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January 15, 2026

This edition is sponsored by Aspen Group

Today’s Briefing

In response to efforts to delegitimize Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, Sho Baraka argues Christians should read more of MLK’s work—seeing him not as an icon to quote but as a complex man to be known.

Justin Giboney contends that Christians risk losing the wisdom of the Civil Rights Movement when their social engagement looks the same as secular advocacy.

Civil rights icon Andrew Young talks to CT about the new college curriculum Christians developed on MLK and to counter political violence.

How Atlanta churches came alongside federal employees hurt by last year’s layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Andrew Wilson’s recommended books on theology this month explore authority, apologetics, and orthodoxy.

On The Bulletin this week: protests in Iran, the targeting of the Federal Reserve’s Jerome Powell, and the AI engine Grok generating explicit images of people without their consent.

Behind the Story

From national political correspondent Harvest Prude: For my story on a new Christian curriculum focused on the Civil Rights Movement, I was able to spend over an hour interviewing Andrew Young, a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr.’s and former ambassador to the United Nations.

Young’s career began as a pastor. But that was almost an accident. Young planned to go to New York and train for the Olympics. But a superintendent with the National Council of Churches asked him instead to consider moving to the South to pastor a church in need.

“Well, everybody wants to go to New York,” Young recalls him saying. “If you don’t go, they’re still going to have the Olympics. … but I can’t find anybody that I can send to Marion, Alabama.”

Hearing that the church might otherwise close convinced Young. Throughout his career, there were many times, Young told me, when he felt led to just the right place at the right time: “The Lord works in mysterious ways, and I guess I learned to count on the [Holy Spirit].”
Our office will be closed Monday for the holiday, so don’t expect an edition of CT Daily in your inbox, but you can read more about Young and find other Civil Rights Movement reflections on our website.

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In Other News

More churches closed than opened in the US in 2024, according to new Lifeway research.
A conservative pastor in South Korea was arrested for his role in a riot in support of the country’s former president.
After only one day, the Trump administration reversed its plans to cut grants to address mental health and substance abuse issues.
One grandfather recorded an audio reading of the entire Bible as a Christmas gift for his grandchildren.

Today in Christian History

January 16, 1890: Moody Bible Institute in Chicago is dedicated, 17 years after evangelist D.L. Moody and college administrator Emma Dryer first discussed the idea (see issue 25: D.L. Moody).

Stephen Miller Is Wrong About the World

The Trump administration is ever more candid about its view of power in the international arena. Bombing alleged drug smugglers on boats in the Caribbean “is the highest and best…

Died: Gospel Legend Richard Smallwood

In April 1996, Richard Smallwood and his choir, Vision, released Adoration: Live in Atlanta. The groundbreaking gospel album featured the anthem “Total Praise,” which Smallwood would later refer to as…

Christians, Let’s Stop Abusing Romans 13

This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here. An ICE agent shot protester Renee Good through the head this week and killed her. Videos record one of the agents cursing…

The 50 Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous for Christians in 2026

Pastor Edward Awabdeh had just finished serving Communion at the Evangelical Christian Alliance Church when he noticed members fiddling with their phones and whispering nervously to their neighbors. Many in…

in the magazine

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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