“Notice anything different about me today?” the wife asked her husband. Panicked, he replied, “Uh, you changed your hair?”

“Good save, honey,” she said wryly. “How do you like it?”

“Oh, it’s gorgeous to look upon,” he said with a smile.

There is something uplifting when people take notice of something new about you. At the Baptist Messenger, we have changed a few things, too, and wanted to make sure you noticed.

For starters, we have given the cover page a new look. In this fast-paced, media saturated society, it appears a picture is now worth more than 1,000 words. We have created a new name plate; that is to say logo. We also have created color-coded short cuts on the front page, for ease of reading.

On the inside, you will notice much of the same beloved content is there. In fact, in our improvements, we tried to build on to what good was already there, rather than replace.

The most noticeable addition is on page 8. We are starting a “sports & activities” page that will feature interviews with Christian athletes, sports-related devotionals, Oklahoma Baptist University athletics and more. We know you can go to other news sources for headlines and box scores. In the Baptist Messenger, we will focus on how God is being honored through the lives and accomplishments of athletes, whether novice or pro, high school or college.

Notice also that we have created clear categories for each page. We plan to continue highlighting the great work God is doing through Oklahoma Baptists. In fact, that is our focus as much as ever. Whether it’s the “news page” on pages 2 or 12, or the “people” on page 10, you will hear first and foremost about Oklahoma.

On page 9, we plan to showcase cultural trends and information within society from a Christian perspective. This could include, but is not limited to, book reviews, movie information and more.

In addition to our popular crossword puzzle, we have offered a Sudoku puzzle, which is a popular numbers game for many. To add some levity, we plan to showcase editorial and other cartoons again.

Our creative team has also worked to make the format of the Messenger more reader friendly. Using custom fonts and layout techniques, we hope the content “pops” off the page like never before.

What you hold in your hands is the Baptist Messenger you have come to know and love throughout the years, with some fresh ideas and content that stemmed from months of research and talking to our readers through various focus groups.

We would love to hear your thoughts on what you like about what we’ve done, as well as get ideas from you. To share ideas, visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/thebaptistmessenger, where you can interact with our staff and Oklahoma’s favorite columnist, Walker Moore! Or call us (405/942-3800) or write us any time (baptistmessenger@oklahomabaptists.org or mail to 3800 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City 73112).

As always, thank you for reading the Baptist Messenger!