Top 10 ‘Russell Moore Show’ Episodes of 2022

From abortion and climate change to the SBC’s reckoning on abuse, these episodes drew the most attention.

Illustration by Christianity Today

2022 was the first full year of Russell Moore hosting his podcast at Christianity Today. As the editor in chief and director of CT’s Public Theology Project, Moore discusses a range of topics that exist in the tension between faith and culture, theology and politics in the public square. CT’s editorial staff have selected the top 10 podcast episodes that listeners have engaged with on The Russell Moore Show this year:

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Check out the rest of our 2022 year-end lists here.

- More from CT Editorial Staff

Books

Christianity Today’s 15 Most-Read Book Reviews of 2022

CT Editors

Liberal theology, Christian celebrity, the Canaanite conquest, and much more from the year in books.

Illustration by Christianity Today

Here are our most popular book reviews of 2022, ranked in reverse order of what our online audience read most.

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Check out the rest of our 2022 year-end lists here.

- More from CT Editors

CT’s Stories of 2023 You May Have Missed

CT Editors

Forgiveness, photography, and funeral feasts: these nuanced and lesser-known stories are worth a read.

One of my favorite aspects of my role as CT’s senior editor of audience engagement is that I get to read every article we publish. One impact of that reading is that I know when a story doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Perhaps that’s because it’s explaining a complex theological concept, offering a nuanced cultural or historical argument, or reporting on a little-known reality in the global church—all of which can be hard to distill in a headline, a social media post, or a line in our daily newsletter.

As you read and reflect at the close of 2023, I offer this list of stories you may have missed this year in our print and digital pages.

Kate Lucky, Senior Editor of Audience Engagement

Check out the rest of our 2023 year-end lists here.

- More from CT Editors

Theology

Christianity Today’s Top Testimonies of 2022

CT Editors

The Christian conversion stories that CT readers shared most.

Illustration by Christianity Today

In each print issue, Christianity Today devotes the back page to stories of Christian conversion—from the quiet to the highly dramatic. If you missed any, here are CT’s top testimonies of 2022, including some online exclusives, ranked in reverse order of what people read most.

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Check out the rest of our 2022 year-end lists here.

- More from CT Editors

Church Life

Top 10 CT News Stories of the Year

CT Editors

From “Dobbs” to a bombshell SBC abuse report, we ranked the most significant evangelical headlines from 2022.

Illustration by Christianity Today

Some of 2022’s biggest stories for evangelicals are slow-drip trends that we’ve seen developing over several years, from the coronavirus fallout to the rise of nondenominational churches. We picked some important moments this past year that crystallized these trends.

10. COVID-19 Fallout

Even with pandemic restrictions mostly lifted, ministries saw ongoing fallout from COVID-19. They have had less access to nursing homes and prisons. Fewer ministry employees wanted to work on the frontlines. The pandemic also brought a drop in church attendance and Bible reading.

9. Seminary Cuts

Seminaries around the country faced declining enrollment and revenue, prompting tough decisions. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School cut faculty positions and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary decided to sell its historic campus, continuing a trend in recent years.

8. Conservative Methodist Churches Launch Breakaway Denomination

In 2020, the United Methodist Church agreed on a plan for conservative churches to amicably split from the denomination over LGBT issues. But after the denomination twice delayed meeting to vote on the plan, conservative churches went ahead this year with launching their breakaway denomination, Global Methodist Church.

7. Midterms and Christian Nationalism

Throughout the year Christian voters debated what “Christian nationalism” meant exactly and what that looked like in politics. When it came time to vote, pro-life Christians were largely disappointed by midterm results around the country. Inflation was voters’ biggest motivator.

6. Mass Shootings

Mass shootings once again shattered communities across the country. A pastor ministered to his family after his great-granddaughter was killed in the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting; an elderly Taiwanese congregation in California subdued a gunman in an attack; and Buffalo’s Black Christian community tried to rebuild after a devastating racist attack at a grocery store that killed 10.

5. Ongoing Abuse and Church Investigations

More stories of abuse came to light in churches around the country—and within CT itself. Those under investigation included a New Zealand megachurch, an Ontario megachurch leader Bruxy Cavey, and Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston. The Village Church’s pastor Matt Chandler took a three-month leave of absence over an unexplained inappropriate online relationship.

4. War in Ukraine and Refugees

Russia began a full-scale war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, committing atrocities in Ukraine that pastors responded to, and driving refugees to the US. CT’s Sophia Lee was on the ground in Ukraine and Poland covering the local church’s response to war and refugees.

