughts, your feedback, and your opinions on this newsletter - I figured you’d be interested to know the outcome or how it matters to me!

I absolutely love this space to write, think, explore, build community, do good, pray, and even play a bit. It has never felt like the typical “author newsletter” thing - I’m very aware that it’s not being sent out into a void. Each edition is landing in your particular inbox, in your particular life, and you’re all very real to me.

And since one of my pet peeves is being asked for my opinion, but never hearing if it actually mattered, I thought we could just circle up to peek behind the curtain together.

Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash

So here’s what you told me and what I’m doing with that feedback.

1. YOU TOLD ME: You’re mainly here for two reasons: to read the essays I write and to support me. You are tired of click-bait and noise and constant marketing. You really like that Field Notes isn’t recycled social media content or tweetable quotes, repurposed content for the masses or sponsored content for more shopping. One thing that surprised me is that more than 90% of you told me that, contrary to popular belief, these essays aren’t too long (in fact, more of you thought they were too short rather than too long!). This is a big departure from the current ‘wisdom of the day’ that is telling writers to wrap it up in 200-500 words, max. You aren’t the typical readers. However, the second reason you’re here was simply to be supportive of me and my work, which is incredibly humbling. You liked the other stuff (book chat, good things, deeper-dive series like Advent etc.) but those were the two big ones.

MY TAKEAWAY: First of all, thank you. From the bottom of my overly earnest, completely sincere heart. I never take your support for granted, not for a moment, but knowing that this is a big reason many of you are here, well, it’s a lot. I hope to always be worthy of your trust. And this is a good affirmation that prioritizing long-form writing is not only my own preference but yours as well. That’s a nice thing to know! It means that I can stay focused on writing for you and I don’t need to worry about chasing trends or “best practices” from content creators. It was confirmation that I should continue to prioritize honest, real, true writing from my actual life here.

---

2. YOU TOLD ME: We’re pretty evenly split between people who have been here for a long time and newer subscribers now. And regardless of when you arrived, most of you feel like we’re on this journey together. Half of you know me/my work/my story really well and it’s felt like we’re on the path together - navigating an evolving faith, raising kids, doing good in the world, all of it - for years now. (Some of you even predate the publication of Jesus Feminist, bless your hearts.) But there is a good half of you who are pretty new to me/my work/this space, too and you sometimes feel like you’re missing ‘back story’ or inside jokes.

MY TAKEAWAY: A sense of relationship is still important to all of us and I don’t want to lose that, just because there are more of us in the room now. It was really clear that you are pretty tired of experts and gurus (self-appointed or not) and so you enjoy that I write from my actual life as an actual person. I will look for ways to honour our shared journey while also remembering that we have new folks in the room, too, who might not know my typical short-hand explanations or nods at history so I’ll make certain to be more hospitable to our newer friends, too. I hope we can make an easy pathway for more people to join in what we’re doing here, too. A lot of you like to forward the emails to your friends and I loved hearing that. Few things mean more to me than when you trust me with your people.

---

3. YOU TOLD ME: a once a week newsletter is just right. The majority of conventional wisdom is telling me to publish 3-5 times a week but again, you all were very clear. Once a week is all you want or need.

My takeaway: Publishing once a week is working so let’s stick with that schedule. I won’t clutter up your inbox. You’d rather one long missive a week than three shorter ones in the inbox.

---

4. YOU TOLD ME: You are pretty done with deconstruction and ex-vangelical content. More than 80% of you want to talk more about “what now?” reconstruction stuff. You want to talk about creating and reimagining faithfulness in the aftermath. You’re tired of tearing down, you’re ready to rebuild. You also really like personal stories on spiritual formation topics: less “7 steps to being faithful when the world is on fire” and more “here’s a story from my life with a lot of nuance on that topic.” You aren’t as keen on deep diving into theological topics or practical topics with advice.

My takeaway: Less “tearing apart” and more “building up.” In my latest book, I wrote a chapter about being “for” things rather than just settling for being “against” and wow, is that true for you all! Rather than calling out or critiquing - you told me that you get enough of that elsewhere - you want to know how to build, how to create, and you want stories rather than answers. You are open to a perspective on controversial or complicated topics like feminism or politics or whatever but it has to be personal, not preachy.

