Table Of Contents
January/February 2020
Volume 64, Number 1
January/February
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About The Archives
The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.
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Cover Stories

The Hidden Cost of Tax Exemption
Churches may someday lose their tax-exempt status. Would that be as bad as it sounds?
What A Church Does, in Dollars and Cents
A sociologist explains a congregation's contributions to the local economy.

Features

Americans Are Having Fewer Kids. Evangelicals Are No Exception.
Declining fertility rates and environmental crisis challenge our understandings of family, stewardship, and being a good neighbor.
Christianity Today’s 2020 Book Awards
Our picks for the books most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture.
What If I’m Not the ‘Submissive’ Type?
I used to be repulsed by Ephesians 5. Then I learned to see Paul’s instructions through a gospel lens.
We Need to Read the Bible Jesus Read
The Old Testament is vital for understanding the New Testament. It’s also indispensable all by itself.
When Prayer Requests Become Viral Hashtags
Online outlets like CaringBridge, GoFundMe, and social media accounts have the power to turn individual medical crises into trending topics.

Views

Christians in the Age of Callout Culture
How Christians lost the benefit of the doubt—and why we need to find the good in each other again.
God Will Not Speak to You Through Skywriting
Our desperate pleas for a clear sign from the heavens may be answered already.
God Works Within Us and Beyond Us
It’s surprisingly hard to remember that “our” ministry is actually God’s doing.

Reviews

Our Lives Aren’t Conducive to Prayer. But a Better Way Is Possible.
John Starke gives us a compelling vision of the praying life—and the practices to turn that vision into a reality.
To Touch or Not to Touch?
In an era of anxiety about personal boundaries and sexual signals, Jesus shows us how to minister to others with care and sensitivity.
New & Noteworthy Fiction
Chosen by Heather Day Gilbert, author of contemporary mysteries and Viking historical novels.
Her Son Took up Heroin. She Was the One Whose World Unraveled.
A mother’s meditation on sin, guilt, and the grace of self-doubt.

News

US Religion Census Maps Changing Churches, Declining Denominations
The 2020 project shows shifting complexity of organized religion.
Should Methodists Split into Two, Three, or Four Churches? Delegates Consider.
A year after a historic vote to settle stance on homosexuality, the denomination is planning for divide.
The New Face of Medical Missions
The missionary physicians of the 21st century will be Africans—and US missions agencies couldn’t be happier.

More from this Issue

Reply All
Responses to our November issue.
Sacred Duties
Why we wanted an article rethinking tax exemptions.
Lighting the Way Back Home
Our ongoing call to offer clarity in confusing times.
Partner ContentNon-Traditional Seminary Students Are Changing the Church
Original Content from CT Creative Studio
A new class of seminarians emerges.
What Bill Maher, Donald Miller, and John Piper Have in Common
In different ways, God used them to lead me to Christ.