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October 30, 2025

This edition is sponsored by Church Growth Engine

Today’s Briefing

The government shutdown pushes families to church-run food banks as SNAP funds run out.

Though Indian couples tend to live with their in-laws, churches are teaching Christians to leave and cleave.

The T. D. Jakes Foundation addresses unemployment and recidivism in underserved communities.

A historian’s account expands our understanding of American religious higher education.

In 1958, CT sent two ministers’ daughters to see how many pornographic magazines they could buy in Washington, DC—just one of the ways the magazine pushed evangelicals to engage moral issues.

This week’s episode of The Bulletin discusses President Trump hinting at a third term and ChatGPT announcing plans to expand to erotica.

Behind the Story

From national political correspondent Harvest Prude: Being a journalist means getting familiar with rejection. When I showed up at a food drive to report on how the government shutdown is exacerbating food insecurity, I anticipated some people wouldn’t want to talk about what was going on at a hard time in their lives.

Once I introduced myself as a reporter with Christianity Today and explained what I’d like to ask them about, I probably got one “yes” for every five “no thanks.” Those odds make me that much more grateful for the folks who are willing to share.

And after speaking with volunteers and federal workers, I chatted with the lead pastor of the Maryland church hosting the food drive. After I gave my intro spiel, he told me he subscribes to the magazine.

Whenever I meet CT readers, I want to know what stories they think are under-covered in the news. He said he wanted to see more on Gen Z’s relationship to faith, financial and succession planning, and topics dealing with staffing and workplaces. Unprompted, he also told me what CT is doing right, particularly the relevance of the print magazine to the life of the church: “Almost every issue that comes out, I’m like, ‘How did they know?’ Because these are things that I’m dealing with.”

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In Other News

With encouragement from Donald Trump, the federal government is suing more employers for alleged violations of their employees’ religious liberty.
Rick Warren addresses leaders from 124 countries at this year’s World Evangelical Alliance gathering in Seoul.
The family members of a California pastor killed while cycling said they forgive the driver who struck him.
Archaeologists in Turkey have excavated five loaves of 1,300-year-old Communion bread.

Today in Christian History

October 31, 1517: Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses in Wittenberg (see issue 34: Luther’s Early Years).

In Politics, Contempt Is a Common Tongue

When the New York Young Republicans recently disbanded after a leaked group chat revealed members were sharing racist and antisemitic messages, state leaders called it a “fresh start.” Days later,…

The Strangest Enemy I’ll Ever Meet

Here in the rural heart of Burundi, there is a red dirt route that serves as a 5k walk for me. Down the hill, across a small stream, then keep…

First Comes Sex, Then Comes Gender

In The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory, Anglican scholar Robert S. Smith joins conviction and compassion in a sober, cogent analysis of how God’s Word speaks to contemporary…

Don’t Silo the Saints

The most spiritually formative moments of my life didn’t happen in an age-targeted church program. They happened across a table. Bill, a retired pastor who was in his 80s, took…

in the magazine

The Christian story shows us that grace often comes from where we least expect. In this issue, we look at the corners of God’s kingdom and chronicle in often-overlooked people, places, and things the possibility of God’s redemptive work. We introduce the Compassion Awards, which report on seven nonprofits doing good work in their communities. We look at the spirituality underneath gambling, the ways contemporary Christian music was instrumental in one historian’s conversion, and the steady witness of what may be Wendell Berry’s last novel. All these pieces remind us that there is no person or place too small for God’s gracious and cataclysmic reversal.

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