3. The Rise of Nondenominational Churches

If “nondenominational” were a denomination, it would be the largest Protestant one, claiming more than 13 percent of churchgoers in America. Every Protestant denomination has declined except those who say they are nondenominational.

2. Southern Baptist Convention Abuse Report and Department of Justice Inquiry

A bombshell investigation released in May showed that Southern Baptist Convention leaders had a list of abusers that they kept secret while going after those who were pushing for abuse reforms. Soon after, the Justice Department began an investigation into multiple SBC entities over abuse. The convention began moving toward abuse reforms, including electing abuse reform advocate Bart Barber as president.

1. Roe v. Wade Overturned

After 49 years of evangelical pro-life activism against the US Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion in Roe v. Wade, the court overturned Roe in its June ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. With abortion legalization now in the hands of states, the ruling led to political turmoil and debates within the pro-life movement about strategy after Dobbs.

Check out the rest of our 2022 year-end lists here.

- More from CT Editors

Church Life

The Global Church in 2022: CT’s Top 20 International Stories

Compiled by Morgan Lee

Our most-read stories from around the world, from Sri Lanka to Thailand to Ukraine.

Illustration by Christianity Today

Read 20 of Christianity Today’s most significant international stories. Articles are ranked in reverse order of popularity online.

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Check out the rest of our 2022 year-end lists here.

- More from Compiled by Morgan Lee

Church Life

CT’s Stories of 2022 That You May Have Missed

CT Editors

From AI preachers to social media features, here are some stories that flew under the radar this last year.

Illustration by Christianity Today

With hundreds of articles published this year, we wanted to highlight some stories that did not get as much attention as our most popular stories. Here, in no particular order, are Christianity Today’s 2022 “in case you missed it” stories:

Check out the rest of our 2022 year-end lists here.

- More from CT Editors

Theology

10 News Stories That Made Us Happy in 2022

CT Editors

Innovation, evangelism, and other developments worth celebrating over the past year.

Illustration by Christianity Today

At CT, we’re people who love good news. Here are 10 examples of positive developments we got to cover in 2022, from laundromat ministries to a multimillion-dollar hit Bible TV show.

Here’s to effective strategies, new milestones, creative thinking, efforts to adapt and change, and other stories of hope that came in the midst of hard and heavy headlines. They’re listed in chronological order.

Check out the rest of our 2022 year-end lists here.

- More from CT Editors

Theology

CT’s Top 20 Stories of 2022

CT Editors

Heresies, harassment, and Her Majesty’s death: Here are the stories Christians engaged with this year.

Illustration by Christianity Today

This year was all but predictable. With the war in Ukraine, historic court cases, and civil unrest around the world, Christianity Today’s readers came to our site for timely, faithful reflections and church-centered reporting.

The top article of 2022 was written by our own editor in chief, Russell Moore. His raw response to the SBC’s third-party investigative report was read by over 500,000 people and translated into six languages.

In addition to our SBC coverage, CT wrote about fantasy role-playing, Bono’s career and its connection to his faith, and pandemic fallout in the pews.

Our 20 most-read stories of the year are listed below in descending order, starting with No. 20 and ending with No. 1. You can find these and other top CT stories of the year here, many of which are also offered in CT Global translations.

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Check out the rest of our 2022 year-end lists here.

- More from CT Editors

Theology

10 Leaders Evangelicals Lost in 2022

Daniel Silliman

Remembering a Bible smuggler, a speechwriter, a queen, and others.

Illustration by Christianity Today

Some extraordinary Christians died this year: artists, theologians, and leaders who made a difference through their day-in, day-out faithfulness.

But as we remember them at the end of the year, we should also remember the ways in which they weren’t extraordinary, but simply faithful.

“I am not an evangelical stuntman,” Brother Andrew said. “I am just an ordinary guy. What I did, anyone can do.”

Here are the obituaries of 10 men and women who followed their calling, loved Jesus, and responded to the needs in front of them. They trusted God, and their lives and testimonies can remind us that we can too.

Check out the rest of our 2022 year-end lists here.

- More from Daniel Silliman

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10. COVID-19 Fallout

9. Seminary Cuts

8. Conservative Methodist Churches Launch Breakaway Denomination

7. Midterms and Christian Nationalism

6. Mass Shootings

5. Ongoing Abuse and Church Investigations

4. War in Ukraine and Refugees

3. The Rise of Nondenominational Churches

2. Southern Baptist Convention Abuse Report and Department of Justice Inquiry

1. Roe v. Wade Overturned

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