One big shift from our last survey four years ago was how many of you do NOT want practical advice. You get that from experts in the appropriate fields from politics to healing from purity culture to reading the Bible etc. so you’re not here for practical advice but for companionship, to feel less alone, to explore topics with nuance and story, rather than answers. You do like being pointed elsewhere for the deeper work, too. Book recommendations for deeper-dives are a big hit.

---

5. YOU TOLD ME: You’re pretty happy with the content here at Field Notes. But if you had to choose, you want more long-form essays, more personal stories, and more prayers. You really (really, really) like talking about books - we’re a lot of big readers! - and also having the special series once a year. You’re also open to including other voices here, which is a big shift. Another change from our last survey was that audio has dropped as a big desire. However, even though many of you (more than 60%) are open to online events or Zoom hang-outs, it’s not a big need right here.

My takeaway: Content-wise, we’re pretty on track with one another. I’ve always seen myself primarily as a writer - not a “ministry leader” or influencer or content creator. So to know that this is also what it resonating with you was a reminder that we don’t all have to convert to content creation mode. I can remain in my plain-old-writer lane and know that you all are with me, which is huge.

Plus I always feel vaguely guilty when I can’t get my act together enough to create new podcast episodes of the essays but from this data, it looks like that’s okay. It’s a nice-to-have now and then, but not a reason for you to stay or go. Since online hangouts weren’t a huge priority for you, I get the sense that I shouldn’t prioritize that over the things you actually want like original essays. We might do them now and again but they won’t ever be the “main point” of Field Notes. If time is tight, I know where my energy needs to go.

And I was pleasantly surprised to know that you’re interested in hearing from other writers now and then too. I love the notion of generously sharing this little platform with other folks so now my brain is working on how best to do that. Stay tuned.

---

6. YOU TOLD ME: You would like more opportunities to respond or discuss ideas together here.

MY TAKEAWAY: In years past, we used to do “community conversations” such as Wisdom From The Field (where folks could submit a question and then you’d all be able to chime in with answers) and even prayer circles. Those disappeared a couple of years ago because I genuinely thought it was more clutter in your inbox than helpful to you. But (not for the first time) it seems I was wrong. More than 90% of you want that to return so I’m going to start creating those spaces for paid subscribers more often. Watch for those prompts when they arrive in your inbox, click through to the comment section, and have a chat with one another.

---

7. YOU TOLD ME: The overwhelming majority of you said the price point is right on and it’s a good value. Our subscription costs half what other creators typically charge, so it’s a relatively low-barrier. And you also like that we keep the door open for everyone who can’t afford it, too.

MY TAKEAWAY: Subscriptions aren’t meant to be a barrier for readers but a way to support me and my work, so what we’re doing is working. I won’t be changing prices or format anytime soon. I think keeping the point of entry low will remain a value here but we like the quieter space on the Internet and we like that comment sections aren’t a hellscape here. A rarity.

You also shared that you love that I give away those paid subscriptions to everyone who puts their hand up (because we do that! always!) as part of how our community operates.¹ We look after each other. No one who pays feels resentful of that - which aligns perfectly with what I know about you all so that was nice to have confirmed.

---

8. YOU TOLD ME: You’re very keen to shift the yearly deep-dive series towards spiritual practices like prayer and daily rhythms for cultivating your spirituality right now. Your runner-up request was for Bible studies which kind of surprised me. There was a major drop in interest for Advent, Lent, Easter content (I think this is because I’ve done that a few times already so it’s all there in the archives if you really are eager to check it out). Also a lot of you really hate that word “devotional.”

My takeaway: Everyone likes the once-a-year deep dive series but it’s time to shift away from the content around church calendar and lean into reconstruction conversations together. Of course, this aligns with our #4 above there so good to know. I’ve never done a Bible study in the traditional evangelical way, nor has it been a huge part of my own formation, so I’m kind of curious to think more about that. I get the sense that we are all feeling a bit under-resourced but we find diving right into theology with experts a bit daunting. And whatever I do, I should stop calling them devotionals LOL.

