February 9, 2024

Dear Editor,

The After Party, a program offered by the non-profit Redeeming Babel, was recently the subject of an article in your publication First Things entitled “Follow The Money To The After Party”.

The After Party was asked to comment on the story prior to publication. We responded promptly and fully. A copy of these responses can be found here.

Our responses were disregarded, resulting in an article that contains inaccuracies and misleading insinuations regarding the mission of The After Party, the nature of our program offerings, and the sources of our funding.

We respectfully request you issue a correction and update the online version of the article to remove the errors it currently contains including:

• The implication of this piece as uncovering new information is incorrect. In fact, we were fully transparent regarding our mission and funding as part of our contributions to the book anchoring the article (The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory by Tim Alberta).
• Describing The After Party as “a Bible study” when, in fact, it is a six-part digital course designed for individuals and small groups to experience, within or outside of a local church. It is not a Bible study.
• Highlighting Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors as a funder when, in fact, our grant came from The New Pluralists Project, an organization working to strengthen a culture of pluralism in America. The New Pluralists are a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors but remain a distinct entity. Most importantly, for the record, none of our funders – be they individuals, foundations, or corporations – have any influence over the content of any of our programming and the content of The After Party was already well-developed prior to the receipt of the funding mentioned in your article.
• The suggestion that those involved with The After Party are inappropriately benefiting financially as a result of their participation in the project when, in fact, Redeeming Babel’s Executive Director Curtis Chang has not received any personal financial payment for his leadership on this project, and David French and Russell Moore have received only modest honorariums.

The speculation within this article that The After Party is doing covert political work and aiming to fuel further polarization within the church is simply incorrect. In fact, our work is explicitly apolitical and our chief motivation is to equip course participants to adopt Gospel-centric positions ahead of – and above – any political affiliation.

We appreciate your prompt attention to correcting the record.

Sincerely,

The After Party