Today’s Briefing

Russell Moore on evaluating in terms of tribal belonging what lives are worth living—and the danger of a seared conscience after the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Winter is a good time to be bored.

Nicki Minaj has become an advocate for Nigeria’s persecuted Christians, but she has fallen into MAGA tribalism, writes Chris Butler.

Some continue to think Christians are all words and no deeds. But going to church teaches Christians to serve.

Behind the Story

Over the weekend, a mammoth winter storm in the United States led to power outages, canceled flights, school and office closures, and some deaths. At CT, here’s how our staff in parts of the country with the wintry weather worked through it:

From copy editor Elise Brandon: I took a longer-than-expected break a few days ago to help a neighbor whose car got stuck on a snowy speed bump in our apartment complex.

From features editor Kristy Etheridge: The foot of snow that fell in NYC led my husband and me to tag-team to work with two young children at home. All four of us had virtual meetings on Tuesday morning, including our 4-year-old daughter, whose 30-minute check-in with her pre-K class was pure chaos. Somehow, we made it to all of our meetings and got to take the kids sledding.

From international editor Angela Fulton: Our son’s preschool closed for two days, so my husband and I took turns working while the other played Go Fish, constructed Magna-Tile buildings, read books, and went sledding with him.

From senior features editor Kara Bettis Carvalho: In Massachusetts, we got more than a foot of snow. My husband spent eight hours shoveling out just our property and his parents’ (I still spent three or four hours helping him before and after work)! We are in a neighborhood with a lot of homeless people who camp outside, so I’m glad for local warming centers.

From insights analyst Ashley Ekmay: We convinced my 7-year-old hockey-playing son to practice his puck handling on our frozen back patio. Our Blink camera caught some of his best work that we were able to watch from the warm indoors.

In Other News

In a preliminary agreement, Congress has rejected President Donald Trump’s deepest cuts to global health. CT has covered over the last year how cuts already have hurt faith-based organizations overseas.
Sarah Mullally was confirmed as the first woman to lead the Church of England.
An influencer received backlash for creating a “Christian” energy drink that supposedly helps to fuel faith.

Today in Christian History

January 29, 1499: Katherine von Bora, a German nun who married Martin Luther in 1525, is born. At their wedding, she was 26 and he was 41 (see issue 39: Luther’s Later Years).

An ‘Underground Railroad’ to Rescue Abducted Ukrainian Kids

Sashko Radchuk hasn’t seen his mother for nearly four years. One month into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a shell fragment struck the then-12-year-old’s left eye. His family…

How to Witness Well in Post-Christian America

Times have changed significantly in my 50 years as a believer. Here in the United States, the perception and position of the Christian faith has flipped from seemingly being the…

Young Christians Can Stay in the Black Church

If you go to a Sunday service at many Black churches, you won’t find a lot of young people there. Pew Research Center confirmed this generational gap, which has also…

I Trained to Monitor ICE but Found Myself Feeding the Hungry

I sit at a friend’s kitchen table at her home in our South Minneapolis neighborhood. A vinyl tablecloth wrinkles under my notebook as we work together to make a grocery…

in the magazine

Cover of the January / February 2026 of Christianity Today.

When Jesus taught, he used parables. The kingdom of God is like yeast, a net, a pearl. Then and today, to grasp wisdom and spiritual insight, we need the concrete. We need stories. In this issue of Christianity Today, we focus on testimony—the stories we tell, hear, and proclaim about God’s redemptive work in the world. Testimony is a personal application of the Good News. You’ll read Marvin Olasky’s testimony from Communism to Christ, Jen Wilkin’s call to biblical literacy, and a profile on the friendship between theologian Miroslav Volf and poet Christian Wiman. In an essay on pickleball, David Zahl reminds us that play is also a testament to God’s grace. As you read, we hope you’ll apply the truths of the gospel in your own life, church, and neighborhood. May your life be a testimony to the reality of God’s kingdom.

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