---

9. YOU TOLD ME: You like the written format and, like me, you’re pretty tired of video, constant noise, and social media content.

My takeaway: I can focus on writing, hallelujah. I mentioned to a friend that this was kind of a moot question for me because no matter the results, I wasn’t going to start creating video content LOL. But it’s nice to know we’re on the same page! and I don’t need to learn a whole new skill set for Reels or TikTok or YouTube. You seem to like the quieter nature of this space/me and so we’ll stick with that. (I wrote a bit about my exhaustion with that aspect of social media on Instagram this week and we all are not alone in that sentiment!)

If anything, I’ll be more consistent with audio through the Secret Field Notes Podcast since 22% of you said that was still a draw. But since more than half of you said you had never heard of that but were super interested so I’ll share more about how to add that to your podcast feed and access it soon.

---

10. YOU TOLD ME: you don’t belong in any religious label right now. When I asked about the labels for your initial religious background, we had a good mix of the usual suspects from Pentecostal to Southern Baptist to Evangelical etc. But when I asked where you find yourself these days, more than 75% of you had some variation of “I don’t know” or “spiritual but not religious” or “ex-vangelical.” So many denominations disappeared entirely from our answers. (I mean, we went from 20% as some sort of Baptist to 0.8% still holding onto that label.) Protestant Mainline was the runner up to all of our “It’s Complicated” answers, but there was a big caveat since many of you shared that, even though you found yourself in a mainline church, it still doesn’t feel like it fits. You’re there for your kids or for community or because you value church as an institution but neither do you feel like you’re ready to ride-or-die for that label.

MY TAKEAWAY: Despite our deep spirituality, we’re a post-church labels/denominations community. Many of you are open to it or hope for intentional religious community of some sort, but most of us aren’t there right now. We don’t really care about labels or denominations. We are spiritual, sometimes even religious, but distrustful of organizations and institutions. Since I share that distrust and lack of affiliation, I wonder if this is something that we should talk about more as a community. Unlike a lot of distinctly Christian spaces like this, we aren’t actually very church-y, we need to name that and bless it as our shared experience. Given that we’re going to try to bring back more community conversations, I think this might be an interesting thing to explore more together.

---

10. YOU TOLD ME: you’re also still reading my books!

My takeaway: more than 85% of you have read at least one of my books. And the remaining 15% there expressed interest, too. This was a nice surprise for me. I was kind of worried that I had newslettered myself out of book writing, but that’s not the case. You love reading books still - just like me - and you’re tracking with me as an author, too.²

Since I just pitched my next book(!) to my publisher, this was great news to read!

---

11. YOU TOLD ME: You can take or leave a Christmas gift guide.

My takeaway: I did a popular “gift guide for empowerment” for more than ten years and then retired it a couple years ago. I was fatigued by the massive amount of work it took to build (it was such a heavy lift to create) and it had become repetitive, plus I felt like we were all “gift-guided” out.³ And sure enough, you were all pretty ambivalent about it. This was confirmation for me that we’re not really here for shopping, even if it’s socially conscious shopping. You get that itch scratched elsewhere and I can properly release that altogether.

---

12. YOU TOLD ME: you highly value honesty, realness, humility, authenticity, hopefulness, and feeling pastored. You desire depth and relatability, humour and nuance. You also like my stubborn hold on being Christian.

MY TAKEAWAY: I asked an open-ended question about what you find compelling here and the themes were entirely consistent. You really align my values around being honest and hopeful in equal measure, which was lovely to hear. I think we’re all pretty burned out on anger and cynicism, for sure, but we’re also burned out on the #BLESSED nonsense of spiritual by-passing as an over-correction. You like that I’m a real person, not a brand or a salesman.

