I was a pastor from 1988 to 2005 at the same church. This was during the great battles between the conservatives and the moderates. I spent one day a week at the library reading Christianity Today. It made me think. I enjoyed my monthly trip, but I became disabled in 2005 from Parkinson’s disease.
I bought a CT subscription from my granddaughter for school. I received my first copy today and loved it! Your pages were a spring of fresh water in a parched land. My success in pastoring came from loving my people in Christ and following his teaching. The things you said gave me hope that people will come to know Jesus as the only one who can transform their lives. I pray that God in his wisdom will guide your decisions as you perform this great task.
Danny Culler
Dobson, NC
I am an avid reader of CT, and the December issue is the best by far of any I have seen. The five major articles were captivating, very well written, and addressed very important topics. You hit a home run.
Jack Richards
Mercer, PA
Both as a psychotherapist and as a resident of Raleigh, North Carolina, I often hear derogatory comments about Christians. The label “Bible Belt” is used in disdain. I am hurt by the small mindedness of folks living in an area of well-educated professionals. I am told that Christians are weak, feeble minded, blind sheep, unenlightened, fake, Bible thumpers, and hypocrites. So I truly enjoyed the articles by Barbara Bradley Hagerty and Wendy Alsup in your December issue. These articles, among several others in this issue, demonstrate the intelligence, open-mindedness, honesty, and lack of judgment of many Christians. To me, it takes great strength and humility to surrender to God. He is more interested in our hearts than in our higher educational degrees.
Thank you for your cover story in the December issue. It’s sad when people refuse to seek help for fear of the stigma that surrounds what it means to be an addict. I also appreciate the way the author clarified the difference between dependence and addiction.
There is a similar stigma surrounding mental illness. Sometimes people fear opening up about their struggles because they might be seen as “lesser than.” I struggle with social anxiety, bipolar disorder, and ADD, but I’ve always been comfortable sharing my story. I worked the 12 steps through Celebrate Recovery. It helped me to identify the places where my chemical imbalances and my brokenness intersect. My illnesses are very real, but so is my sin. Medication can help balance the chemicals in my brain that are askew, but only Jesus can save me from the effects of my sinful nature.
It was really encouraging to read about how those at Eventide Asset Management are redefining what is a “good company” in terms of both ethical approaches and profitability. It seems to be an excellent model.
For the past 20 years I have been tracking the movement toward corporate responsibility that goes beyond simple profit. When challenged on their ethics, large companies—including some well-known technology providers—hide behind the mantra “we always comply with the legislation in all the jurisdictions where we operate,” even when it is clear their practices are morally dubious. Unless the law is changed, it is unlikely that large-scale change will happen, but the example of Eventide is a good nudge to lawmakers to think about the benefits of change.
When asked about predestination in my evangelism class, the late Paul Little said, “I believe God calls everyone to himself. Those who answer ‘yes, I accept you’ are then elected by him for eternal salvation,” as opposed to being elected before we were born. Regardless of one’s position here, we can take the lead of the contemporaries John Wesley and George Whitefield. While holding opposite views about predestination, they worked tirelessly and with abandon to present the gospel, urging people to accept the Lord.
Jim Hilt
Sheboygan, WI
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