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March 3, 2026

This edition is sponsored by Compassion International

Today’s Briefing

In Syria, violent clashes and postwar poverty have led many Christians to emigrate. Yet some pastors are staying to shepherd locals and bring people to Christ.

Reading classic books can aid young men, but it can’t fix them, writes Luke Simon.

Christian civil rights leader John Perkins, who is 95 and nearing the end of his life, believes churches should “enter into the pain of society.”

When we make an ideology our ultimate goal, we can turn even a good thing into an idol.

A federal judge blocked the detention of Minnesota refugees in a 66-page ruling.

Behind the Story

For Luke Simon’s piece today on men reading books, we asked some men on our staff for some of their favorite recent reads:

Big Tent editorial director Sho Baraka: I just read an 1899 novel by Sutton E. Griggs, Imperium in Imperio. It’s a historical parody based on the work and ideology of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. It’s rather appropriate today as the term nationalism is en vogue, and in this story we find two Black thinkers attempting to create a nation within a nation.

Senior designer Nathaniel Rabon: I recently finished reading Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura. The book helped show not only that artistic expression and creativity are tools for the kingdom of God but also how Christ’s desire to mold us into a new creation is one of the purest forms of art we can experience.

Vice president of mission advancement Cory Whitehead: I read 2024’s John Lewis: A Life during Black History Month. I needed a book about a compassionate and convicted leader who stayed true to his deep-seated beliefs and had a life of consistency and servanthood. Gave me hope!

IT and network support specialist Zach Trauernicht: I’ve been reading more lately since my wife and I gave up TV for Lent. Recently read through Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. I also recently finished Your Story Has a Villain by Jonathan Pokluda with my small group—it really helped me understand the reality of spiritual warfare and how we can approach it.

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In Other News

The cowriter of the song featured in the new film I Can Only Imagine 2 says the movie erased her part of the story.
Last month, India’s Roman Catholic bishops elected the first Dalit cardinal to lead the conference, which represents 20 million Catholics. CT has covered the discrimination Dalits face, even within the church.
Conservative leaders in the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, or Gafcon, are meeting in Nigeria this week to elect a rival to the Archbishop of Canterbury. CT has been covering the growing split within the Anglican communion and will follow this story.

Today in Christian History

March 4, 1583: Bernard Gilpin, the English clergyman whose ministry in neglected sections of Northumberland and Yorkshire earned him the title “Apostle of the North,” dies at age 66.

Don’t Forsake the Assembly

Certain Bible verses demand to be quoted in the King James Version, and Hebrews 10:25 is one of them. Following calls to “hold fast the profession of our faith without…

Iranian Christians Celebrate and Pray for the Hope of a Free Iran

The United States and Israel launched a major coordinated campaign against Iran Saturday, killing Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and striking more than a thousand targets across the country,…

Indian Court Rules Christians Can Hold Home Prayer Meetings

A pastor in a remote village in India’s largest state of Uttar Pradesh remembers the Sunday in March 2023 when persecution became real to him. He was leading a group…

Janette Oke Wrote Her First Novel at 42. Then She Wrote 70 More.

Janette Oke, author of the popular Christian romance book Love Comes Softly, remembers first hearing Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables read aloud while sitting at her wooden desk…

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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