It came up a number of times that you love my Canadian-ness⁴ and you love that I am still staunchly Christian. You like that you feel the permission for finding that third way through the wilderness: you don’t want to do the burn it down anymore but neither are you ready to just carry on with business as usual.⁵ You don’t have to choose between your evolving beliefs and your love for this story. So you love that I am still super Jesus-y and centred on the Gospel, even if it isn’t where you are anymore yourself or I do that work very differently than you do. I have worried about alienating folks by this aspect of myself so it was good permission for me to just let myself be me as Jesus-y as I am at heart.

However, I was kind of surprised by how many people used the words “elder” or “pastoral” or “shepherd.” Even a lot of “big sister” and “Mum” energy comments. I’ve thought about that for a bit and I think it reflects the fact that we are missing those roles in our real lives. Most of us don’t have churches and we have complicated relationships with families of origin or former communities because of our spiritual journeys, so finding someone whom you trust in that just-a-bit-further-up-the-road role feels important. Plus we have a lot of predatory “leaders” around us, too. Many of you talked about “authority matched by gentleness” or “I feel safe but then you kick my ass" so that made me laugh a bit. When I started writing online twenty years ago, sure, I was one of the young kids on the block but now I’m still here. We all grew up. I’m not the hot young new thing to watch on social media, it seems I’m the steady one to many of you, which is kind of funny! (I guess if we hang in there long enough, we all might be lucky enough to become an elder, eh?)

In sincerity, I felt the weight of your trust in these answers. It’s humbling.

---

15. FINALLY: Clearly, most of you see what matters to me and you know my heart. Every word of encouragement, every testimony of how my work has somehow intersected with you and your lives, your thanks, your stories, your blessings to us surprised me and have affected me deeply. I read every word you wrote in this survey. Cried a bit. Laughed more than once. Jotted down ideas. I’m building out the yearly calendar for our space here and you’ll see your fingerprints all over that.

Thanks for your help to make Field Notes even better as we move forward.

I want you to know that this work is a genuine joy and goodness in my life, I hope it continues to be the same for you. It’s my hope that this humble newsletter is a catalyst for goodness in your life and in our beautiful, broken world, too.

It is my honour to serve you in this small way. Thanks for your trust. I never take being able to do work that I love and find meaningful for granted.

Love S.

Website | Books | Field Notes | On Instagram | On Facebook

P.S. Congratulations to the five winners of the book giveaway! We selected our winners using a random number generator and all winners have been contacted. Congrats to Anita, Adrienne, Vicki, Griff, and Aimee!

---

ICYMI Recent Field Notes:

• Flowers and Other Ordinary Altars for Memory: Or, when it doesn't hurt as much to remember

• An Update: Penny in the Air: Because people should never be the collateral damage of your theology

• Gaza: I don’t know if bearing witness, if keeping my soul tender, if loving each other even from far away is enough, it probably isn’t, but I want to believe it is something anyway.

• A Blessing for Our Graduate: You have nothing to prove and nothing to earn, you are already so loved.

• The beginner's guide to Doctor Who: For the tens of you who asked

1. And if you are someone who can’t afford a subscription, I promise: we’ve got you! Email assistant@sarahbessey.com - and there is no need to explain or justify or prove a single thing - and it is our joy to hook you up.

2. And selfishly, I was glad to see my 2019 memoir Miracles and Other Reasonable Things get equal amounts of love in there. That’s the one sad book that was effectively abandoned in publisher upheavals. I always felt it fell through the cracks of the industry. To see that one ranked up there with all the more popular or better-selling books did my little heart good. I was also pleased to know that you’re still reading the oldies. Not many people in my lane still have their early books in print, so I’m grateful - and surprised. LOL

3. I mean, my kids’ orthodontist creates a gift guide! Every single content creator on Al Gore’s Internet creates a guide! I think we’re good, you know?

4. For my fellow Canadians, we can feel railroaded by American-centric religious and cultural conversations or references so it feels validating to us. Mr. Dress-Up and hockey playoffs and poutine stereotypes forever. But even for the non-Canadians (which is more than 80% of you), my ‘otherness’ here means that I can speak to things with an outsiders perspective, which you value.

5. This was a big theme early in Field Notes for the Wilderness, if you want more on that topic.