Let's face it, GetReligion.org already had strong ties to Colorado and now they are about to get stronger. I worked at the late Rocky Mountain News for most of the 1980s, where one of my readers was a youngster named Mollie Ziegler, who would grow up to become the journalist M.Z. Hemingway. Colorado is where I also had the good fortune to meet a religion-beat specialist and copy-desk pro named Douglas LeBlanc, who became a solid, trustworthy friend and years later would join me in starting this weblog.

And it was in Colorado that Doug and I met another rising religion-beat pro named Steve Rabey.

As Doug announced the other day, he is heading back into daily journalism, serving as editor at large for the respected magazine The Living Church, which covers all things Episcopal and Anglican in the context of North America and beyond. While it is terrifying to see Doug leave the blog (for the third time), I know he will be out there in cyberspace -- only an email or call away. Meanwhile, I am delighted to say that Rabey has agreed to step in and become a GetReligionista.

So who is this guy? He will introduce himself later today, but here is some biographical material.

Steve Rabey has covered religion, spirituality and culture for a quarter century. On the beat, he is best known for his work as the religion specialist Gazette in Colorado Springs (that's where God lives, along with some of his closest friends) from 1991-1995. He was a finalist for a few Religion Newswriters Association awards during that time.

Since then, Rabey's freelance work has appeared in newspapers (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, etc.), magazines (Christianity Today, Christian History, Catholic Digest, Leadership Journal, Charisma, Sojourners, New Age Journal, Publishers Weekly, World, The Wittenburg Door and a few others) and online (primarily Beliefnet.com). He has freelanced for Religion News Service since 1994 (and will continue, which means he will not write about RNS coverage here at GetReligion).

Rabey also has authored or co-authored 25 books (click here for his Amazon.com page) on St. Francis (the 50,000-selling "The Lessons of St. Francis"), Celtic spirituality and travel, Christian mysticism, 20th century evangelical history, Pentecostal revivalism, and the killings at Columbine (the 300,000-selling "Rachel's Tears"). He also edits YouthWorker Journal and consults with companies and nonprofits on communications, marketing and development projects.

One more thing. Rabey is a member of the adjunct faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary and has an M.A. in church history from Denver Seminary. He has an M.A. in English and a B.S. in Education from Wright State University in Ohio. He and his wife Lois Mowday Rabey, an author and speaker, live in Colorado. Check out their homepage at www.rabeywords.com.

Photo: The cover image of a typical Steve Rabey media project.