December is undoubtedly my favorite month. The weariness of a long year begins to slip from our shoulders. If we are lucky, we gather with our families and put other concerns aside. We enjoy amber light pressing out of the windows of our homes and spilling across our lawns. We enjoy trees that shimmer and dance with the memories of our childhoods. We enjoy the smells of bread and cider, the sounds of carols and laughter, and the sight of children tearing their wrapping paper into a thousand pieces.
But December is my favorite month primarily for another reason. As the days grow colder and the nights longer, it’s easy to imagine ourselves under a kind of occupation. Darkness crouches over the earth. Winter looms. The air is melancholy yet charged with a sense of anticipation. The Messiah is coming. We yearn for him. We long for the miracle in which God made himself present in our bitter and broken world.
For many followers of Jesus around the world today, Christmas is not a time of peace. There are no families to gather with, no homes to decorate. They are oppressed and downtrodden. We join with them in crying out for Jesus. For the grace and forgiveness of the gospel, yes, but also for justice. For wrongs to be made right. For love to come and conquer and reign.
Ours is an increasingly global ministry. We are led by outstanding voices in the American church, such as Russell Moore, who has moved into the storied position of editor in chief of Christianity Today. But our editorial team also increasingly reflects and represents the mosaic of the global church. As I write this note, several of our editors are returning from a convening of Asian Christians in Thailand. Editors based in Beirut and Delhi report from their own contexts. And a growing band of global editors cover the work God is doing across the planet.
This growth is powered by generosity. Few organizations cover the global church, simply because it is not profitable. We do it because it is missional. We believe it is a part of our calling. So as you sip your cider and sink your teeth into pumpkin pie, we pray you will remember us. Perhaps even stand with us. Give the gift of the global church to the world. Help us build a capacious and captivating vision of what it looks like, around the world in all its complexity and beauty, to follow Jesus Christ in our time.
Timothy Dalrymple is Christianity Today’s President and CEO. Support CT’s Global Vision: Give a tax-deductible gift here or by check (US dollars only) to: Christianity Today Fund, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188. Christianity Today is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
