The Rabbit Room, both as a community and as a website, has been in a state of evolution since its inception. It started as a glorified blog, the content of which was provided by a ragtag group of acquaintances and friends who had very little idea what they were getting into. We also sold used books by our favorite writers, books usually culled by Eric Peters and I from the shelves of bookstores around the country. Then the website evolved into a ragtag group of actual friends—no longer just acquaintances—whose enjoyment of music and books and writing spilled over into the website. We began to realize that the website was perhaps more than just a glorified blog, read by more than just our moms.
The world is a different place than it was seven years ago, but if you look at this vision for the Rabbit Room from 2007, you’ll see that two of our guiding principles haven’t changed much:
I always envisioned this website having two functions: 1) supporting the readers/listeners by exposing them to art that is edifying, beautiful, true, and 2) providing an opportunity for the readers/listeners to support the artists by purchasing their works.
But there have been lots of additions to that vision, additions that came as a complete surprise, starting with Hutchmoot in all its strange glory (with Walt Wangerin!). Then we rented office space, with Pete Peterson masterfully at the management helm, diversifying the Rabbit Room Store. Then came another Hutchmoot (Sally Lloyd-Jones!), and Rabbit Room Press, and the publication of the Molehill, then another Hutchmoot (Phil Vischer!), and another (Leif Enger!). Our little community grew and grew to include men, women and children all over America–poets, artists, parents, pastors, authors, pipe makers, screenwriters, cooks, and—yes— accountants.
See what I mean? Evolution.
We have big dreams for where this thing might go—like bolstering the Rabbit Room Press (there’s a long list of books we wish we could publish), and opening a brick-and-mortar Rabbit Room here in Nashville (so if one of you wins the lottery, please let us know). One of my favorite verses in the Bible is that one where it talks about that one thing. Another favorite is Psalm 127:1: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” That principle was at the front of my mind when we were dreaming up this website/community/experiment, and I pray that the same is true today. We want this place to be fully and unabashedly under God’s dominion, which means that if it continues to evolve, then great—if it runs its course and dies a grisly death, we have to be fine with that, too. So the time has come to take inventory, to open the suggestion box, to ask you, dear readers, what we’re missing and how the Rabbit Room can serve you better.
So let us have it. What needs to change? Why do you come here, if you come at all? What, oh what, is the Rabbit Room for?